Kantei
A young man with black hair and a blue samue looks closely at the edge of a blade, in half-light.

Smith of Miike, in Ōmuta (Fukuoka) · Bizen-den

Komiya Kokuten (小宮國天)

A smith from Miike, in Ōmuta, from a family of smiths and a pupil of Kawachi Kunihira, with three NBTHK special prizes: his life, his work, his prizes and his videos

Komiya Kokuten forges in Miike (三池), in the city of Ōmuta, and signs 國天 (Kokuten). A pupil of Kawachi Kunihira (河内國平), he comes from a family of smiths of his home region and works in the Bizen-den. In the NBTHK competition he won the Kanzanshō (寒山賞) in 2019 and 2025 and the Kunzanshō (薫山賞) in 2023.

Photo: dealer in Japan

1980
Born in Ōmuta (Fukuoka)
2003
Swordsmith’s licence, according to his family; another source gives 2005
3
NBTHK special prizes: Kanzanshō in 2019 and 2025, Kunzanshō in 2023
77.3 cm
His tachi of the 2026 Yūshūshō niseki
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Swordsmith’s name
國天 (Kokuten); in full, 六郎國天 (Rokurō Kokuten) AT
Born
1980, in Ōmuta (Fukuoka) AT
Where he forges
Miike (三池), in Ōmuta (Fukuoka) HD
Master
Kawachi Kunihira (河内國平), in Nara, from 1999 AT
School or tradition
Bizen-den (備前伝), in the manner of the Fukuoka Ichimonji (福岡一文字) AT
Licence
2003, according to his family; another source gives 2005 PC
Rank
Not mukansa; NBTHK special prizes in 2019, 2023 and 2025 II

In short

Komiya Kokuten exhibits every year at the 現代刀職展 (Gendai Tōshokuten), the NBTHK’s new-work competition, almost always with a long, curved tachi. Since 2017 he has won eight prizes there: two Kanzanshō (2019 and 2025), one Kunzanshō (2023) and five more of the ones below them. He is not mukansa: in 2025 and 2026 he does not appear in the list of the exempt.

His family, the Komiya of Ōmuta, have forged in the Miike area since the 18th century and take as their model Miike Tenta Mitsuyo (三池典太光世), the smith of the late Heian period who made the district famous. He is, therefore, a smith from a family tradition who trained elsewhere, at one of the most decorated forges in Japan.

Sections

  1. From Ōmuta to Nara and back Life and forging His apprenticeship with Kawachi Kunihira, his family of Miike smiths and what he does today.
  2. Long tachi and chōji Work and style His style, his signatures, how he works and his competition tachi.
  3. NBTHK and Zen Nihon Tōshōkai Prizes His prizes year by year and what his official cards say.
  4. His forge, his talks and his works Videos Eight videos: the forge, his talks and his prize-winning tachi.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the credit of each image.