Kantei
A seated man with a white cloth on his head and glasses forges a red-hot bar on the anvil.

Swordsmith of Yaita (Tochigi) · tachi and tantō

Katō Shinpei (加藤慎平)

A swordsmith of Yaita (Tochigi), pupil of Miyairi Yukihira, with four Kanzan prizes and two NBTHK president’s prizes since 2019: his life, his work, his prizes and his sources

Katō Shinpei (加藤慎平, Katō Shinpei) forges in Yaita, in Tochigi Prefecture. He learned under Miyairi Yukihira and Kanbayashi Kōhei, has been licensed since 1980 and, since 2019, has won four Kanzan prizes and two NBTHK president’s prizes at the 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten), in the tachi and tantō sections.

Photo: the smith himself

1957
Born in Tochigi
1980
Swordsmith’s licence
4
Kanzan prizes: 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2026
2
NBTHK president’s prizes: 2019 and 2025
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Katō Shinpei; signs 慎平作 (Shinpei saku) HD
Kanji and reading
加藤慎平 (Katō Shinpei) HD
Birth
1957, in Tochigi Prefecture AT
Where he forges
Kobata, in Yaita (矢板, Yaita), Tochigi Prefecture, since 1983 AT
Masters
宮入行平 (Miyairi Yukihira), from 1975; on his death, in 1977, 上林恒平 (Kanbayashi Kōhei) AT
School or tradition
The Miyairi school; he likes the Yamashiro tradition of Awataguchi AT
Licence
1980, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkachō) AT
Rank
Not a mukansa; NBTHK special prizes in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026 II

In short

What we know. The NBTHK lists and catalogues give him the president’s prize (会長賞, Kaichōshō) in 2019 and 2025, the 寒山賞 (Kanzanshō) in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2026, and lesser prizes in the other years since 2017. His 2016 tachi is in the catalogue of the 2019 exhibition 平成の名刀・名工展 (Heisei no Meitō Meikōten).

How we know it. His life and his prizes before 2017 are told by him; from 2017 they have been checked at the NBTHK.

What we do not know. His prizes before 2017 in the official lists, which are not online, and the years of his training with Kanbayashi Kōhei.

Sections

  1. Miyairi Yukihira · Kanbayashi Kōhei · Yaita Life and forging His apprenticeship, the licence, his forge in Yaita and his work for the shrines of Tochigi.
  2. Suguha · notare · Sōshū Work and style His works as he describes them, his move to suguha and the forging process in six photos.
  3. Kanzan · NBTHK president Prizes His prizes year by year, those from 2017 to 2026 verified in the NBTHK catalogues and lists.
  4. Works on display Videos Two videos by visitors: a katana at the Yūshūkan and the prizewinning tantō of 2025.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link where possible, and the credit for each image.