Kantei
A short, curved blade, polished and unmounted, seen from both sides on a black background, with the engraved tang below.

Swordsmith of Sakaki (Nagano), 1913–1977 · later Yukihira

Miyairi Akihira (宮入昭平)

The swordsmith of Sakaki (Nagano) who signed Akihira and, from 1973, Yukihira: Living National Treasure from 1963 and master of a whole generation. His life, his work, his prizes and his sources

The son of a family of farm-tool smiths from Sakaki, he trained in Tokyo under Kurihara Akihide and signed Akihira until 1973, when he changed his swordsmith’s name to Yukihira (宮入行平, Miyairi Yukihira): he is one and the same person. He was a Living National Treasure from 1963, the first from Nagano, and from his forge came Ōsumi Toshihira, Kawachi Kunihira and many others. He is not to be confused with his son, Miyairi Kozaemon Yukihira, or with his nephew, Miyairi Norihiro.

Photo: dealer in Japan

1937
Joins Kurihara
1963
Living National Treasure
1973
Signs Yukihira
1977
Dies
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Miyairi Akihira until 1973 and Miyairi Yukihira afterwards HD
Kanji and reading
宮入昭平 (Miyairi Akihira); later 宮入行平 (Miyairi Yukihira) HD
Birth
17 March 1913, in Sakaki, Hanishina district (Nagano) AT
Death
24 November 1977, aged 64 AT
Where he forged
Sakaki (坂城, Sakaki), in Nagano AT
Master
栗原昭秀 (Kurihara Akihide), at his forging school in Tokyo AT
School or tradition
First Bizen, then Yamashiro and finally Sōshū; head of the Miyairi school AT
Rank
Living National Treasure (重要無形文化財保持者, jūyō mukei bunkazai hojisha) from 1963; mukansa from 1960 according to Markus Sesko’s list AT

In short

In 1937 he entered Kurihara Akihide’s forging school in Tokyo, and in 1940 he won his first major prize. During the war he was an Army-designated swordsmith, and he forged sacred swords for the Ise shrine. He won the special prize at the first five editions of the NBTHK technical competition, from 1955, and in 1963 he was named a Living National Treasure. He sought the best iron in old helmets and nails, moved from Bizen to Sōshū and trained a generation of swordsmiths. In 2019 the NBTHK exhibited a tachi of his from August 1977, from his last months.

Sections

  1. From Tokyo to Sakaki Life and forging His apprenticeship with Kurihara Akihide, the war, the Ise shrine, the title of Living National Treasure and his pupils.
  2. Bizen · Yamashiro · Sōshū Work and style From Bizen to Sōshū, his steel made from old iron and the blades of his that the NBTHK has exhibited.
  3. From 1940 to 1963 Prizes His prizes year by year, from that of 1940 to the title of Living National Treasure.
  4. Bibliography Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link where possible.