Kantei
Poster for an exhibition: at the top, a blade and the title in kanji; at the bottom, an old black-and-white photo of several men forging a red-hot piece with hammers.

Swordsmith of Gamagōri (Aichi) · 1934-2008

Fujiwara Motohisa (藤原元久)

A swordsmith of Gamagōri (Aichi), the son of a swordsmith and heir to the line of Ishidō Korekazu, whose blades were used by practitioners of iaidō and battōdō: his life, his work, his prizes and his sources

Fujiwara Motohisa (藤原元久, Fujiwara Motohisa) forged in Takeya, in Gamagōri (Aichi), the old province of Mikawa. He learned under his father, the swordsmith Fujiwara Takenori, and was selected twenty-seven times at the NBTHK exhibition of new work. Many iaidō practitioners used his swords.

Photo: Gamagōri Museum

1934
Born
2008
Dies
1967
Swordsmith’s licence
27
Selections at the NBTHK Shinsaku Meitōten
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Fujiwara Motohisa AT
Kanji and reading
藤原元久 (Fujiwara Motohisa) AT
Birth and death
1934 · 2008 AT
Where he forged
Takeya (竹谷町, Takeya-chō), in Gamagōri (Aichi); he signed 三河國住 (Mikawa no kuni jū, “resident in Mikawa”) AT
Master
His father, 藤原武則 (Fujiwara Takenori), from 1950 AT
School or tradition
The line of 石堂是一 (Ishidō Korekazu), through his father; Bizen and Yamato traditions AT
Licence
November 1967, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs AT
Rank
Twenty-seven selections at the NBTHK 新作名刀展 (Shinsaku Meitōten); whether he was a mukansa is in doubt PC

In short

What we know. In 2023 the Gamagōri museum devoted to him and his father an exhibition of twenty-five swords, and its press release gives his year of birth, his apprenticeship from 1950 and his twenty-seven selections at the NBTHK. A katana of his from 1991 bears on the tang the dedication to 中村泰三郎 (Nakamura Taizaburō), founder of Nakamura-ryū battōdō.

How we know it. From the museum and Gamagōri city hall, from the local press and from his known blades.

What we do not know. Whether he was a mukansa, his prizes year by year, the exact date of his death and whether there are works of his in museums.

Sections

  1. Fujiwara Takenori · Takeya · Gamagōri Life and forging A family of tool smiths who turned to forging swords, his apprenticeship with his father and the Gamagōri museum exhibition.
  2. Bizen · Yamato · blades for cutting Work and style His traditions, his long blades and the 1991 katana for Nakamura Taizaburō.
  3. Shinsaku Meitōten · mukansa in doubt Prizes Twenty-seven selections at the NBTHK and the doubt over his rank of mukansa.
  4. The 2023 exhibition Videos The news report on the Gamagōri exhibition and the iaidō demonstration with his swords.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link where possible, and the credit for each image.