* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Tachi by Tegai Kanekiyo
手掻包清の太刀
Also known as: Tachi by Tegai Kanekiyo (Yamato Tegai School, Elegance of Nara Swordsmanship)
Description
Tegai Kanekiyo was a swordsmith of the Tegai school in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture), active from the late Kamakura to the Nanbokuchō period. The Tegai school was a group of smiths who resided near the Tegaimon gate of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, and they are known for having produced numerous presentation swords for Kasuga Grand Shrine. Kanekiyo's tachi embody the orthodox style of the Yamato tradition. The jigane—characterized by the intermingling of mokume-hada and masame typical of Yamato-den—appears rough on the surface while concealing a deep inner refinement. The hamon is based on suguha, interspersed with ko-midare and the semicircular activities called uchinoke, achieving the distinctive Yamato-den combination of strength and delicacy. The mune (back edge) also follows Yamato-den forms such as hiramine and iorimine, giving the overall sword a coherent unity. Many of his works carry the religious and symbolic value of offerings intended for Kasuga Grand Shrine, embodying the formal dignity of swords as gifts to the deities. Multiple works survive at the Nara National Museum and Kasuga Grand Shrine, occupying an important place in sword history as the benchmark works for research on the Yamato Tegai school.
Legends & Stories
A legend surrounding Tegai Kanekiyo tells that a Kasuga Grand Shrine priest was shown the shape of a sword in a dream with the words 'forge this blade,' and that the very morning after he woke, Kanekiyo began forging with single-minded intensity until the tachi was complete—and that sword was enshrined at Kasuga. Called the 'Sacred Sword of Kasuga,' it is said that in drought years, when the blade was brought out from the shrine treasury for rain-calling ceremonies, rain invariably followed. Another tale passed down among Nara elders holds that a deer—the divine messenger of Kasuga—appeared in Kanekiyo's forge at midnight to inspect the progress of his work, a story that speaks to the deep bond between the Yamato swordsmith and the divine.