Chiyozuru Kuniyasu

Chiyozuru Kuniyasu is a swordsmith traditionally said to have been active in the 14th century, during the mid-Nanboku-chō period, who moved to Echizen Province (present-day Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture) and became the founder of the Chiyozuru school.

Lineage and School

Kuniyasu was originally a swordsmith from Kyoto and is said to have studied under Rai Kuniyasu. Around 1337 (Engen 2 / Kenmu 4), he moved from Kyoto to Fuchū in Echizen Province (present-day Echizen City) in search of a suitable site for forging fine swords. He is regarded as the figure who transmitted the techniques of the Yamashiro Rai school to the Hokuriku region.

Legends and Traditions

Alongside his sword-making, Kuniyasu is said to have forged sickles (kama) for farmers in the surrounding area, and this is regarded as the origin of Echizen uchihamono (forged cutlery). It is also traditionally said that each time he completed an outstanding sword, he carved a komainu (guardian lion-dog) statue from a whetstone and sank it in a pond, praying for long-lasting martial fortune and for the repose of the lives taken by swords. When the pond was dredged in 1932, more than ten komainu statues and one sword blade were discovered.

Legacy

Tracing its origins to Kuniyasu's settlement, the blade-forging industry of present-day Echizen City developed into “Echizen Uchihamono,” which in 1979 became the first cutlery-producing region in Japan to be designated a Traditional Craft. Chiyozuru Jinja and the Chiyozuru no Yakata remain in the area, and Kuniyasu continues to be honored as the founder of Echizen uchihamono.

Reputation

Few of Kuniyasu's own blades survive or have been authenticated, but he is highly regarded, more in the context of industrial and craft history than of sword-smith history, as the figure who transplanted the techniques of the Kyoto Rai school to a provincial region and laid the foundation for a major cutlery-producing region that continues to this day.