Kantei
Katana in its mounting, with a plain dark scabbard, the hilt with its wrapping and a knotted cord, on a light background.

Kyoto · Mishina school · shintō

Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi (近江守久道)

A lineage of Kyoto smiths of the Mishina school: the first, one of the five smiths of Kyoto, and the generations that followed under his name

Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi (近江守久道, Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi) is a Kyoto smith name borne by at least two generations of the Mishina school. The first, born in Ōmi in 1626 and died in 1711, is counted among the five smiths of Kyoto, the Kyō go-kaji, and is yoki-wazamono in the Yamada cutting list.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1626–1711
The first
From 1665 to 1704
Known works
At least two
Generations
Yoki-wazamono
Yamada cutting list
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi AT
Kanji and reading
近江守久道 (Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi); signatures 近江大掾源久道 (Ōmi Daijō Minamoto Hisamichi), 近江守源久道 (Ōmi no Kami Minamoto Hisamichi) and 近江守久道 (Ōmi no Kami Hisamichi), with a chrysanthemum AT
Period
Shintō, mid-Edo period; the first, from Kanbun (1661–1673) to Genroku (1688–1704) AT
Province
Yamashiro (山城, Yamashiro), in Kyoto; the first was born in Ōmi (近江, Ōmi) AT
School
Mishina (三品派, Mishina-ha) AT
Master
Of the first, Echigo no Kami Rai Kinmichi (越後守来金道, Echigo no Kami Rai Kinmichi), second of the Rai Kinmichi house, according to the Japanese Wikipedia AT
Title
First Ōmi Daijō (近江大掾, Ōmi Daijō) and later Ōmi no Kami (近江守, Ōmi no Kami); no year in the sources consulted AT
Generations
The first (1626–1711) and the second, his eldest son Hisatsugu (久次, Hisatsugu) AT
Rank
The first, yoki-wazamono (良業物, yoki-wazamono) in the Kaihō Kenjaku (懐宝剣尺) of 1797 and “shintō jō-saku” according to the Japanese Wikipedia AT
What is documented
A katana signed 近江守源久道 (Ōmi no Kami Minamoto Hisamichi), with its mounting, in the Tokyo National Museum, which gives it to the first HD
What is not on record
The dates of the second, whether there were more generations and how their blades are told apart PC

In short

According to the Japanese Wikipedia, the first Hisamichi left the province of Ōmi for Kyoto, entered the Mishina school under Rai Kinmichi, who gave him the school’s surname, and worked from 1665 until the end of Genroku, in his last years together with his son Hisatsugu. With the Kinmichi, Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi and Etchū no Kami Masatoshi he makes up the five smiths of Kyoto, and his work follows that of his master: a square-shouldered gunome with deep nie.

No work of the lineage is recorded as designated a National Treasure or an Important Cultural Property.

Sections

  1. The generations Life and times The first Hisamichi, from Ōmi to Kyoto; his son Hisatsugu, and the Mishina school.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style The square-shouldered gunome, the bōshi of the Mishina, the signature and what is not on record.
  3. In museums and lists Famous works The katana of the first Hisamichi in the Tokyo National Museum and his place in the lists.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.