Kantei
Two assistants strike with sledgehammers a red-hot piece held by a seated man; sparks fly.

Photo: the smith himself

Fukushima · Ehime · Ise · Iwaki

Life and forging

From Iwaki to Fukushima, from Fukushima to Ehime, from there to Ise and back to his home town, with a forge of his own.

On this page
  1. Beginnings
  2. Two masters
  3. Ise and Iwaki

Beginnings

  • He was born in 1984 in Iwaki. As a child he made wooden swords and bows, and at secondary school he was in the kyūdō (弓道, kyūdō, archery) club.
  • He says that, after failing the university entrance exam, he decided to learn a trade and chose that of swordsmith.

Two masters

  • In 2002, at 18, he became a pupil of 藤安将平 (Fujiyasu Masahira), in the city of Fukushima.
  • In 2004 he came to know the kotō-style work of 藤田國宗 (Fujita Kunimune), of Niihama (Ehime), and started again as his pupil. Today he calls him 親方 (oyakata, “master”).
  • In 2008 he received his licence from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and became a fully fledged swordsmith. He is a member of the Zen Nihon Tōshōkai (全日本刀匠会, Zen Nihon Tōshōkai), the swordsmiths’ association.
A man seated before the forge holds a red-hot piece with tongs; on the left, an assistant with the sledgehammer.
Seated before the forge, with an assistant. Photo: the smith himself

Ise and Iwaki

  • From 2002 to 2013 he took part in the votive forgings at the Atsuta shrine (熱田神宮, Atsuta Jingū).
  • In 2017 he was working full time at the forge of a theme park in Ise (Mie). In 2018 and 2019 he was forging in Mie Prefecture.
  • In September 2021 he opened his forge, 宗永鍛刀場 (Munenaga tantōjō), in Tabito (Iwaki), his native land.
  • He has appeared on Mie television, in the programme “宝の刀” (Takara no katana), and on Fukushima television, on Ehime and Iwaki radio and in the Fukushima press and magazines.
  • In 2026 he was invited to give a talk with a forging demonstration at the sword exhibition in Yamatsuri (Fukushima), in May, and to the exhibition “北の刀” (Kita no katana, the swords of the north) in Tome (Miyagi), in the summer.
Play: 藤原宗永刀匠の古式鍛錬 (Fujiwara Munenaga tōshō no koshiki tanren; the old-style forging of the swordsmith Fujiwara Munenaga), part 1

藤原宗永刀匠の古式鍛錬 (Fujiwara Munenaga tōshō no koshiki tanren; the old-style forging of the swordsmith Fujiwara Munenaga), part 1 · フックン (Fukkun)

21:15 · 15 May 2017

The ceremonial forging with folding (折り返し鍛錬, orikaeshi tanren) that he did at the Ise park on 13 May 2017, recorded by a visitor. He appears.