Satsuyoshi Oku Motoyasu (薩陽士奥元安)

Oku Motoyasu was the third son of Oku Motonao, who in turn had two older brothers who were Motohira and Mototake. Motoyasu, the maker of this katana, oddly as we know all about his elder brothers, birth and deaths dates are unknown. For Motohira and Mototake, we have:

Motohira Enkyo 1st year 1744-Bunsei 9 1826

Mototake Kannen 1st year 1748-Bunka 13 1816

So, while the career of all three brothers are well documented and works extant, to not know his birth/death dates are very odd.

His output was not plentiful as his older brother for he, along with Mototake, were largely assistants to Motohira all their lives and as a result there are a large output of ga-saku works so it's safe to assume that because his personal productivity was not large, he made quite a number daisaku/daimei works for Motohira, who because he lived till 83.

His skill while rated as chu-Jo saku by Fujishiro Yoshio, should be really be rated Jo-saku along with his brother Mototake as their works are of a high level at least on most occasions that rank with Motohira. His work as would be expected, follows closely the latter. Motoyasu produced suguha with thick ji-nie that reminds one of the works of Inoue Shinkai or in a midare togari ha with plenty of ji-nie, kinsuji and with plenty of Chikei  with imozoru. all traits of the late Satsuma smiths. The sugata or bodies would be wide with a chu kissaki which ends in komaru boshi. Horimono were rather rare and so were bo-hi but are sometimes seen. In my twenty years of collecting I have never seen Motohira/Mototake/Motoyasu work in any other tradition than a Mino Shizu Soshu den style.

This sword was found in Miyazaki prefecture and registered in August 1971 and may have come from a household whose ancestors served either the Sadoawara Shimazu branch of the family or the Hongo (Shimazu) family of Miyakonojo, were the principal Shimazu senior retainers in Hyuga Province from 1600-1868. It was awarded Tokubetsu Hozon papers in Heisei 5 (March 12th 1993) The sword is signed: SATSUYO SHI OKU MOTOYASU and dated KANSEI 8 The year of the Dragon. (1796) Spring. As a signal honour, this sword was illustrated in Sato Kanzan's Shinto Oshigata Dictionary Book.

For his other sibling's swords, Oku Mototake and Oku Motohira see my other blogs:

From Sato Kanzan's Shinto Oshigata Dictionary 

                   The Former Torokusho of the Oku Motoyasu Miyazaki Prefecture 1971