Kantei
Two stretches of a blade on a black background, with a temper line that undulates in broad curves.

Swordsmith of Yatsushiro (Higo) · Kiyomaro · mukansa

Tanigawa Moriyoshi (谷川盛吉)

Moriyoshi of Yatsushiro, the Higo swordsmith who signed 源盛吉 (Minamoto Moriyoshi), copied Kiyomaro and was a mukansa from 1985: his life, his work, his prizes and his sources

Tanigawa Moriyoshi (谷川盛吉, Tanigawa Moriyoshi) forged in Yatsushiro, in the old province of Higo, and signed 源盛吉 (Minamoto Moriyoshi). He learned as a boy with the 金剛兵衛 (Kongō Byōe) school of Yatsushiro, he is known above all for his copies of 源清麿 (Minamoto Kiyomaro) and he was an NBTHK mukansa from 1985 until his death, in 1990.

Photo: dealer in Japan

1920
Born in Yatsushiro
1954
Swordsmith’s licence
1985
NBTHK mukansa
1990
Dies at the age of 70
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Tanigawa Moriyoshi; signs 源盛吉 (Minamoto Moriyoshi) AT
Kanji and reading
谷川盛吉 (Tanigawa Moriyoshi) · 源盛吉 (Minamoto Moriyoshi) AT
Birth
24 February 1920, in 八代 (Yatsushiro), Kumamoto Prefecture AT
Death
1990, at the age of 70 AT
Where he forged
In Yatsushiro, with his own forge from 1948; he signed 肥州八代住 (Hishū Yatsushiro jū), “resident of Yatsushiro, in Higo” AT
Master
金剛兵衛盛高靖博 (Kongō Byōe Moritaka Yasuhiro), from 1933 AT
School or tradition
The Kongō Byōe school of Yatsushiro, in Higo; copies of Kiyomaro and works in the Sōshū-den AT
Licence
3 July 1954, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkachō) AT
Rank
NBTHK mukansa since 1985 AT

In short

What we know. Blades signed 源盛吉 (Minamoto Moriyoshi): a single-bevelled katana and a kogatana, in the photos of this monograph. The lists of mukansa give him as such from 1985.

How we know it. His life, his prizes and his works are told by several sources that agree on his civil name and on the years of his birth, of his rank and of his death, but that cannot be cited.

What we do not know. There is no official online source for his prizes or his rank; the special prizes that took him to mukansa are not on record, and nor is it on record that Kumamoto Prefecture named him holder of an intangible cultural property, as some sources say.

Sections

  1. Kongō Byōe · Enju · Yatsushiro Life and forging Apprentice at thirteen, soldier in China, his own forge in 1948 and mukansa in 1985.
  2. Kiyomaro-utsushi · Sōshū-den · copies Work and style His copies of Kiyomaro and of famous swords, and two blades of his in photos.
  3. Exhibitions · mukansa Prizes His exhibitions from 1954 to 1970 and the rank of mukansa in 1985.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link where possible, and the credit for each image.