Ko-Bizen Tsunetsugu
古備前恒次 (Ko-Bizen Tsunetsugu)
A Ko-Bizen smith, of the oldest Bizen, to whom the Juzumaru is now attributed; Aoe smiths of Bitchū also bore his name.
Profile
Tsunetsugu is counted among the Ko-Bizen smiths, the name grouping the oldest Bizen smiths, with Tomonari, Masatsune and Kanehira. In neighbouring Bitchū other smiths of the same name worked in the Aoe school, and their works are not always easy to separate. This is the case of the Juzumaru, one of the tenka goken: tradition attributed it to the Aoe Tsunetsugu; Satō Kanzan proposed the Bizen one, son of Masatsune, and recent NBTHK research gives it to the Ko-Bizen smith.
Monograph
Ko-Bizen Tsunetsugu (古備前恒次)
A Ko-Bizen name that is confused with that of the Ko-Aoe, told with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Juzumaru Tsunetsugu: tachi signed «Tsunetsugu», one of the tenka goken, important cultural property, Honkō-ji temple in Amagasaki; its attribution between Ko-Bizen and Aoe is debated.
Famous swords
- Juzumaru Tsunetsugu 数珠丸恒次