Sendai Kunikane (First Generation)

初代仙台国包

Period

early Edo period

School

Employed by the Sendai Date family

Active Years

慶長19年(1614)〜寛永期

Tradition

Yamato tradition

Rank

Description

Lineage

Sendai Kunikane (First Generation) was a swordsmith who worked for the Sendai domain in the early Edo period. He is said to descend from Yamato Yasusada and belongs to the Yamato tradition. He is also said to have studied under Kami Masatoshi.

Career

In Keichō 19 (1614) he was taken into service by Date Masamune, and he became the first of the Sendai Date family's smiths, a line that continued until the late Edo period. In the Kan'ei era he used the title Yamashiro Daijō. A blade inscribed "Oshu Sendai-ju Yamashiro Daijō Fujiwara Kunikane" and dated Kan'ei 5 (1628) is designated a Miyagi Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property.

Style

He kept the masame-hada of the Yamato tradition and showed a style of straight hamon (suguha).

Related Swordsmiths

和泉守国貞

Osaka Shinto (Settsu Province). Carrying on the Osaka tradition of refined shinto swordmaking, Kunisada inherited the techniques of his predecessor (Kunisada I) and refined them further, becoming recognized as the foremost swordsmith in Osaka.

Izumi no Kami Kunisada

Active during the mid-Edo period (late 17th to early 18th century), coinciding with the flourishing Genroku era of Osaka culture. Under the peaceful governance of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, demand for swords shifted toward artistic refinement, and Kunisada embodied this spirit with his polished craftsmanship.