Ryōkai
了戒 (Ryōkai)
A Kyoto smith of the late Kamakura period, of the Rai school; an early son of Rai Kunitoshi according to tradition and the teacher of the first Nobukuni.
Profile
Tradition makes Ryōkai a son of Rai Kunitoshi, born when his father was seventeen, and says he took holy orders at sixteen under the name Ryōkai and later returned to the forge; other versions make him a Nara smith who studied with Kunitoshi in Kyoto. Blades of his are dated between 1290 and 1309. His tachi and tantō are very close to Rai Kunitoshi's, but the ko-itame tends to flow, sometimes with masame, and usually shows shirake or a whitish utsuri instead of the nie-utsuri of the main Rai line. The first Nobukuni learned from him.
Monograph
Ryōkai (了戒)
His quick profile, what is documented as against tradition, and the essentials.
Read the monograph