Kantei
A bare tachi blade on a lacquered stand, with its black mounting below, in a display case.

Rai school, Kyoto · mid to late Kamakura

Rai Kunitoshi (来国俊)

The central figure of the Rai school of Kyoto, between the two-character signature and the three-character one

Rai Kunitoshi (来国俊, Rai Kunitoshi), son of Kuniyuki according to tradition, is the central figure of the Rai school of Kyoto. His dated blades run from 1278 to 1321: first signed 国俊 (Kunitoshi), with two characters, and later 来国俊 (Rai Kunitoshi), with three. Whether he was one swordsmith or two is debated.

SLIMHANNYA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1278-1321
Dated works
4 or 5
National Treasures
17
Important Cultural Properties
More than 200
NBTHK Jūyō Tōken
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Rai Kunitoshi; the two-character signature is called 二字国俊 (Niji Kunitoshi), and the signature 来孫太郎 (Rai Magotarō) is held to be his AT
Kanji and reading
来国俊 (Rai Kunitoshi); he also signs 来源国俊 (Rai Minamoto Kunitoshi) and 源来国俊 (Minamoto Rai Kunitoshi) HD
Period
From the middle to the end of the Kamakura period AT
Province
Yamashiro (山城, Yamashiro), in Kyoto HD
School
Rai (来派, Rai-ha) HD
Master
His father, Kuniyuki (国行, Kuniyuki), according to tradition AT
Generations
One swordsmith or two: today most scholars think of a single one AT
What is documented
Blades dated from 1278 to 1321; no year of birth or of death HD
The tradition
An 18th-century treatise makes “Niji” and “Rai” father and son, with unreliable dates PC

In short

The two-character blades are robust, with a short, wide point and a showy chōji; the three-character ones are slimmer and calmer, with suguha, and among them tantō are plentiful. For some, this is the change of style of a single swordsmith over more than forty years; for others, the work of a father and a son. A tachi of his signed at the age of 75 is dated 1315 according to the official database of designated properties; two dictionaries date it to 1289, and the Bunka Isan Online record of the Nezu Museum tachi, to 1316.

Sections

  1. One swordsmith or two Life and times His dates, the tachi of his 75th year, the debate and the workshop.
  2. Kantei keys Work and style The two manners: sugata, jihada, hamon, bōshi, nakago and mei.
  3. National Treasures, meibutsu and a lost sword Famous works The National Treasures, the Aizen Kunitoshi and the Hotaru-maru.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.