Musashi Daijō Korekazu

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Musashi Daijō Korekazu (武蔵大掾是一), the first of his name, is the representative smith of the Edo Ishidō (江戸石堂), the branch of the group Ishidō (石堂) that came out of Ishidō (石塔), in Ōmi, and moved from Kyoto to Edo. He is held to have been a native of Gamō (蒲生), in Ōmi, and is said to have descended from Ichimonji Sukemune (一文字助宗) of Bizen. His first name was Korekatsu (是勝); he worked in Edo roughly between the Keian and Enpō eras (1648-1681) and, with the title of Musashi Daijō, signed 武蔵大掾藤原是一 (Musashi Daijō Fujiwara Korekazu). His work recreates the Fukuoka Ichimonji of the Kamakura period, with midare-utsuri in the jigane and an ō-chōji hamon. The name Korekazu was handed down in the family until the Meiji era.