Kanekado

Profile

Kanekado (兼門) is a smith name of Seki in Mino province, tied to the Zenjō (善定) school, one of the seven Seki lines known as the Seki shichiryū (関七流). This entry gathers shintō-period blades signed with the name whose signature does not say which generation made them. The smiths signed with their place of residence, as in Seki-jū Kanekado (関住兼門), or with the school name, as in Zenjō Fujiwara Kanekado (善定藤原兼門). A blade dated 1657 is kept at the Seki Kaji Denshōkan (関鍛冶伝承館) in Seki itself. One smith of the line, working in the mid-17th century, received the honorary title Tanba no Kami (丹波守) in 1659 and thereafter signed Terukado (照門); school tradition holds that his successors went back to signing Kanekado.