* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Taima Tomokiyo
当麻友清
Description
Lineage
The Taima school was a branch of the Yamato tradition founded around the Shōō era (1288–1293) at the end of the Kamakura period by Kuniyuki, taking its name from Taima-dera temple in Yamato Province (present-day Katsuragi City, Nara Prefecture). Tomokiyo is counted, along with Aritoshi and Tomoyuki, among the representative smiths of the Taima school.
Style
Taima-school blades are characterized by a robust build with wide mihaba and thick kasane, among the sturdiest within the Yamato tradition. The jigane shows a masame-influenced itame grain with a rough-textured forging known as "Taima-hada." The hamon is generally suguha-based, with some examples showing kinsuji and sunagashi activity suggestive of Sōshū-tradition influence.
Surviving Work
The Taima school is known for having extremely few signed works, and this holds for Tomokiyo as well; most surviving blades attributed to the school are mumei (unsigned) pieces judged to be Taima work.
Assessment
Tomokiyo is positioned among the generation following founder Kuniyuki as one of the representative smiths of the Taima school, one of the Yamato Five Schools.