Tomonari
友成 (Tomonari)
A Bizen smith of the Heian period, with Masatsune the great name of Ko-Bizen; maker of the Uguisumaru, one of the oldest smith names with a surviving work.
Profile
Tradition places Tomonari in the Eien era (987-989) and says that with his father Sanenari he forged a sword for Emperor Ichijō. There are works with signatures in different hands and from different periods, from the Heian up to one dated in the Katei era (1235-1238), so several smiths of the same name are assumed. He signed «Bizen no kuni Tomonari» or, later, «Tomonari» or «Tomonari saku». The Uguisumaru, with a jigane of coarse nie, midare-utsuri and a ko-midare on a suguha base, is dated around the turn of the 10th to the 11th century; the tachi of the Itsukushima shrine, with a regular suguha, looks 12th-century.
Monograph
Tomonari (友成)
His quick profile, what is documented as against tradition, and the essentials.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Uguisumaru: tachi signed «Bizen no kuni Tomonari», imperial collection.
- Tachi signed «Tomonari saku» of the Itsukushima shrine: national treasure; by the shrine's tradition offered by Taira no Noritsune, while the Itsukushima zue gives it as Taira no Munemori's sword.