Kantei

Kanemichi

兼道 (Kanemichi)

A Seki smith of Mino in the Warring States period who moved to Kyoto; according to the genealogies, father of Iga no Kami Kinmichi and the origin of the Mishina school.

A tantō laid horizontally, with the tip to the right: two fine grooves along the blade, the pale, undulating hardening next to the edge and, on the rusted tang on the left, two holes and the chiselled signature.
Kyoto National Museum · © Kyoto National Museum

Profile

Kanemichi came from Seki, in Mino province, and moved to Nishinotōin, in Kyoto: in the Eiroku era (1558-1570), according to a biographical dictionary, or in the Bunroku era (1592-1596), with his sons, according to other sources. According to tradition, he used the title Mutsu no Kami Daidō. His son was the first Iga no Kami Kinmichi, and the brothers of the Mishina school, Kinmichi, Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi and Etchū no Kami Masatoshi, worked in Nishinotōin, giving rise to one of the great houses of Kyoto smiths in the Edo period.

Monograph

Kanemichi (兼道) Mutsu no Kami Daidō, father of four smiths: his quick profile and the essentials. Read the monograph

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