Kantei
A curved blade on a black background, with the signed tang on the left and a groove along the back.

Smith of Yamashiro (Kyoto) · mid-Kamakura

Awataguchi Kuniyoshi (粟田口国吉)

The tantō master of the Awataguchi school of Kyoto in the mid-Kamakura period, with very few tachi and the Nakigitsune of the Tokyo National Museum: what is documented, the tradition, his style and his works

Kuniyoshi forged at Awataguchi, in Kyoto, in the mid-Kamakura period, with the title of Sahyōe no Jō. He made above all tantō and ken, and very few tachi; an interrupted double temper line, the nijūba, is almost his signature, and his most famous blade is the Nakigitsune, in the Tokyo National Museum.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1262-1284
Dated works
2
Certain signed tachi
About 7
Known ken
54.0 cm
Nagasa of the Nakigitsune
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Awataguchi Kuniyoshi; his given name has not been handed down AT
Kanji and reading
粟田口国吉 (Awataguchi Kuniyoshi) AT
Period
Mid-Kamakura (13th century) AT
Province
Yamashiro: Awataguchi, in Kyoto AT
School
Awataguchi (粟田口派, Awataguchi-ha) AT
Family and master
Eldest son of Awataguchi Norikuni, according to tradition; Yoshimitsu (Tōshirō) is held to be his son or his pupil AT
Title
左兵衛尉 (Sahyōe no Jō); from his signature, of the Fujiwara family HD
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: his signed blades, his title and their official designations. Tradition: his parentage, his time in Kamakura under the name Kunitaka and the date of his death AT

In short

He is held to be the eldest son of Norikuni and the continuer of the main Awataguchi line; his dated works run from 1262 to 1284, according to Japanese Wikipedia. Some consider him the best tantō maker of all time, a title usually given to Yoshimitsu; others, the best at the serene suguha; and for Honma Kunzan he is the second of his school in skill, after only Hisakuni, according to Markus Sesko. The Nakigitsune, in the Tokyo National Museum, and a signed tachi of the Kyoto National Museum are Important Cultural Properties.

Sections

  1. Norikuni · Kamakura · Yoshimitsu Life and times His family according to tradition, his time in Kamakura, the dates of his works and his place between Hisakuni and Yoshimitsu.
  2. Nijūba · suguha · tantō and ken Work and style The kantei keys to his tachi, tantō and ken: the nijūba that reaches the bōshi, the hi set close to the mune and the signature.
  3. Nakigitsune · Sayo Saan · Important Cultural Properties Famous works The Nakigitsune of the Tokyo National Museum, the tachi and the tantō of the Kyoto National Museum and his other designated blades, with the museums’ photos.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link, and the credit of each image.