Tanikawa Moriyoshi

Tanikawa Moriyoshi was a modern swordsmith born in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, in 1920, with the given name Matsukichi. According to the touken-world.jp directory of contemporary swordsmiths, he entered apprenticeship at the age of thirteen under the swordsmith Kongo Hyoe Moritaka Yasuhiro and began his training in sword-making.

Moriyoshi also studied under Enju Nobushige. The Enju lineage flourished in Higo Province (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture) and was also skilled in spear-making. Inheriting this Enju tradition, Moriyoshi excelled not only in forging Japanese swords but also in forging spears (yari), becoming known as a master of both sword and spear.

For his skill he was awarded the rank of Mukansa (exempt from screening) by the Japan Art Sword Preservation Society (NBTHK) — the highest rank below Living National Treasure, reserved for smiths who have repeatedly won special prizes at the new-work exhibitions. Moriyoshi died in 1990 at the age of 70, but his lineage continued through his children: his eldest son Tanikawa Hiromitsu became a swordsmith under the name Enju Nobutsugu, while his second son took up the path of sword polishing. He is remembered as a smith who carried the sword- and spear-forging traditions of Higo into the modern era.