Kantei

Signature and shape

Work and style

The sources consulted do not describe his temper line or his jihada: of his work, what is known is the signature and the shape of the blades in the museums.

On this page
  1. Kantei keys
  2. The generations
  3. What is not on record

Kantei keys

  • Sugata. The wakizashi of the Nagoya City Museum is in shinogi-zukuri, with a 38.4 cm blade and 0.9 cm of curvature; the spear of the Sanada Museum measures 38.5 cm and has no curve.
  • Nakago. The Nagoya wakizashi has a single hole.
  • Mei. 播磨大掾藤原忠国 (Harima Daijō Fujiwara Tadakuni) on the Nagoya wakizashi, and 肥前住播磨大掾藤原忠國 (Hizen jū Harima Daijō Fujiwara Tadakuni) on the spear of the Sanada Museum.

The generations

The third Tadakuni also signed Harima Daijō, according to Haga Yaichi’s dictionary. That is why the signature alone is not enough to know which of the two a blade is by. The Tokyo National Museum keeps a katana signed 肥前住播磨守藤原忠国 (Hizen jū Harima no Kami Fujiwara Tadakuni), with the title of Harima no Kami, with a mounting of crabs, peonies and chrysanthemums; its record does not say which generation it belongs to.

What is not on record

The sources consulted do not describe the jihada, the hamon or the bōshi of his blades, nor do they give keys for distinguishing the generations.