Koyama Munetsugu

Profile

Koyama Munetsugu was born in 1803 in Shirakawa, Mutsu province, into a family of smiths; his brother Koyama Munehira also made swords. He trained in the school of Katō Tsunahide under Tsunahide's younger brother, Chōunsai Tsunatoshi. After the Matsudaira house moved from Shirakawa to Kuwana in Ise, he settled there around 1829, and by the early Tenpō years he was already working in Edo: pieces from 1831 to 1834 carry the phrase 於江都 (Kōto ni oite, "in Edo"). Around 1837 he entered the service of the Kuwana domain, and in 1845 he received the title Bizen no Suke (備前介), which appears in his signature from then on. He worked mainly in the Bizen manner and also in that of Mino: early blades show a lively chōji-midare, later ones a quieter gunome-midare, with a clean nioi free of coarse nie. He is linked to the sword tester Yamada Asaemon. His pupils included Tairyūsai Munehiro. He was still active in the first years of Meiji.