* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Tantō Signed Kiyotsuna
短刀 銘 清綱
Also known as: Niō Kiyotsuna; founder of the Suō Niō school; held at the Japanese Sword Museum
Description
A Tantō by Kiyotsuna, Founder of the Niō School
Tantō Signed Kiyotsuna is a work by Kiyotsuna, who is said to have founded the Niō school in Suō Province (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) at the end of the Kamakura period. It is an Important Cultural Property held by the Japanese Sword Museum in Sumida, Tokyo, with a blade length of 27.6 cm. The Niō school was a group of swordsmiths active in Suō Province from the Kamakura through the Muromachi periods, with Kiyotsuna regarded as its founder.
Distinctive Workmanship
While Niō-school blades typically show a straight-grained (suguha-chō) temper line, this piece is noted for an unusually undulating hamon with an overall reverse-sloping (kaeru-gaeshi-like) composition — a departure from the school's typical output that is specifically highlighted in the museum's own description.
Designation and Present Status
The blade is designated an Important Cultural Property and is presently held and studied as part of the Japanese Sword Museum's collection, valued as a rare surviving tantō example for the study of the Niō school.