Naminohira Masakuni

Old Swords (kotō) of Satsuma: The Naminohira School and Masakuni

Naminohira Masakuni is a swordsmith regarded as the founder of the Naminohira school. He is said to have migrated in the late Heian period from Yamato Province to Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture). The Naminohira school was a lineage based in Naminohira in Satsuma Province (near present-day Higashi-Taniyama, Kagoshima City), and it is known as one of the oldest smith lineages in Japan. Its origins are said to go back to the late Heian period. It has a remarkable continuity, having produced swords in the land of Satsuma over a long period of more than 700 years.

A feature often pointed out in the Naminohira school is that its works were influenced by the Yamato tradition (Yamato-den). According to one theory, smiths from Yamato went down to Satsuma and founded the Naminohira school, and elements characteristic of the Yamato tradition can be seen in both the jigane and the hamon. During the late Kamakura to Nanboku-chō periods, when the Naminohira school flourished, the shugo of Satsuma Province was the Shimazu clan.

Style, Jigane, and Hamon of the Naminohira School

Masakuni himself has no extant works, and the style is known from the works of the Naminohira school from his son Yukiyasu onward. Yukiyasu's works are archaic in style, with a tachi form featuring a ko-kissaki and deep koshi-zori, and a jigane with a whitish (shirake) cast on which a narrow suguha hamon is raised. The jigane is mainly itame-hada, and masame may be mixed in. The hada often has a flowing, mokume-like and masame-like pattern characteristic of the Yamato tradition. The ground is covered with ji-nie, and overall it often has a somewhat dark tone, although depending on the work, bright and clear jigane can also be seen.

As for the hamon, straight suguha or gently small-midare is the main type, and nie-deki is central. Though it lacks flashiness, the appearance of deep nioi and fine nie evenly covering the entire blade gives a serene and dignified beauty. Some works also show small kinsuji and sunagashi as activity within the hamon. Overall, the hamon of the Naminohira school is characterized by 'shibumi,' and it has an introspective beauty that differs from the grandeur of the Ichimonji school and the diversity of the Osafune school.

As for the shape, it follows the typical tachi and katana forms seen from the late Kamakura to the Nanboku-chō period, and it varies from majestic forms with broad body width and thin kasane to practical, well-balanced forms. Although these are swords made in the remote land of Satsuma, their quality and level of completion are comparable to those of renowned smiths of the center.

The Regional Distinctiveness and Continuity of the Naminohira School

One reason the Naminohira school holds a unique position in the history of Japanese swords lies in its geographical isolation and independent development. Satsuma is located at the southern tip of Kyushu and was a remote land far from the central sword-producing regions (Bizen and Yamashiro). Nevertheless, the Naminohira school continued making swords without interruption from the late Heian period through the Meiji period, becoming a rare lineage with a history of more than 700 years.

Swords of the Naminohira school are said to have been widely prized by the samurai of the Satsuma domain.

Extant Works of the Naminohira School and Their Significance in Appraisal

Extant works of the Naminohira school include the tachi 'Sasanuki,' traditionally held to be a work of Yukiyasu (Important Cultural Property, held by the Kyoto National Museum), and they serve as valuable material conveying the reality of Satsuma swords. No signed works by Masakuni himself survive; works from his son Yukiyasu onward are transmitted. From the surviving works, one can directly observe the texture of the jigane and the characteristics of the hamon peculiar to the Naminohira school. This reveals the distinctiveness of Satsuma, which might be called a 'sixth tradition' distinct from the central Five Traditions (Yamashiro, Yamato, Bizen, Sōshū, Mino).

In appraisal, it is important to understand the distinctive hada of the Naminohira school and the 'shibumi' of its hamon. These must be appreciated by aesthetic standards different from those applied to works of renowned central smiths. Appreciating swords of the Naminohira school is an experience that lets one feel both the regional diversity of Japanese swords and the richness of Japanese sword history, in which a high-level sword culture flourished even in remote regions.

Naminohira Masakuni at TOUKENZA

At TOUKENZA, Naminohira Masakuni is introduced as a smith traditionally regarded as the founder of the Naminohira school, which built a unique sword culture of Satsuma in Kyushu. Tachi of the Naminohira school, which has a unique regional tradition that does not fit within the Five Traditions and boasts a continuity of more than 700 years, are an indispensable presence for understanding the cultural diversity of Japanese swords.