Rai Kunitsugu

Rai Kunitsugu (来国次) was a swordsmith of the Rai school with its base in Kyoto, Yamashiro province, who tradition holds was active from the late Kamakura period through the early Northern and Southern Courts period. He is said to have been a student of Rai Kunishun, a master swordsmith of the Rai school, though there are also theories that he was the son or cousin of Rai Kunimitsu, and various accounts exist regarding his genealogy. The Rai school began with Rai Kuniyuki in the mid-Kamakura period and brought forth such masters as Rai Kunishun and Rai Kunimitsu, forming a lineage that represented the Yamashiro tradition; Rai Kunitsugu is known as a distinctive figure among them. According to tradition, Kunitsugu moved to Kamakura in Sagami province and is said to have studied under Masamune, who is regarded as the founder of the Soshu tradition, and there is a theory that he is numbered among the Masamune no Jittetsu ("Ten Great Disciples of Masamune"). For this reason he is also called "Kamakura Rai" and is positioned as a swordsmith who bridged the Yamashiro Rai school and the Soshu tradition.

The workmanship of Rai Kunitsugu is characterized by its foundation in the intricate technique of the Rai school, while distinctly evoking the influence of the Soshu tradition. The Rai school typically displays a tightly packed fine itame jihada with fine ground nie covering the entire surface and exhibits what is called "Rai-hada" forging pattern here and there; Kunitsugu, however, in addition to this, shows jigane with pronounced surface pattern and well-defined jikei, with strong nie appearing prominently in both the jigane and the edge. The hamon as well differs from the quiet straight-blade style common in the Rai school: it displays small waves (notare) intermingled with gunome, with good ashi and ha, deep nioi and small nie, bearing sunagashi and kinsuji in places, with a worked-out irregular hamon. Such a workstyle with prominent jikei, kinsuji, and sunagashi is clearly in the Soshu tradition manner and differs in character from purely Rai school work.

Thus Rai Kunitsugu is evaluated as a distinctive swordsmith among the Yamashiro Rai school, displaying workmanship closest to the Soshu tradition. The surviving signed works consist almost entirely of tantō and wakizashi, with only very few signed tachi remaining. In particular, the tantō output includes many fine pieces, while the tachi are few in number and those worthy of note are limited; the fact that his strength lay in the tantō differs in character from other Rai school swordsmiths.

The most famous representative work is a tantō with the signature "Rai Kunitsugu" designated as a National Treasure (in private collection). The blade is hirazukuri with three ridges (mitsumune), with broad blade width and slightly curved sugata, measuring approximately 32.7 cm. The forging shows a tightly packed fine itame jihada with Rai-hada appearing faintly on both sides, displaying ground nie and jikei with bright, clear jigane. The hamon displays small waves (notare) intermingled with gunome, with good ashi and ha, deep nioi with small nie, bearing sunagashi and kinsuji in places, resulting in brilliant workmanship that prominently displays the influence of the Soshu tradition. In addition, beginning with two tachi designated as Important Cultural Property, several signed works are known and are highly valued as exceptional works.