Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke (second generation)

Outstanding Master of Osaka Shintō: Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke Nidai (Naka-Kawachi)

Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke Nidai (second generation) is one of the representative master smiths of the Shintō period. He was active in Osaka mainly during the Kanbun and Enpō eras (1661–1681), and is known by the common name "Naka-Kawachi." As a child of the shodai (first generation) Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke, he succeeded his father. As a swordsmith who held one of the summits of Osaka Shintō, he is sometimes rated alongside Tsuda Sukehiro and Inoue Shinkai.

Nidai Kunisuke is familiar under the name "Naka-Kawachi," and that designation arose from his position between the shodai and sandai (third generation). The works of Kunisuke across three generations formed a major part of Osaka Shintō, and this family has left its name in the history of Japanese swords as a prestigious family representing Osaka smiths.

The Swordsmith's Environment in Osaka: Demand in a Merchant City

Osaka was a commercial city that functioned as the "Kitchen of the Realm" throughout the Edo period, and diverse demand for swords concentrated there, from samurai, wealthy merchants, and major shrines and temples. Whereas Kyoto swordsmiths developed an elegant style for court nobles (kuge) and upper-class samurai, Osaka swordsmiths established their own style that emphasized harmony between practicality and beauty.

Against the background of the achievements and reputation dating from the shodai, the Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke family, as a major swordsmith house in Osaka, enjoyed the trust of daimyō and samurai strata. Nidai Kunisuke established his own style on the foundation his father had built, and came to receive particularly high evaluation among Osaka Shintō.

Characteristics of the Blades: Fineness and Variation in Osaka Shintō

The works of Nidai Kunisuke, known as Naka-Kawachi, display at a high level the fine jigane and varied hamon that are the hallmarks of Osaka Shintō. The jigane is a fine forging in ko-itame, and shows a rich and lustrous appearance with well-developed ji-nie. The beauty of the jigane, clear and dignified in the manner characteristic of Osaka smiths, shows a distinctive individuality that stands out when compared with Edo smiths of the same period.

The hamon is mainly brilliant chōji midare of kobushigata chōji, and the style known as "Shintō Ichimonji" is characteristic. The nie is well developed and crisp, the activity of ashi and yō is lively, and the appearance within the blade is varied while maintaining overall harmony. The sugata has a shallow curvature typical of Kanbun Shintō, and it well demonstrates the aesthetic standard of Osaka Shintō.

While inheriting the style of the Kunisuke school established by the shodai, he incorporates in the hamon distinctive variations unique to the second generation. This individuality is precisely the reason he is singled out as "Naka-Kawachi."

The Kunisuke Lineage Across Three Generations: Prosperity of an Osaka Shintō Family

The shodai, nidai and sandai Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke are evaluated as a unified workshop family representing Osaka Shintō. The fact that excellent swordsmiths over three generations came from the same family shows the high level of sword culture in Osaka at that time and the reliability of skill transmission within the workshop.

Nidai Kunisuke has the highest evaluation of his works among the three generations. The name "Naka-Kawachi" has been handed down to posterity not as a mere ranking but as a byword for the highest standard in Osaka Shintō.

TOUKENZA and Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke Nidai

TOUKENZA presents Naka-Kawachi, Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke Nidai, as a master smith who embodied the diverse and rich beauty of Osaka Shintō. As a figure standing alongside the two great peaks, Tsuda Sukehiro and Inoue Shinkai, the fine and varied works of Kunisuke Nidai show another facet of the aesthetic heights that Osaka Shintō achieved. As masterpieces in which the cultural refinement of the merchant city of Osaka came to fruition in the beauty of the Japanese sword, the works of Naka-Kawachi continue to receive high evaluation today.