Ko-Bizen Tomonari

The Origins of the Bizen Tradition——Ko-Bizen Tomonari

Ko-Bizen Tomonari was the most important smith of the Ko-Bizen school, active in Bizen Province in the late Heian period, and a pioneer who laid the foundations of the Bizen tradition at a time when the basic form of the Japanese sword was taking shape. The sword-making tradition of Bizen Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture) continues from ancient times, yet Tomonari is a rare figure within that tradition: as the earliest known smith, both his name and his works have been transmitted to the present day. He is positioned as preceding the smiths of Bizen such as the Osafune and Ichimonji schools.

The greatest characteristic of Tomonari's works lies in the combination of the elegant form of the typical Heian-period tachi, with its deep sori and slender profile; the itame-hada jigane peculiar to the Bizen tradition; and a hamon of suguha-style temper mixed with ko-midare. Utsuri appears prominently on the jigane. Tomonari's surviving works are designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and are of extremely high scholarly value as among the oldest extant examples in the history of the Japanese sword.

The Establishment of Ko-Bizen Technique

The period from the late 10th to the 12th century, in which Tomonari's works survive, was an age in which the basic form of the Japanese sword (a blade with sori) was established alongside changes in the combat styles of the Heian period. During this period of transformation, Tomonari refined his sword-making technique using high-quality satetsu and tamahagane from Bizen, and built a technical foundation on which all later Bizen smiths would stand. The distinctive qualities of the Bizen tradition—the itame jigane, utsuri, and a tendency toward chōji-midare—were already gestating in Tomonari's works.

TOUKENZA and Ko-Bizen Tomonari

TOUKENZA presents Tomonari as the progenitor standing at the starting point of the long history of Bizen swords, and as a master who embodied the early creative period of the Japanese sword as an art form. The Bizen sword tradition that began with Tomonari was passed on to the Osafune and Ichimonji schools, and in the Kamakura period reached the peak of the world's finest sword art.