Darani Katsukuni II

陀羅尼勝国（二代）

Period

early–mid Edo period

School

Darani school

Active Years

until Hōei 2 (1705), died

Tradition

Kaga (Kashū) swordsmiths

Description

Lineage

Darani Katsukuni was a lineage of swordsmiths based in Kaga Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture); the Matsudo family, who served the Maeda clan of the Kaga domain (Kaga Hyakumangoku), used the name "Katsukuni" across generations. The second-generation Katsukuni was the son of the first, and went by the personal name Matsudo Zensuke.

Distinguishing Feature from the First Generation

Tradition holds that the second generation is distinguished from the first by the file marks (yasurime) near the mekugi-ana on the tang, which form a "hawk-feather" pattern, in contrast to the first generation's diagonal file marks.

Career

The second-generation Katsukuni is recorded as having died in 1705 (Hōei 2). The Darani Katsukuni lineage continued afterward, remaining a representative swordsmithing family of Kaga through the eighth generation in the early Meiji period.

Assessment

The Darani Katsukuni family is positioned as a representative swordsmithing lineage of Kaga under the patronage of the Maeda clan, and the second generation, as its second head, contributed to the continuation of the line.