Yoshii Yoshinori

Yoshii Yoshinori was a representative swordsmith of the Yoshii school, based in Yoshii, Fukuoka-shō, Bizen Province (present-day Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture). The Yoshii school is said to have been founded in the late Kamakura period by a smith named Kage, said to be a son of Osafune Kagehide, and produced smiths such as Kiyonori and Noritsuna — who shared the character "nori" (則) in their names — through the Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods.

Lineage and Period of Activity

Yoshinori was the representative name of this Yoshii lineage, and the name is said to have continued from the end of the Nanbokuchō period into the early Muromachi period. It appears that multiple generations bore the name "Yoshinori," and the precise distinction between individual generations remains a subject for further research.

Position within Bizen Tradition

Alongside Ko-Bizen, Fukuoka Ichimonji, Osafune, Yoshioka, Hatakeda, Katayama, and Ōmiya, the Yoshii school and the name Yoshinori are referenced in studies of the Bizen sword lineage as one of the branches making up the broader Bizen tradition.