On this page
- Quick profile
- Biography, year by year
- His signatures, depending on where the work is going
- Kanemitsu, from 2011 to 2025
- July to September 2026: the earthquake and the hearth, rebuilt
- The earthquake and the hearth, in his own photos (July to September 2026)
- The hearth and the press
- The work in the forge, in his own photos (2017–2021)
- His ōdachi of 2021 and other rough blades (2021–2023)
- The steel, the hearth and the first strike of the year (2020–2026)
- Beyond the forge: sword bags, engraved plates and a tsuba (2022–2026)
- What could not be verified
Quick profile
- Swordsmith’s name
- 兼光 (Kanemitsu); on work for shops, 赤松太郎兼光 (Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu); in his own posts, “刀鍛冶 木村兼光” (katanakaji Kimura Kanemitsu, “the smith Kimura Kanemitsu”) HD
- Birth
- 1979, in Yatsushiro (Kumamoto). A Kumamoto newspaper gave his age as 46 in 2025–2026 HD
- Date of birth
- 30 May 1979, according to the chronology of an online shop; it matches the “530” that he himself uses AT
- Family
- Eldest son of 兼嗣 (Kanetsugu), who was his teacher HD
- Generation
- “10th generation craftsman” in the prefecture feature; his father presents himself as the ninth generation of the Kimura AT
- Apprenticeship
- With his father, after finishing high school, in Heisei 10 (1998) AT
- Swordsmith’s licence
- March of Heisei 15 (2003); many sources say “2005” II
- Forge
- 木村日本美術刀剣 (Kimura Nihon Bijutsu Tōken) 赤松太郎鍛錬所 (Akamatsu Tarō Tanrenjo); “鍛錬場” (tanrenba) in the Zen Nihon Tōshōkai HD
- Where
- Futami Shimoōno-machi (二見下大野町), in Yatsushiro, the same address as his father HD
- Association
- Zen Nihon Tōshōkai (全日本刀匠会), Kyūshū section HD
- Mukansa?
- No (see “Prizes”) HD
- How he presents himself
- “現在、刀工歴23年目。肥後國八代住の刀鍛冶です” (“now in my 23rd year as a smith; I am a smith from Yatsushiro, in the province of Higo”), in 2026 HD
- Appearance
- “Tall as giant, with big hands, and a humble smile”, in the prefecture feature HD
Biography, year by year
Each row carries its level. The competition prizes are checked against the official lists, except those marked AT, which only the chronology of a shop gives.
| Date | Event | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Born in Yatsushiro, the eldest son of a family of smiths. | HD |
| Childhood | In his words to the prefecture feature: “This craft was always around since I grew up… It has always been there forming [sic] the day I was born”. | AT |
| 1998 (Heisei 10) | On finishing high school he becomes his father’s apprentice. In the 2024 talk he says it was his own decision: “自分からです” (“it was my own doing”). | AT |
| March 2003 (Heisei 15) | Swordsmith’s licence. The date is given by an online shop; the year, corrected (see the note above). | II |
| 2004 | First prize in the NBTHK new-work competition: the 新人賞 (Shinjinshō). It is recorded on the official card of his 2022 katana. | HD |
| 2004–2005 | NBTHK: 努力賞 (Doryokushō) both years, according to the chronology of a shop. | AT |
| 2010 | 5th お守り刀展覧会 (Omamori-gatana Tenrankai) of the Zen Nihon Tōshōkai: 佳作 (kasaku, honourable mention), registered as 木村兼光 (Kimura Kanemitsu). | HD |
| 2011 | Video feature in the magazine NO!! MAGAZINE on the smith. 6th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 第8席 (tōshin no bu dai-hasseki, eighth in blades) and 全日本刀匠会会長賞 (Zen Nihon Tōshōkai kaichō-shō, the association president’s prize). | HD |
| May 2011 | Katana 肥後國住赤松太郎兼光作 (Higo no Kuni-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu saku), 80.7 cm, in a shop’s sale listing. | HD |
| 2013 | 8th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 佳作 (tōshin no bu kasaku, honourable mention in blades). | HD |
| August 2013 | The dōjō 心風館 (probable reading: Shinpūkan) publishes the first cutting test of a new blade: a roll of 4.5 tatami with the blade unmounted. That it is his is stated by the title of the video, which copies the signature. | HD |
| February 2014 | Collaboration with the composer Maki Nagata: photos by Kanemitsu and music inspired by them. | HD |
| 23 April 2014 | The 武士道美術館 (Bushidō Bijutsukan) visits the forge and publishes it (see “The family”). | HD |
| 2014–2015 | NBTHK: 努力賞 (Doryokushō) for tantō in 2014 and 優秀賞 (Yūshūshō) in 2015, according to the chronology of a shop. | AT |
| 2015 | 10th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 三席 (tōshin no bu sanseki, third in blades). | HD |
| 2016 | 11th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 九席 (tōshin no bu kyūseki) and テレビせとうち賞 (Terebi Setouchi-shō). Katana 肥後國八代住赤松太郎兼光作 (Higo no Kuni Yatsushiro-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu saku), with 以自家製鉄鍛之 (jika seitetsu o motte kore o kitau) on the reverse, in a shop’s sale listing. | HD |
| 2017 | 12th Omamori-gatana: 総合の部 佳作 (sōgō no bu kasaku), 刀身の部 五席 (tōshin no bu goseki) with the 熊本放送賞 (Kumamoto Hōsō-shō), and 外装の部 三席 (gaisō no bu sanseki, third in mountings) with the 島田美術館館長賞 (Shimada Bijutsukan kanchō-shō). | HD |
| January–March 2018 | NBTHK, 新作名刀展 (Shinsaku Meitōten) of the 2017 fiscal year, the first in the new Sword Museum: 優秀賞一席 (Yūshūshō isseki) with an 80.3 cm tachi. | HD |
| 2018 | 13th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 佳作 (tōshin no bu kasaku). In the autumn, demonstrations of 銘切り (meikiri, engraving the signature) with Komiya Kokuten (小宮國天) at the Kitakyūshū museum, and an open day at the forge with his father. | HD |
| 2018 | NBTHK: 努力賞 (Doryokushō), according to the chronology of a shop. | AT |
| 28 March 2019 | English-language feature by Kumamoto Fired Up!, the website of Kumamoto prefecture and city. | HD |
| 2019 | NBTHK: he appears with a 79.3 cm tachi. 14th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 四席 (tōshin no bu yonseki) and 佐世保市教育委員会賞 (Sasebo-shi Kyōiku Iinkai-shō). | HD |
| 2019 | The NBTHK prize for that tachi: the nearest label in the PDF is 努力賞 (Doryokushō), but the layout does not allow it to be assigned with certainty. | PC |
| July 2019 | Joint tachi with his father, “写 山鳥毛” (utsushi Sanchōmō), commissioned by a shop (see “His Sanchōmō”). | HD |
| 14 December 2019 | The municipal magazine “やつしろの風” (Yatsushiro no Kaze) runs a feature on his forge, which also appears on the cover. | HD |
| September–October 2020 | NBTHK, 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten) 2020, at the Sword Museum in Tokyo: his interpretation of the Sanchōmō is exhibited. | HD |
| February 2021 | お守り刀特別展 (Omamori-gatana Tokubetsuten): 刀身の部 2席・特賞 (tōshin no bu niseki, tokushō) and 外装の部 1席・特賞 (gaisō no bu isseki, tokushō). | HD |
| 31 July 2021 | NBTHK, 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten) 2021: a widely followed visitor posts a video of his Sanchōmō, and Kanemitsu pins it on his profile. | HD |
| 2021 | 15th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 第八席 (tōshin no bu dai-hasseki). | HD |
| 2022 | NBTHK: Kunzanshō (薫山賞) with a 74.9 cm katana and 優秀賞一席 (Yūshūshō isseki) with a 29.3 cm tantō. In October, a joint katana with his father. | HD |
| 2023 | NBTHK: 優秀賞 (Yūshūshō, fifth) with a 79.8 cm tachi and Kanzanshō (寒山賞) with a 22.0 cm tantō. 16th Omamori-gatana: 文部科学大臣賞 (Monbu Kagaku Daijin-shō), the top prize overall. | HD |
| 2024 | NBTHK: 努力賞一席 (Doryokushō isseki) with a 78.6 cm tachi and 優秀賞一席 (Yūshūshō isseki) with a 25.2 cm tantō. In September, two talks in the gallery of the Sasebo arts centre with Komiya Kokuten. | HD |
| 2025 | NBTHK: Takamatsu-no-miya Kinenshō (高松宮記念賞) with a katana in the manner of the 水神切兼光 (Suijingiri Kanemitsu), and Kunzanshō (薫山賞) with a tantō. 18th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 二席・特賞 (tōshin no bu niseki, tokushō) and 坂城町長賞 (Sakaki Chōchō-shō). In July, a talk and signature engraving at the exhibition at Kokura castle. | HD |
| 8 July 2025 | On X he tells how, while hardening a blade, lightning struck “right above the forge”, and that the hamon came out “pretty good”. | HD |
| 2026 | NBTHK: 努力賞四席 (Doryokushō yonseki) with a 79.5 cm tachi and 優秀賞一席 (Yūshūshō isseki) for tantō. 19th Omamori-gatana: 刀身の部 二席・特賞 (tōshin no bu niseki, tokushō), 坂城町長賞 (Sakaki Chōchō-shō) and 駐日ポーランド共和国大使賞 (Chūnichi Pōrando Kyōwakoku Taishi-shō, the prize of the ambassador of Poland). | HD |
| September 2026 | He rebuilds the hearth: he finishes the blocks on 10 September and on 20 September writes that it is “finally back” in working order. On 29 September he is working on a chidori jūmonji-yari spear. | HD |
| 2026 | Why he could not forge for a while, and for how long: his posts do not say. | PC |
His signatures, depending on where the work is going
In the NBTHK competitions he signs without “赤松太郎” (Akamatsu Tarō):
- 肥後國八代住兼光作 (Higo no Kuni Yatsushiro-jū Kanemitsu saku), on the tachi of 2017, 2019 and 2023 and on his 2020 Sanchōmō;
- 肥後國兼光 (Higo no Kuni Kanemitsu), on the katana of 2022 and 2025;
- 肥後國兼光造之 (Higo no Kuni Kanemitsu kore o tsukuru), on the tachi of 2024 and 2026;
- plain 兼光 (Kanemitsu) on the tantō, and 花鎮兼光 (probable reading: Hanashizume Kanemitsu) on the 2021 one, with an engraving by 宗風 (probable reading: Sōfū).
On work for shops he signs 肥後國八代住赤松太郎兼光作 (Higo no Kuni Yatsushiro-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu saku) and on the reverse 以自家製鉄鍛之 (jika seitetsu o motte kore o kitau, “forged with steel of our own smelting”). With his father, 肥後國住赤松太郎兼嗣兼光合作 (Higo no Kuni-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanetsugu Kanemitsu gassaku). A shop says that he also signs 光宏 (Mitsuhiro).
Kanemitsu, from 2011 to 2025
Kanemitsu at 32, in the NO!! MAGAZINE feature (2011). NoMagazineK (NO!! MAGAZINE) · © NoMagazineK (NO!! MAGAZINE) · source 
Kanemitsu in front of the house and forge, in the prefecture feature (2019). Kumamoto Fired Up! (Kumamoto prefecture and city) · © Kumamoto Prefecture and City · source 
The forge at night (2019). Kumamoto Fired Up! (Kumamoto prefecture and city) · © Kumamoto Prefecture and City · source 
Kanemitsu at the omamori-gatana exhibition in Sasebo (2020). りん (Rin) channel · © りん (Rin) channel · source 
Kanemitsu engraves a signature at the Kokura exhibition (2025). 【公式】全日本刀匠会チャンネル (Kōshiki Zen Nihon Tōshōkai channeru) · © 【公式】全日本刀匠会チャンネル (Kōshiki Zen Nihon Tōshōkai channeru) · source 
Kanemitsu at the forge, in another shop’s sale listing. Photo: dealer in Japan 
Kanemitsu, on a shop’s website. Photo: dealer in Japan
July to September 2026: the earthquake and the hearth, rebuilt
On 28 July 2026, at about 16:27, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 (provisional figure from the Japan Meteorological Agency) strikes Kumamoto prefecture, with the maximum intensity of the Japanese scale, 7, in Uki and in Hikawa. Twelve minutes later he writes that he is safe, but that the workshop has been wrecked, with a photo of collapsed firebricks among the charcoal. In mid-August he says that the hearths were completely destroyed, and on the 19th he finishes a temporary one. On 10 September he finishes laying the blocks of the new hearth, and on the 20th he writes that it is finally working again. On the 29th he is working “on and off” on a 千鳥十文字槍 (chidori jūmonji-yari) spear.
The earthquake and the hearth, in his own photos (July to September 2026)
“We are fine, but the house and the workshop have been left wrecked”, he writes on the day of the earthquake (28 July 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
A provisional hearth finished: the hood will be sheet metal, but for now it is refractory board; two others remain to be rebuilt (19 August 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
A hearth propped up with battens and wire: it is only a matter of time before it collapses, he writes, but this way it will hold for a while (25 August 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
He dismantles the old hearth before it comes down: it was built when he was in his second year at 高校 (kōkō), Japanese senior high school, some 30 years ago (4 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The old hearth, half dismantled (4 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The new hearth, under construction (8 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself
The hearth and the press
The blocks of the new hearth (10 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The rebuilt hearth (20 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The chidori jūmonji-yari, freshly forged (29 September 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The feature in “やつしろの風” (Yatsushiro no Kaze), December 2019. Photo: the smith himself
The work in the forge, in his own photos (2017–2021)
He prepares the nakago of another tachi that the polisher has returned to him (7 December 2017). Photo: the smith himself 
A block of red-hot steel; he works at a rapid pace on the eve of an appreciation of modern swords (25 January 2019). Photo: the smith himself 
More red-hot steel on the anvil, the same day (25 January 2019). Photo: the smith himself 
The 素延べ (sunobe) of a tachi in mid-Kamakura style, before forging its shape (31 May 2019). Photo: the smith himself 
Two rough blades, once again utsushi of the Sanchōmō and of the へし切長谷部 (Heshikiri Hasebe) (29 June 2019). Photo: the smith himself 
A rough blade: with covid, commissions fell, and he takes the chance to try different works (30 April 2020). Photo: the smith himself 
The sunobe of a tachi; he writes that he might try a Sanchōmō (30 June 2020). Photo: the smith himself 
A small blade with the hamon the client asked for and the finished nakago, ready for the polisher (13 July 2020). Photo: the smith himself 
The sunobe of a tachi for the following year’s competition (28 September 2020). Photo: the smith himself 
The sunobe of the 3 shaku ōdachi (about 91 cm) finished; the next day he starts forging its shape (2 February 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
Two blades filed into shape (edge, back and shinogi), ready for hardening (6 February 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
A day of hardening: he prepared two tachi and a tantō with clay and hardened them, and all three failed (7 April 2021). Photo: the smith himself
His ōdachi of 2021 and other rough blades (2021–2023)
The sunobe of an ōdachi of more than 3 shaku (4 October 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
The two bars, numbered, after the rough drawing out; now comes the sunobe of the ōdachi (27 October 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
The two bars of the ōdachi, after a whole day’s work (29 October 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
An ōdachi blade already forged: it came out at more than 3 shaku 5 sun (about 106 cm), 1.5 sun more than planned (30 October 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
The other ōdachi blade forged as well (1 November 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
An ōdachi of 3 shaku 3 sun (about 100 cm) freshly hardened; by the fourth blade he already has the process mastered, he writes (6 November 2021). Photo: the smith himself 
Four forged blades, before preparing them for hardening (4 September 2023). Photo: the smith himself
The steel, the hearth and the first strike of the year (2020–2026)
The 15 kg of tamahagane he received as an additional prize; he may let a younger apprentice of his master, 弟弟子 (otōto-deshi), practise with it before his forging exam (8 September 2020). Photo: the smith himself 
The materials store, newly built, withstood the earthquake of the day before; it will now be able to hold 100 t of satetsu (22 January 2022). Photo: the smith himself 
The tamahagane of the 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten) prize: 110 kg (27 October 2022). Photo: the smith himself 
The fire of the hearth on a slightly chilly day, good for working with fire, he writes (25 April 2023). Photo: the smith himself 
The prize tamahagane arrives: 110 kg, the same as he weighs, he writes (6 August 2023). Photo: the smith himself 
The amulet of the 初打ち (hatsu-uchi), the first strike of the year, every 2 January (2 January 2024). Photo: the smith himself 
The small talisman sword he forges at the hatsu-uchi of every 2 January (2 January 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The amulet of the hatsu-uchi, hung in the workshop (2 January 2026). Photo: the smith himself 
The hearth in high summer: “doesn’t the summer ever end?”, he writes (22 July 2026). Photo: the smith himself
Beyond the forge: sword bags, engraved plates and a tsuba (2022–2026)
Swords in their bags, on a day of caring for them; to an appreciation of modern swords he will take his utsushi of the 山鳥毛 (Sanchōmō), the 岡田切 (Okada-giri), the 鯰尾藤四郎 (Namazuo Tōshirō) and the 五虎退 (Gokotai), which he shows only at exhibitions and competitions (30 October 2022). Photo: the smith himself 
Engraved plates, with the announcement of his yearly draw for the 日本刀の日 (Nihontō no hi, Japanese Sword Day): fifteen plates with one or two characters chosen by those who take part (1 October 2023). Photo: the smith himself 
The plates of the 日本刀の日 (Nihontō no hi) draw, now engraved, ready to send (5 October 2024). Photo: the smith himself 
A tsuba by the third 八代甚吾 (Yatsushiro Jingo), of Higo, which he has just acquired: he likes the vigour of its design, he writes (11 January 2026). Photo: the smith himself
What could not be verified PC
- The years of the licence and the apprenticeship: the correction is ours (see the note above) and it still needs his confirmation.
- The date of birth, which only a shop gives.
- The NBTHK results from 2004 to 2016 and for 2020–2021 in the official source, and the 2019 prize.
- The text of the Kumamoto Nichinichi article: from the European Union only the headline could be read.
- Why he could not forge in 2026 before rebuilding the hearth.