Hasebe Kuninobu

長谷部国信

Period

Nanbokuchō period

School

Hasebe school

Active Years

14世紀中頃

Tradition

Yamashiro tradition (Sōshū-influenced)

Rank

Jōjōsaku

Description

Leading smith of the Hasebe school

Hasebe Kuninobu was a Yamashiro swordsmith active in Kyoto during the Nanbokuchō period and a representative figure of the Hasebe school. With Hasebe Kunishige — famed for the "Heshikiri Hasebe" — at the center of the lineage, Kuninobu is said to have been Kunishige's younger brother (or a senior disciple of the school), and he is described, alongside Kunishige, as one of the twin pillars of the Hasebe school.

Style

Kuninobu's work is distinguished by combining the brilliance of the Sōshū tradition with the refinement of Yamashiro. The hamon is fundamentally hitatsura, with active tobiyaki and yubashiri throughout the blade producing a profound, mysterious scene as if flames were rising. He is highly valued for developing a Sōshū-influenced idiom, under the influence of the Masamune Jittetsu, atop the refinement of Kyoto jigane.

Surviving works and designations

Among Kuninobu's signed works is the "Atsuta Kuninobu," transmitted at Atsuta Shrine and counted among the "Three Swords of Atsuta," designated an Important Cultural Property. He is also known as the maker of the celebrated "Karakashiwa," handed down in the Uesugi family, and signed works survive at Itsukushima Shrine and elsewhere. As a master of hitatsura, he is a smith who embodies the idiom of the Hasebe school.