Andō Morinari

Andō Morinari (1503-1582) was a Sengoku warrior of Mino Province and one of the Three Men of Western Mino (Inaba Ittetsu, Ujike Bokuzen, and Andō Morinari). Originally serving the Saitō clan, in 1567 he collaborated with Inaba Ittetsu and Ujike Bokuzen to surrender Inabayama Castle (Gifu Castle) to Oda Nobunaga from within. He served under Nobunaga; however, in Tensho 8 (1580) he was suspected of collusion with the Takeda clan and was banished by Nobunaga. Following the Honnōji Incident, in Tensho 10 (1582) he rose in arms aiming to recover his former domain, but was attacked by his former ally Inaba Ittetsu and died in defeat. As a warrior of the region that possessed Seki, the production center of Mino blades, he was in a position to directly appreciate the quality of Seki-forged swords. He left his name inscribed in sword history as a figure who embodied the cultural background of Mino blades.