Fujishima Tomoshige's Tachi

Fujishima Tomoshige came from Echizen Province (present-day Fukui Prefecture) and moved to Kaga Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) at the end of the Kamakura period. He is regarded as the founder of the Kashū (Kaga) Fujishima school. He is said to have studied under Rai Kunitoshi in Kyoto, or to have been a disciple of Sanekage. It is said that around Shōwa 1 (1312) he moved to Izumi village, Ishikawa District, in Kaga Province. Swordsmiths of the same name continued to work from the Nanboku-chō period through the late Muromachi period. Extant works include the Important Art Object tachi inscribed 'Fujishima Tomoshige', held by the Kyoto National Museum, and the tachi inscribed 'Fujishima', a Fukui Prefecture designated cultural property (Nanboku-chō period, Fukui Prefectural Museum of History). He is regarded as an indispensable swordsmith in the history of swords in the Hokuriku region.