Kantei
The two sides of a steel tang with chiselled characters, on a black background.

Photo: dealer in Japan

The Kimura family · Yatsushiro

Life and forging

A family of swordsmiths from Yatsushiro that signs with the name of its forge and smelts its own steel; Kaneteru is the second of its three sons.

On this page
  1. The family
  2. The forge
  3. Competitions

The family

  • 木村兼重 (Kimura Kaneshige), the father: in 1942 (Shōwa 17) he became an apprentice of the master 栗原昭秀 (Kurihara Akihide). That same year he appears in the ranking of swordsmiths 聖代刀匠位列 (Seidai Tōshō Iretsu), in the row of the 上工 (jōkō), as an 大業物 (ō-wazamono) of 関脇 (sekiwake) rank.
  • Kanetsugu (兼嗣, Kanetsugu), the first son, born in 1951 (Shōwa 26).
  • Kaneteru (兼照, Kaneteru), the second, born in 1957 (Shōwa 32); the family tree says he has been forging since 1988 (Shōwa 63).
  • Kanehiro (兼裕, Kanehiro), the third, born in 1961 (Shōwa 36), who has been forging since 1981 (Shōwa 56).
  • The sons of Kanetsugu: Kanemitsu (兼光, Kanemitsu), born in 1979 (Shōwa 54), and Kaneyuki (兼幸, Kaneyuki), born in 1981 (Shōwa 56). Kaneteru is their uncle.

The forge and its history are told in the monograph on Akamatsu Tarō.

The forge

  • The Kimura family of Yatsushiro says it descends from the smiths of the Sagara clan, of Hitoyoshi, and that it went back to forging swords with Kaneshige. No independent historical source documents it.
  • All the swordsmiths of the forge sign with 赤松太郎 (Akamatsu Tarō) before their name.
  • The family makes and refines its own iron, and its blades say so on the tang: 以自家製鉄鍛之 (jika seitetsu o motte kore o kitau, “forged with home-made iron”). Its steel does not come from the furnace (たたら, tatara) of the NBTHK.
The two sides of a steel tang with chiselled characters, on a black background.
The signature of the 2009 katana: 肥後國八代住赤松太郎兼照作 (Higo no Kuni Yatsushiro-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kaneteru saku) and, on the other side, 以自家製鉄鍛之 (jika seitetsu o motte kore o kitau) 己丑年一月吉日 (tsuchinoto-ushi no toshi ichigatsu kichijitsu). Photo: dealer in Japan

Competitions

  • He is counted as a member of the 全日本刀匠会 (Zen Nihon Tōshōkai), with “many selections” (入選多数, nyūsen tasū) in its exhibitions, without years. He is not on the list of the Kyūshū section of the Zen Nihon Tōshōkai consulted on 4 October 2026, which does include his brother Kanetsugu and his nephew Kanemitsu.
  • He does not appear in the NBTHK catalogues or prize-winner lists consulted, from the 2017 新作名刀展 (Shinsaku Meitōten) to the 2026 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten). Those of earlier years could not be consulted.