Kantei
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

Signatures and works in museums

Work and style

No open source describes his jihada, his hamon or his bōshi: what there is are his signatures, a few works in museums and what is known of his sons.

On this page
  1. Signatures
  2. His style
  3. Works in museums
  4. In the old lists

Signatures

Before the title
兼道 (Kanemichi) AT
With the title
陸奥守大道 (Mutsu no Kami Daidō) and 陸奥守大道作 (Mutsu no Kami Daidō saku) AT
In the Kyoto National Museum
陸奥守大道 (Mutsu no Kami Ōmichi), on a tantō HD

His style

No description of his jihada, his hamon or his bōshi has been found in open sources. As a guide to the school, Markus Sesko writes of his son Masatoshi that he excelled in the five traditions, made few long swords and above all ko-wakizashi and hira-zukuri tantō, and that some of his works recall the Shizu style.

Works in museums

The Kyoto National Museum keeps a tantō signed 陸奥守大道 (Mutsu no Kami Ōmichi), of the 16th century, of the Muromachi period (EK414). The 1980 Gifu report cites in that museum’s collection a katana signed 陸奥守大道作 (Mutsu no Kami Daidō saku), a wakizashi signed 陸奥守大道 (Mutsu no Kami Daidō) and an unsigned katana attributed to Daidō, without measurements or photos.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York catalogues two tantō by “Kanemichi”, active in the mid-16th century: one with a blade of the late 16th or early 17th century and 43.8 cm (19.53.1) and another with a 16th-century blade and 39.8 cm (91.2.2), with no recorded inscription. Without an inscription, nothing ensures that they are by this Kanemichi.

  • 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.
    The tantō signed 陸奥守大道 (Mutsu no Kami Ōmichi) in the Kyoto National Museum (EK414), of the 16th century: the side with the signature. Kyoto National Museum · © Kyoto National Museum · source
  • The same tantō from the other side, with the tip to the left: a groove along the blade, the pale, undulating hardening next to the edge and the rusted tang with two holes.
    The same tantō in the Kyoto National Museum, from the other side. Kyoto National Museum · © Kyoto National Museum · source

In the old lists

The list of wazamono given by Japanese Wikipedia includes a 関兼道 (Seki Kanemichi), but there were several Kanemichi in Seki and it is not certain that it is him. No work of his has been found among the National Treasures, the Important Cultural Properties or in the Kyōhō meibutsuchō (享保名物帳, Kyōhō meibutsuchō).