Rai Kunitoshi
来国俊 (Rai Kunitoshi)
A Kyoto smith of the late Kamakura period, of the Rai school, son of Kuniyuki according to tradition; he signed «Kunitoshi» and «Rai Kunitoshi», and whether this was one smith or two is debated.
Profile
There are blades signed «Kunitoshi» with two characters, one of them of 1278, and others signed «Rai Kunitoshi», with three. The two groups also differ in manner: the two-character blades, nearly all tachi, have a showy chōji with gunome, in nie and with ashi; the three-character ones, tachi and many tantō, a calm suguha with ko-chōji and ko-ashi. A tachi signed «Rai Kunitoshi» states that its maker was seventy-five: the official database of designated properties dates it to 1315 (Shōwa 4), the Bunka Isan Online entry for the Nezu Museum tachi to 1316, and two dictionaries to 1289. Most scholars today think of a single smith whose style changed over the years; the Hon'ami house, on the other hand, distinguished in its certificates between Niji Kunitoshi and Rai Kunitoshi. He is the central figure of the Rai school.
Monograph
Rai Kunitoshi (来国俊)
Niji Kunitoshi and Rai Kunitoshi: his quick profile and the essentials.
Read the monograph