Kantei
Three black-and-white views of a katana: the two sides of the tang, with long engraved inscriptions, and the point with the temper line.

Kanewaka school · Edo and Odawara · 17th century

Hachimanyama Kiyohira (八幡山清平)

A swordsmith of the Kanewaka family of Kaga who went to Edo and Odawara: his katana of 1678, his signatures and his place among the wazamono

Hachimanyama Kiyohira (八幡山清平) was according to Ishikawa Prefecture the fourth son of the first Kanewaka, the swordsmith of Kanazawa, in Kaga. Towards the end of the Keian era, around 1651, he went to Edo, and later worked in Odawara, in Sagami: Hachimanyama, the place in Odawara where he lived, is the name by which he is known. A katana of his of 1678 is a cultural property of Ishikawa Prefecture.

Ishikawa Prefecture, Board of Education

Around 1651
To Edo
1652-1694
Dated works
1978
Ishikawa cultural property
Wazamono (4th of 4)
Cutting rank
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Hachimanyama Kiyohira AT
Kanji and reading
八幡山清平 (Hachimanyama Kiyohira): 八幡山 (Hachimanyama) is the place in Odawara where he lived, and 清平 (Kiyohira) the name HD
Period
Second half of the 17th century, Edo period; shintō (新刀, shintō) AT
Province
From Kaga (加賀, Kaga), from Kanazawa; he worked in Edo and in Odawara, in Sagami (相模, Sagami) HD
School
Kanewaka (兼若, Kanewaka), of Kaga AT
Master
His father, the first Kanewaka, according to the Japanese Sword Index, which says that his style resembles his father’s AT
Generations
The Japanese Sword Index calls him Kiyohira I, which implies a second; there is no information on him in the sources consulted AT
Rank
業物 (wazamono), the 4th of the 4 grades of the 懐宝剣尺 (Kaihō Kenjaku) AT
What is documented
The katana of 1678, a cultural property of Ishikawa Prefecture since 1978, and a wakizashi of 1660 at the Edo-Tokyo Museum HD
The tradition
His birth and the lords for whom he worked are not recorded in any of the sources consulted PC

In short

According to Ishikawa Prefecture, in Edo he mixed with the city’s swordsmiths and added the new Edo style to the Kanewaka tradition, with a style of his own that made him famous. He forged his katana of 1678 on commission from 安藤対馬守藤原重治 (Andō Tsushima no Kami Fujiwara Shigeharu), who offered it to the 石清水八幡宮 (Iwashimizu Hachimangū) shrine to pray for fortune in war. Today it belongs to the 豊国神社 (Toyokuni Jinja) shrine in Kanazawa and is kept by the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art.

Sections

  1. Kanazawa · Edo · Odawara Life and times His family, the move to Edo, Hachimanyama and his dates.
  2. Ko-itame · notare with togari-ba Work and style The katana of 1678 point by point, what belongs to the school, and his signatures.
  3. Ishikawa cultural property · museums Famous works The katana of the Toyokuni shrine, a wakizashi in Tokyo and the Yamada list.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credit.