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…
Articles |KIYONDO 清人
Read moreKiyondo’s (清人) family name was Saitô (斎藤)and he was the adopted son of yakaji Saitô Koichirô and was first called…
Articles |NIDAI MURAMASA 二代村正
Read moreAny study of nidai Muramasa Kei (二代村正) would be somewhat remiss if it did not start with a bit of…
Articles |OSAKA SHODAI TANBA (no) KAMI YOSHIMICHI 大坂初代丹波守吉道
Read moreThe founder of the Mishina (三品) school was Kanemichi (兼道) who lived in Seki (関), Mino (美濃) province, at the…
Articles |The Beauty of the Japanese Sword by Michihiro Tanobe 田野邉道宏
Read moreJapanese swords are often perceived to be formidable and inaccessible objects that some people find objectionable or even abhorrent and…
Articles |CHOUNSAI TSUNATOSHI 長運齋綱俊
Read moreTsunatoshi’s (綱俊) family name was Kato (加藤) and he was born around 1800. He was the son of Dewa (no)…
