Uda Hirakuni

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Hirakuni is a name of the school of Uda (宇多) in Etchū Province, recorded by the swordsmith directories across several generations of the Muromachi period: the first around the Eikyō era (1429-1441), the second around Meiō (1492-1501) and the third around Tenmon (1532-1555). Some references also list a separate Hirakuni of the Bunki era (1501-1504). Like nearly every smith of the school, he carries the character kuni (国) in his name. The three are said to have trained, in turn, under Kunihisa, Kunikiyo and Kunizane, all Uda smiths. They signed Uda Hirakuni, and the signature does not show which generation made a given blade. Descriptions of the work mention a dark steel with mokume mixed with masame and plenty of ji-nie, and nie-based hamon in suguha, ko-midare or gunome-midare over a ko-notare line, features shared with the Muromachi Uda school as a whole.