* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Katana signed Shinano no Kami Kunihiro (Donated by Toyotomi Hideyori)
刀 銘 信濃守国広（豊臣秀頼寄進）
Also known as: Kunihiro katana donated by Toyotomi Hideyori to Kitano Tenmangu in 1607
Description
Horikawa Kunihiro and the Masters of Keichō Shintō (New Swords)
Horikawa Kunihiro (c. 1531–1614) was a swordsmith who was active from the Azuchi-Momoyama period into the early Edo period. He is known as a master smith who founded the Horikawa school, which became a major force in the early Shintō period. He was from Hyūga Province (present-day Miyazaki Prefecture) and first served the Itō clan, a Sengoku daimyō of Hyūga. He later moved to Ichijō Horikawa in Kyoto, where he set up his workshop. In Tenshō 18 (1590), he received the title "Shinano-no-kami," and from then on he signed himself "Shinano-no-kami Kunihiro."
Toyotomi Hideyori's Reconstruction of the Kitano Tenmangū Main Hall and Dedication of the Sword
In Keichō 12 (1607), Toyotomi Hideyori (1593–1615) completed the major construction of Kitano Tenmangū, a shrine associated with his father, Hideyoshi. This included the main sanctuary and the worship hall. To commemorate its completion, Hideyori had this sword forged by Horikawa Kunihiro and dedicated it to Kitano Tenmangū. The long inscription (nagamei) carved on the tang reads: "Made by Shinano-no-kami Kunihiro at the time of Toyotomi Hideyori's construction of Kitano Tenmangū Tenjin, in the 11th month of Keichō 12 (the hinoto-hitsuji year, 1607)." The inscription records the circumstances of the construction, its date, and the smith.
Characteristics of the Sword
After settling in Horikawa, Kunihiro left many works in the form of Keichō shintō, with broad body width and an elongated kissaki. Many of these works have a temper line (hamon) of notare and gunome-midare that evokes the Sōshū tradition. This sword is a work from that period.
Cultural Property Designation and Historical Significance
It is designated an Important Cultural Property and is housed and preserved in the treasure house of Kitano Tenmangū. This sword is historical evidence where three parties intersect: Toyotomi Hideyori, Horikawa Kunihiro, and Kitano Tenmangū. It is an extremely important relic that conveys to the present the highest level of forging technique in the Keichō era and the cultural activities of the late Toyotomi regime. Examples of Kunihiro's signed works whose dates and dedication sites are clearly recorded are rare, and the sword is also highly valuable for research on the history of swords.
Legends & Stories
A sword forged by Horikawa Kunihiro, the foremost swordsmith of the era, at the command of Toyotomi Hideyori, to commemorate his rebuilding of Kitano Tenmangū, a shrine associated with his father, Hideyoshi. This sword, where Hideyori's cultural endeavors and Kunihiro's technical peak intersect, is also a surviving relic that symbolizes the final period of prosperity of the Toyotomi family before the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).