Kantei
Detail of a polished blade, upright, with the whitish temper in regular waves along the edge.

Swordsmiths of Seki (Mino) · from Muromachi to today

Seki Kanefusa (関兼房)

A name of swordsmiths of Seki, in Mino, of the Zenjō line, from the mid-Muromachi period to today: the Kanefusa-midare temper, their rank of yoki-wazamono, what is known of their generations and what is not

Kanefusa is not one swordsmith, but a name borne by several generations of swordsmiths of Seki, in Mino Province, of the Zenjō line, since the mid-Muromachi period; swordsmiths of Seki still bear it today. Linked to that name is a temper, the Kanefusa-midare, and the Edo cutting lists count Seki Kanefusa among the yoki-wazamono.

Photo: dealer in Japan

mid-Muromachi
Since
yoki-wazamono
Cutting rank (1797)
25th and 26th
Generation active today
Mino
Province
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Kanefusa, a lineage name; 関兼房 (Seki Kanefusa) after the city of Seki AT
Kanji and reading
兼房 (Kanefusa), which in Sino-Japanese reading gives 兼房 (kenbō), the name of the temper AT
Period
From mid-Muromachi (Sue-Seki); the line continues today AT
Province
Mino (美濃, Mino): Seki, today in Gifu Prefecture AT
School
Sue-Seki (末関, Sue-Seki), of the Zenjō line (善定, Zenjō) AT
Generations
There is no reliable list of the old generations; the 23rd Kanefusa was born in 1900, and today the 25th and the 26th are working AT
Signature
兼房 (Kanefusa); also long signatures, such as 濃州関住 (Nōshū Seki jū) followed by the name AT
Documented fact and tradition
Their cutting rank and their temper are given by reference works. The dates of each old generation are not documented. AT

In short

What we know. That Kanefusa is a name of swordsmiths of Seki of the Sue-Seki period, of the Zenjō line; that linked to it is the Kanefusa-midare temper, a large chōji-midare or gunome-chōji; and that the cutting list of 1797 places Seki Kanefusa among the yoki-wazamono.

How we know it. From the Heibonsha encyclopaedia, the researcher Markus Sesko, the Japanese Wikipedia, the Japanese Sword Index and the studies of the Gifu Prefectural Museum.

What we do not know. How many generations there were before Edo and when each one worked. No blade by an old Kanefusa with a designation as a cultural property or as Jūyō Tōken has been found.

Sections

  1. Seki · Sue-Seki · Zenjō Life and times Sword-making in Seki, the Zenjō line, the generations of Kanefusa, Ujifusa and the Kanefusa of today.
  2. Kanefusa-midare · gunome-chōji Work and style The temper that bears their name, the shape of their blades and the traits of the Mino sword.
  3. Yoki-wazamono · blades in museums Famous works Their rank in the Edo cutting lists, a blade with a cutting nickname and the pieces held by museums.
  4. The forge of today’s Kanefusa Videos Three videos of the forge of today’s Kanefusa, in Seki.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link when possible, and the credit for each image.