Kantei
A grey-haired man, dressed in white, heats a bar in a charcoal forge.

Swordsmith of Misa (Ōita) · the sword of Bungo

Taira Kiyoaki (平清明)

A swordsmith from the city of Ōita, trained in Arao, who wants to revive the sword of Bungo with steel from his own land and has exhibited at the NBTHK since 2022: his life, his work, his prizes and his videos, with the level of evidence of each fact

Taira Kiyoaki (平清明) forges in the Misa district, in the city of Ōita. He learned in Arao (Fukuoka), became independent around 2020 and wants to revive the old sword of Bungo with steel made from the iron sand of the Ōno river. He is, with Kōroki Fusaoki (興梠房興), one of the two working swordsmiths in the prefecture.

Photo: 高田びわのす通信 (Takata biwanosu tsūshin), neighbourhood newsletter of Takada (Ōita)

1967
Born in Ōita, around
2019
Licence from the Agency for Cultural Affairs
2023
Silver medal in a competition for new swords
2026
Selected (入選, nyūsen) at the NBTHK, tenth place
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Taira Kiyoaki HD
Kanji and reading
平清明 · たいら きよあき (Taira Kiyoaki) AT
Birth
Around 1967, in Ōita Prefecture: he was 57 in December 2024 II
Where he forges
The Misa district (三佐, Misa), in the city of Ōita HD
Master
The swordsmith Matsunaga, of the 松永日本刀鍛錬所 (Matsunaga Nihontō Tanrenjo) in Arao (Fukuoka) AT
School or tradition
He seeks that of Bungo (豊後, Bungo) and its Takada school (高田, Takada) AT
Licence
2019, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkachō); independent since 2020 AT
Rank
Selected (入選, nyūsen) at the NBTHK in 2022, 2025 and 2026; he is not a mukansa II

In short

What we know. He was selected in the NBTHK exhibition 令和の名刀・名工展 (Reiwa no Meitō Meikōten) in 2022 and in the 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten) of 2025 and 2026, that year in tenth place. In 2023 he won a silver medal, which Ōita Prefecture celebrated with him on 4 October 2024, Japanese Sword Day.

What we do not know. What his steel and his hardening are like: there are signatures and measurements of his katana, but no text on his jihada or his hamon, nor photos of his prize-winning works.

Sections

  1. From Arao to Misa Life and forging His apprenticeship in Arao, his Misa workshop and the project of the sword of Bungo.
  2. Towards the sword of Bungo Work and style His signatures, the measurements of his katana and the model he is after: the old sword of Takada.
  3. The NBTHK and a silver Prizes Selected at the NBTHK in 2022, 2025 and 2026, and a silver medal in 2023.
  4. The sword of Bungo, on television Videos Two news items from OBS television on the sword of Bungo.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026 and the credit of each image.