DISCOVER FUKUI

This is a monument honoring Echizen Yasutsugu, located in the residential area of Hoei, Fukui City.

During the Edo period, Echizen was renowned as one of Japan's foremost sword-producing regions. Among its most prominent sword smiths were the "Shimotsaka School," believed to have migrated from Ōmi Province to Echizen in the late Sengoku period.

Sakasaka School," and the first Yasutsugu is considered its representative figure. The first Yasutsugu is said to have used the name "Shimotsukasa Saemon" and is believed to have been a central figure in the swordsmith group "Shimotsukasa Kaji," active in Shimotsukasa Village, Sakata District, Ōmi Province (present-day Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture).

He relocated to Echizen in the late Sengoku period and became the personal swordsmith for Yuki Hideyasu (second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and first lord of Fukui Domain). Later, invited to Edo by Ieyasu and Hidetada, he forged swords there. He was granted the Tokugawa family crest, the aoi crest, and the character "康" (Yasusue) from Ieyasu's name, adopting the name Yasusue.

The name "Yasutsugu" was passed down through generations after the first master. His son, Yasutsugu II, also took the name and left behind many masterpieces with skill matching that of the first master.

After the second Yasutsugu's death, a dispute arose over succession to the third generation. Through mediation by senior Fukui domain officials and shogunate administrators, the family split into two branches: the Edo Shimosaka and the Echizen Shimosaka. Each continued under the name "Yasutsugu," serving as swordsmiths to the shogunate and the Fukui domain, respectively. Both the Echizen and Edo branches endured as prestigious sword-smithing families until the Bakumatsu period, leaving behind works of profound charm not only in swords but also in tsuba (sword guards) and other accessories.