Kantei
A long, curved blade without mounts, with a gilt habaki, on a stand covered with white cloth in a dark display case.

Swordsmith of Bizen · Ko-Bizen · Heian period

Tomonari (友成)

With Masatsune, the great name of Ko-Bizen: a Bizen swordsmith of the Heian period, three National Treasures and the Uguisumaru of the imperial collection

Tomonari (友成) was a swordsmith of Bizen, present-day Okayama, in the Heian period. With Masatsune he is the great name of Ko-Bizen, the early swordsmiths of that province. Three of his works are National Treasures, and the Uguisumaru, one of the oldest tachi bearing a smith’s name, is in the imperial collection. There are blades with his signature by different hands and from different periods: there were several Tomonari.

Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

3
National Treasures
6
Important Cultural Properties
2
In the imperial collection (御物, gyobutsu)
79.0 cm
Length of the Tokyo National Museum tachi
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Tomonari; also Ko-Bizen Tomonari; he signed 備前国友成 (Bizen no kuni Tomonari), 備前国友成造 (Bizen no kuni Tomonari zō), 友成 (Tomonari) or 友成作 (Tomonari saku) HD
Kanji and reading
友成 (Tomonari); 古備前友成 (Ko-Bizen Tomonari) HD
Period
Heian period; tradition places him around the era 永延 (Eien, 987–989); dates of birth and death unknown AT
Province
Bizen (備前, Bizen), today Okayama AT
School
Ko-Bizen (古備前, Ko-Bizen): the collective name for the early swordsmiths of Bizen, not a specific school AT
Lineage
Son of 実成 (Sanenari), according to tradition; the name was used by several swordsmiths, down to the Kamakura period AT
What is documented
Blades signed with his name: three National Treasures and six Important Cultural Properties in the official database of the Agency for Cultural Affairs HD
The tradition
That he forged a sword with his father for Emperor Ichijō and that he worked around the Eien era AT

In short

Tradition makes Tomonari the oldest swordsmith of Ko-Bizen and tells that Emperor Ichijō summoned him to forge a sword with his father, Sanenari. The dictionaries give him, with Masatsune, as the great representative of Ko-Bizen, and the NBTHK counts him among the two best swordsmiths of Ko-Bizen.

Three works with his signature are National Treasures: a tachi in the Tokyo National Museum and a tachi and a koshigatana of the Itsukushima shrine. The Uguisumaru (鶯丸, Uguisumaru), in the imperial collection, is dated by its style to around the turn of the 10th to the 11th century.

The signatures by different hands and a blade of the era 嘉禎 (Katei, 1235–1238) show that the name was borne by several swordsmiths, from the Heian to the Kamakura period.

Sections

  1. Bizen, Heian period Life and times The tradition of Emperor Ichijō, the dates that do not match and the several Tomonari.
  2. Slender sugata · classical ko-midare Work and style Sugata, jihada, hamon, bōshi, nakago and mei: the keys to recognising him.
  3. Three National Treasures and the Uguisumaru Famous works His National Treasures, his Important Cultural Properties, the Uguisumaru and his blades in museums.
  4. The tachi of the Tokyo National Museum Videos Two videos of the National Treasure tachi of the Tokyo National Museum.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.