Nobukuni
信国 (Nobukuni)
Lineage: the signature does not state the generation
A line of smiths founded in Kyoto in the Nanbokuchō period by the first Nobukuni, a pupil of Ryōkai; his descendants worked in Buzen and Chikuzen until the Meiji era.
Profile
The first Nobukuni learned from Ryōkai of the Rai school and worked at Gojō-bōmon in Kyoto; his dated blades run from 1358 to 1366, and tradition adds that he studied with Sadamune in his last years. He worked in two manners: the suguha of Rai and Ryōkai, and the nie notare with kinsuji and sunagashi of Masamune and Sadamune; with Hasebe Kunishige he brought Sōshū-den to Yamashiro. He carved his blades with bonji, lotus pedestals and dragons, and the tang ends in a kurijiri. His successors worked in Kyoto until the early 15th century; from 1440 a branch served in Buzen, and from 1602 the line continued in Chikuzen in the service of the Kuroda, with branches in other provinces until the Meiji era.
Notable works
- Tantō signed «Nobukuni» and dated 1366: important cultural property.