* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Kurihara Akihide
栗原彦三郎昭秀
Description
The Man Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide
Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide was born in Meiji 12 (1879) and died in Shōwa 29 (1954). He was a magazine editor, politician and swordsmith active from the Meiji era into the early Shōwa era. His art names were Akihide or Kōnan. While serving as a member of the House of Representatives, Kurihara devoted his life to reviving the making of Japanese swords, which had been in decline.
Nihontō Tanren Denshūjo
The Nihontō Tanren Denshūjo was established by his father, Kurihara Kizō, in Meiji 26 (1893) at the family residence in Kanma Village, his home district in Tochigi Prefecture. Kurihara inherited it in Meiji 40 (1907). In Shōwa 8 (1933), he founded the Nihontō Tanren Denshūjo at the former site of Katsu Kaishū's residence in Akasaka Hikawa-chō, Akasaka Ward, Tokyo City, and took the post of director himself. Here he trained many swordsmiths and made it a base for passing on sword-making techniques in the modern era. Kasama Shigetsugu and others have served as instructors at this school.
Contributions to the Preservation of Modern Swords
In Shōwa 10 (1935), Kurihara launched the magazine Nihontō oyobi Nihon Shumi, which he published until Shōwa 20 (1945) in an effort to promote Japanese swords and raise public awareness of them. After retiring from politics, he founded the Dai-Nippon Tōshō Kyōkai (Greater Japan Swordsmiths' Association) and became its chairman. In the final period of the Pacific War, he opened the Nihontō Gakuin in Zama, Kanagawa, and continued training swordsmiths. Six of the Japanese swords that Kurihara himself forged have been designated Tochigi Prefecture Tangible Cultural Property. As a figure who devoted himself to preserving modern swords, he is an indispensable presence in the history of modern Japanese swords.