Kantei
Black-and-white portrait of an older man with glasses and a cloth tied round his head, beside the hearth.

Swordsmith of Higashi-Yoshino (Nara) · Sōshū, Bizen and Yamato

Kawachi Kunihira (河内國平)

A swordsmith of Nara, pupil of two Living National Treasures and Masamune Prize winner in 2014

Kawachi Kunihira (河内國平) has been forging since 1972 in Higashi-Yoshino, in Nara. He learned from two Living National Treasures, has been mukansa since 1988 and in 2014 won the Masamune Prize with a tachi in which he recovered the midare-utsuri of the old swords.

Photo: 宮田昌彦 (Miyata Masahiko)

1941
Born in Osaka
1972
Opens his forge in Higashi-Yoshino (Nara)
1988
NBTHK mukansa
2014
Masamune Prize
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Kawachi Kunihira HD
Kanji and reading
河内國平 (Kawachi Kunihira) HD
Birth
1 October 1941, in Osaka; second son of the 14th 河内守國助 (Kawachi-no-kami Kunisuke) AT
Where he forges
Higashi-Yoshino (東吉野, Higashi-Yoshino), Nara prefecture, since 1972 AT
Masters
Miyairi Akihira (宮入昭平, Miyairi Akihira), later Yukihira; from 1984, Sumitani Masamine AT
School or tradition
Sōshū-den and Bizen-den; since 1995, also Yamato-den (大和伝, Yamato-den) AT
Licence
No year in the sources consulted PC
Rank
Mukansa (無鑑査, mukansa) since 1988; exhibits as such at the Gendai Tōshokuten from 2021 to 2026 HD

In short

The son of a lineage of Osaka smiths, he studied Law and became an apprentice of Miyairi Akihira, who taught him the Sōshū-den. In 1972 he opened his forge in Higashi-Yoshino; in 1984 he became a pupil of Sumitani Masamine to learn the Bizen-den, and in 1988 he was named mukansa. He has forged tachi and spears for the Ise shrine, has been an intangible cultural property of Nara prefecture since 2005 and in 2014 won the Masamune Prize, the first in his division in eighteen years. The NBTHK chose that tachi for the grand prize of its 2019 exhibition devoted to the finest works of the Heisei era, and he goes on exhibiting as mukansa every year.

Sections

  1. From Osaka to Higashi-Yoshino Life and forging His training with Miyairi and Sumitani, his Nara forge and his public commissions.
  2. Three traditions and the utsuri Work and style Sōshū, Bizen and Yamato, the recovered utsuri and a gallery of works.
  3. From the Satō Eisaku to the Masamune Prizes Each prize with its year, its competition and its level of evidence.
  4. Reports and forging Videos Seven videos in which he appears.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.