Kantei
A straight spear blade with two grooves and a long tang engraved with three characters, on a black background.

Swordsmith of Kyoto (Yamashiro) · Rai school · end of Kamakura and Nanbokuchō

Rai Kunitsugu (来国次)

The Rai school smith who came closest to the Sagami manner, between the end of Kamakura and the Nanbokuchō

Rai Kunitsugu (来国次) worked in Kyoto between the end of the Kamakura period and the beginning of the Nanbokuchō. Within the Rai school, with its serene temper, he is the one who came closest to the Sagami manner, with plenty of nie and chikei, and that is why he was called “Kamakura-Rai” (鎌倉来, Kamakura-Rai). He has one National Treasure: the tantō “Kishū Rai Kunitsugu”.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1326–1334
Dated works
1
National Treasure
4
Important Cultural Properties
about 50
NBTHK Jūyō
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Rai Kunitsugu; nickname “Kamakura-Rai” (鎌倉来, Kamakura-Rai) AT
Kanji and reading
来国次 (Rai Kunitsugu) HD
Period
End of Kamakura and beginning of the Nanbokuchō: his dated works run from the Karyaku era (嘉暦, Karyaku, 1326–1329) to the Shōkyō era (正慶, Shōkyō, 1332–1334) AT
Province
Yamashiro (山城, Yamashiro), in Kyoto AT
School
Rai (来派, Rai-ha), of the Yamashiro tradition AT
Kinship
Son-in-law of Rai Kunitoshi (来国俊, Rai Kunitoshi) and older cousin of Rai Kunimitsu (来国光, Rai Kunimitsu), according to some sources; son or student of Kunimitsu, according to another AT
What is documented
His three-character signature, the dates of a few blades and his official designations: a National Treasure since 1955 HD
The tradition
That he was one of the ten students of Masamune (正宗十哲, Masamune jittetsu) and that he travelled to Kamakura: this is said by the Edo sword books, not by a document of his time AT

In short

He worked in Kyoto at the same time as Rai Kunimitsu, and his few dated works are from 1326 to 1334. He made two kinds of blade: the classical suguha of the Rai school and a ko-notare and gunome temper with plenty of nie, in the Sagami manner, on a ko-itame with chikei. The Edo sword books count him among the ten students of Masamune; today’s scholars see in this an influence of style, not necessarily an apprenticeship.

His tantō “Kishū Rai Kunitsugu” (紀州来国次, Kishū Rai Kunitsugu) was designated in 1937 under the old law and has been a National Treasure since 1955; the official record says that he was more skilled at tantō than at tachi. Even so, Markus Sesko counts as many signed tachi as signed tantō.

Sections

  1. Kyoto, about 1326–1334 Life and times His family, his dates and the tradition that makes him a student of Masamune.
  2. The Rai with chikei Work and style Jihada, hamon, bōshi, sugata, nakago and mei: the keys to recognising him.
  3. A National Treasure and four cultural properties Famous works The “Kishū Rai Kunitsugu”, his Important Cultural Properties and the Tokyo yari.
  4. At the Japanese Sword Museum, 2024 Videos Four of his pieces in a 2024 exhibition.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.