Akasaka Tadashige


Except three great masters of Akasaka school, Tadamasa I, Tadamasa II, and Tadatora, Tadashige is the only highly regarded person among many students of akasaka school. Direct quotation from the book "Tsuba - An aesthetic Study (pp.134-135)" by Kazutaro Torigoye and Robert E. Haynes reveals that:

.... "Among the students of the Akasaka school, the work of Tadashige should be noted. He was one of the later workers of the school but was superior in ability to all the other students. In fact, his work compares favorably with that of the first three generations. He was an innovator and reformer who hoped to raise the standards of the Akasaka school to its former prominence. Though he was the student of the first Tadatoki (4th Akasaka), he easily surpassed his teacher in ability. Unfortunately, only his work reached the heights he so diligently sought. His work may be easily identified because of its superior quality and in cases where it might be confused with the work of the first three generations, it will be younger in appearance than the work of his early masters. Also he was the first of this school to use kuchibeni at the top and bottom of the nakago-ana, very much in the same style as those used by the Suruga school. This artist is one of the few late Edo age workers who successfully returned to the superior quality of the early artisans of his school, and was able to equal their greatness"....

Tadashige (1730-1816) is said to be the brother of the second Tadatoki and the student of the first Tadatoki. He lived in Kyobashi and is reported to have been an artist at the court of the Daimyo at Tosa. Rated as Jo-ko. This tsuba exhibits the typical characteristic of Akasaka skill and fold forging resulted masame trace at mimi. Motif is the famous "Yatsuhashi". An iris beneath three sections of the bridge combine to create the yatsuhashi design. The straight lines of the bridge and curves of iris are achieving the perfect harmony. Marumimi, Size of 80mm height, 75mm width, and 5mm at mimi and 5.6mm at seppa-dai.