Kantei
Straight spearhead, short and grooved, with its long dark tang and one hole, on a black background.

Satsuma · end of the Edo and Meiji · shinshintō

Oku Motohira (奥元平)

The swordsmiths of the Oku family in the service of Satsuma: the two Motohira, their style, their works and their sources

Oku Motohira (奥元平) is the name of the swordsmiths of the Oku family, in the service of the Satsuma domain from the 1640s. Their great master was the first Motohira (1744-1826), Yamato no Kami from 1789; the second (1833-1905) forged into the Meiji years. This monograph is that of the lineage.

Kyūshū National Museum, via ColBase

1744-1826
First Motohira
1789
Yamato no Kami
1833-1905
Second Motohira
7th from Tadakiyo
Generations
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Oku Motohira HD
Kanji and reading
奥元平 (Oku Motohira); with his title, 奥大和守平朝臣元平 (Oku Yamato no Kami Taira no Ason Motohira) HD
Period
End of the Edo period and beginning of Meiji (shinshintō) AT
Province
Satsuma (薩摩), today Kagoshima HD
School
Satsuma shinshintō, in the service of the Shimazu domain AT
Master
For the first, none is recorded; the second trained under Motoyasu (元安), the second of that name AT
Title
Yamato no Kami (大和守), granted to the first in the twelfth month of Kansei 1 (1789) HD
Generations
From their ancestor Tadakiyo (忠清), the second Motohira is the 7th; between the two Motohira, Motohiro (元寛), who died in 1843 AT
Rank
For the NBTHK, one of the two finest masters of Satsuma shinshintō, with Hōki no Kami Masayuki AT
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: a spear in the Kyūshū National Museum signed 薩州住元平 (Satsushū jū Motohira) and a katana of 1796 in the Tokyo National Museum. Tradition: the robust Satsuma style is usually attributed to the Jigen-ryū (示現流) school of swordsmanship. HD

In short

The Oku forged for the Shimazu for more than two centuries. The first Motohira, with Hōki no Kami Masayuki, made Satsuma shinshintō famous: wide, heavy blades, with strong nie and a wide nioiguchi. Few blades by the second are known, among them two katana made from the steel of a Chinese howitzer captured in 1895. The sources do not agree on the kinship: the Kyūshū National Museum speaks of a son of the same name and Sesko, of a grandson.

Sections

  1. Two centuries in the service of the Shimazu Life and times The Oku family, the first Motohira and his title, and the second.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style Sugata, jihada, hamon, bōshi, signatures and how to tell him from Masayuki.
  3. Museums of Kyūshū and Tokyo · the steel of a howitzer Famous works Their works in museums, the katana for his student and those from the Weihaiwei howitzer.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 5 October 2026, with their link, and the credit for each image.