Hōjōji Kunimasa

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Kunimasa worked in Edo, Musashi province, in the Edo branch of the Hōjōji (法城寺) school. The branch was founded by Masahiro (正弘), who moved there from Tajima early in the Edo period, and by the Kanbun era (1661-1673) it had grown into a large group of smiths. School tradition makes Kunimasa the son of Sadakuni (貞国); a blade of his dated 1675 is known. He signed with the school name, the honorary title Tajima no Kami and the surname Tachibana (橘) shared by the group: Hōjōji Tajima no Kami Tachibana Kunimasa. His name appears in the shogunate's records of employed swordsmiths, alongside those of Yasutsugu and Korekazu. His work follows the school's taste, close to that of Kotetsu: broad, sturdy blades, ko-itame with ji-nie, and a nie-based gunome midare hamon with a thick nioiguchi. He should not be confused with the Kunimasa who studied under Horikawa Kunihiro.