* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Unjū
雲重
Description
A smith of the Unrui group
Unjū was a smith of the Ukai school (the Unrui group) active in Ukai-gō, Bizen Province, from the late Kamakura into the Nanbokuchō period. Together with Unshō and Unji, he is counted among the representative members of the Unrui group, and as a master of the school whose signatures bore the character "un," he ranks in renown just after Unshō and Unji.
Style
Unjū's works show the quiet idiom common to the Ukai school: the jigane is ko-itame with a tendency toward utsuri, and the hamon is suguha-based with ko-midare and small chōji intermixed. The slender, graceful form, suggesting the influence of the Aoe school of neighboring Bitchū, contrasts with the bold irregular hamon of the contemporary Osafune school and possesses a refinement akin to Kyoto work.
Evaluation
Although the Ukai school was a minor lineage spanning the late Kamakura to the Nanbokuchō period, its quality is highly esteemed — more than ten works of the group as a whole are designated Important Cultural Properties — and Unjū is positioned, by the soundness of his workmanship, as a core smith of the Unrui group.
Famous Works
- 太刀 銘 雲重（宇甘派の代表作）