Articles |THE NAKAI KOSHIRAE
Read moreIn the middle of the 19th century (1851), a man named Nakai Genzaemon ordered the custom fabrication of a koshirae…
Articles |DEWA-DAIJÔ KUNIMICHI 出羽大掾國路
Read moreWhile it is firmly established in many reference books that Kunimichi(國路) was a student of Horikawa Kunihiro (堀川國廣), no records…
Articles |MUTSU NO KAMI TACHIBANA TAMEYASU & THE ISHIDÔ SCHOOL 陸奥守橘為廉 & 石堂系
Read moreThe Ishidô (石堂) school originated at the Sekido Temple in Ômi Province around the Kanei period (1624). From there the…
Articles |NIHONTÔ, THE JAPANESE SWORD, A SHORT HISTORY.
Read moreMost experts agree that the first forged steel swords came to Japan in the same way as many other cultural…
Articles |ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS AND RULES OF KINZÔGAN-SETSUDAN-MEI WITH A FOCUS ON THE YAMANO FAMILY
Read moreA variety of different information can be transmitted via gold inlays on sword tangs, the so-called "kinzôgan-mei" (金象嵌銘). For example,…
Articles |THE KO-BIZEN SCHOOL 古備前系
Read moreThe Bizen Province, since ancient times, produced many fine swordsmiths who worked throughout all the periods of sword history from…
Articles |NIDAI KAWACHI NO KAMI KUNISUKE 二代河内守国助
Read moreThe second generation Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke (河内守国助) is popularly known as Naka-Kawachi (中河内). The word, “naka”, in Japanese means…
Articles |THE HASEBE SCHOOL 長谷部系
Read moreHasebe Kunishige (長谷部国重) has long been considered to be a pupil of Masamune (正宗) (Masamune Juttetsu). His oldest remaining dated…
Articles |YOKOYAMA KÔZUKE NO DAIJÔ SUKESADA 横山上野大掾祐定
Read moreBizen Province has been acknowledged to be the kuni which has produced the most master swordsmiths since ancient times, creating…
Articles |Who Made the Tonbo-giri Yari? By Gordon Robson 11/19
Read moreThe Tonbo-giri Yari or the Dragonfly Slicer Lance treasured by Honda Heihachirô Tadakatsu (1548-1610)is signed “Fujiwara Masazane saku” .…
Articles |BIZEN YOSAZAEMONJÔ SUKESADA 備前与三左衛門尉佐定
Read moreWith the onset of the Onin War in Kyoto (1467-1477) and the breakdown of the Ashikaga Shogunate system, the Sengoku…
Articles |Sword Prices, Origami, and Samurai Income by Markus Sesko
Read moreTo understand the financial situation of a samurai during the Edo period, we first have to go into the contemporary…
