Sendai Kunikane II

仙台国包（二代）

Period

Early Edo period

School

Hongō smithing family

Active Years

正保2年（1645年）家督相続以降

Tradition

Yamashiro tradition (Hōshō lineage)

Rank

Description

Successor to the First Generation — Sendai Kunikane II

The second-generation Sendai Kunikane, personal name Hongō Kichiemon, was the son of the first-generation Sendai Kunikane (Hongō Genzō, later Yoshinojō, 1592–1664), who served as an official swordsmith to the Date clan, lords of the Sendai domain.

Succession

The first generation retired in Shōhō 2 (1645) and passed on the family headship to his son, the second generation. The Hongō smithing family of Sendai, founded by the first Kunikane, went on to serve the Date clan as official swordsmiths for fourteen generations until the Meiji era, with the second generation as its direct successor.

Style

The first generation trained in Kyoto under Etchū-no-kami Masatoshi and modeled his work on the Yamato Hōshō tradition, said to descend from Hōshō Gorō. The second generation is believed to have continued this family style, though detailed records distinguishing his individual work from his father's are scarce.

Reputation

While specific birth/death dates and signed works of the second generation are not well documented in available sources, he is recognized as the direct successor who carried forward the Kunikane line of Sendai swordsmiths — a lineage that would continue for fourteen generations and hold lasting importance in the sword history of the Sendai domain.

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.