Kurihara Nobuhide

A Leading Disciple of Minamoto Kiyomaro: Shinshintō by Kurihara Nobuhide

Kurihara Nobuhide was born in Echigo Province in Bunka 12 (1815). He was a master smith of the shinshintō period who was active mainly in Edo from the late Edo period into the early Meiji period, and he is known as a leading disciple of the master smith Minamoto Kiyomaro. Behind Suishinshi Masahide's advocacy of "kotō fukko" (revival of the kotō) and his launch of the shinshintō movement lay a strong motive to recover the beauty of the kotō that had been lost in the shintō of the mid-Edo period and after. In particular, he sought the clear jigane and natural nie of the kotō. Nobuhide inherited the spirit of this kotō revival through Kiyomaro, and he realized his teacher's ideals with his own high level of skill.

As a young man, Nobuhide went to Kyoto and became known as a mirror maker (kagami-shi). In Kaei 3 (1850), he entered the school of Minamoto Kiyomaro in Edo, and in Kaei 5 (1852), he began making swords as an independent smith. In the Keiō era, he was granted the title Chikuzen-no-kami.

Suishinshi Masahide and the Shinshintō Movement

Suishinshi Masahide (around 1750–1825) was a smith who led the shinshintō movement in the late Edo period by advocating kotō fukko. His book, the Tōken Jitsuyō-ron, is known as an important text in the history of Japanese sword theory. Masahide believed that the natural and beautiful jigane and hamon of the kotō smiths had been lost in the shintō period. He sought to restore the quality of Japanese swords by studying and reviving kotō techniques.

Nobuhide entered the school of Minamoto Kiyomaro, who was called one of the "Three Masters of Edo" (Edo Sansaku) alongside Masahide and Naotane. Within Kiyomaro's school, Nobuhide emerged as a particularly outstanding smith.

Characteristics of His Swordmaking: The Ideal of Kotō Revival

Nobuhide is counted among the smiths of the Kiyomaro school, and his style follows the lineage of his teacher Kiyomaro.

Nobuhide's Pupils, Successors and Influence

Several excellent smiths also came out of Nobuhide's pupils, and his techniques and ideas were passed on to the next generation of smiths. In addition, later smiths studied and imitated Nobuhide's works, and his stylistic influence can be recognized even in gendai-tō made from the Meiji period onward.

Nobuhide is positioned as one who went beyond being merely a disciple of his teacher and carried forward one of the independent currents of Edo shinshintō. Together with Taikei Naotane, Minamoto Kiyomaro and others, as one of the outstanding masters of Edo shinshintō, his name symbolizes the diversity of sword culture in the shinshintō period.

TOUKENZA and Kurihara Nobuhide

TOUKENZA introduces Kurihara Nobuhide as a master smith who, as a leading disciple of Minamoto Kiyomaro, realized at the highest level the ideal of kotō fukko that began with Suishinshi Masahide. While faithfully inheriting his teacher's ideals, Nobuhide opened up a unique realm in his swordmaking, which embodies the spiritual and technical achievements of the shinshintō movement. His work, which continued until the early Meiji period, plays an important role as a bridge in carrying Japanese swords into the modern era.