Kantei
Base of a straight, dark blade and its light tang with an inscription, ending in a ring, on a black background.

Hōki · shinshintō · Bizen-den

Miyamoto Kanenori (宮本包則)

The smith of four emperors: from the Bizen of Osafune to artist of the imperial household

Miyamoto Kanenori (宮本包則) was born in 1830 in Hōki, learned Bizen-den in Osafune and forged swords for four emperors, from Kōmei to Shōwa. In 1906 he was named an artist of the imperial household (帝室技芸員, teishitsu gigeiin) together with Gassan Sadakazu, the only two swordsmiths who ever were, and he forged until past the age of ninety. He died in 1926.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1830
Born in Hōki
1867
Title of Noto no Kami
1906
Artist of the imperial household
1926
Dies, aged 97
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Miyamoto Kanenori AT
Kanji and reading
宮本包則 (Miyamoto Kanenori); at court he signs with the clan name Sugawara: 菅原包則 (Sugawara Kanenori) AT
Period
Shinshintō; works from the late Edo period to the Taishō era AT
Province
Hōki (伯耆, Hōki), in Ōgaki (大柿, Ōgaki), today Misasa (Tottori); works in Kyoto and in Tokyo AT
School
Bizen-den, learned in Osafune AT
Master
Yokoyama Sukekane (横山祐包), of Osafune, who claimed to be a descendant of Tomonari in the 58th generation AT
Title
Noto no Kami (能登守), in 1867 (Keiō 3); artist of the imperial household, on 4 April 1906 AT
Generations
One: no second generation with this name is recorded in the sources consulted PC
In museums
Tokyo and Kyoto National Museums, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York HD
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: his blades in the museums, with their signatures, dates and ages. His life, from the Japanese Wikipedia and the Kotobank dictionary, which disagree on some dates. AT

In short

Kanenori studied for seven years in Osafune under Yokoyama Sukekane, opened a forge in Kyoto in 1863 and forged for samurai loyal to the emperor; in 1866 he made a sword for Emperor Kōmei and the following year received the title of Noto no Kami. After the 1876 ban on wearing swords he made farm tools and knives, until he was called to forge the treasures of the Ise shrine. As an artist of the imperial household he forged in 1915, according to the Japanese Wikipedia article on him, the generalissimo’s sword for the enthronement of Emperor Taishō, which the article on the marshal’s baton (元帥杖, gensuijō) instead gives to a Gassan Sadakazu. His Bizen-den is sober and classical, of very fine steel: for the Japanese Wikipedia, the connoisseur’s smith.

Sections

  1. From Osafune to the court Life and times Osafune, Kyoto, Fushimi Inari, Ise and the imperial household.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style His sober Bizen-den, his signatures and his engravings.
  3. In museums and shrines Famous works His blades in the National Museums and the offerings to the shrines.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.