* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Hamabe Toshinori
浜部寿格
Description
Background and Training
Hamabe Toshinori, whose common name was Hamabe Kuzaemon, was born in Tottori, Inaba Province (present-day Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture). He is said to have traveled to various places, including Musashi, Bizen, and Osaka, to study sword-making.
Title and Domain Service
In Tenmei 5 (1785), he received the title of Mino no Kami, and in later years he worked as an official swordsmith to the Tottori domain, devoting himself to sword-making. He trained many disciples and became known as a representative swordsmith of Inaba Province.
Style
He excelled in the Bizen tradition that he studied at Osafune, and the Hamabe school, including Toshinori, is known for its work in the Bizen tradition during the shinshintō period. His hamon include ko-chōji with a tight nioiguchi as well as sugu-ha of nioi-deki, and his tightly packed ko-itame-hada shines beautifully. Among the swords forged in Edo in Tenmei 7 (1787) are also custom-ordered (chūmon-uchi) pieces with a kasane over 1 centimeter, in which the mihaba and kasane are unusually thick. It is said that he possessed the high skill to finish such unusual construction without flaw.
Reputation
He is also said to be one of the forerunners of the celebrated late-Edo swordsmith Minamoto Kiyomaro, and is regarded as a superior maker of the shinshintō period. A work forged in Edo in Tenmei 7 (1787) also survives, suggesting that he remained vigorously active as a swordsmith throughout his life.