Awataguchi Kuniyasu
粟田口国安 (Awataguchi Kuniyasu)
A smith of the Awataguchi school of Kyoto, of the early Kamakura period; one of the rotating smiths of the retired emperor Go-Toba, for the month of April according to the most widely circulated list.
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A biographical dictionary makes Kuniyasu the third son of Kuniie, the founder of the Awataguchi school of Kyoto, and an encyclopedia places him with his brothers Kunitomo and Hisakuni; other lists of Kuniie’s sons, however, do not include him. According to the tradition recorded in the treatises, around the Jōgen era (1207-1211) he was among the rotating smiths (番鍛冶, bankaji) whom the retired emperor Go-Toba had work by the month, and the most widely circulated list assigns him the month of April. Also according to tradition, he received the title Yamashiro no Kami.
His dates are unknown, and the sources consulted attribute no protected work to him. He should not be confused with other smiths called Kuniyasu of later periods, such as Horikawa Kuniyasu or Echizen Rai Kuniyasu.