Uda Kunimune

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Kunimune is one of the leading names of the Uda school, founded in Etchū province (present-day Toyama) by smiths who had come from Yamato. School tradition makes the first Kunimune a son or pupil of the founder, Kunimitsu, working alongside Kunifusa in the 14th century; the name was then carried by several generations (tradition counts four) through the Muromachi period, and the signature alone does not always show which one made a given blade. They signed 宇多国宗 (Uda Kunimune), opening with the character 国 (kuni) shared across the school. The early work keeps its Yamato foundation; later pieces show the school's general traits: itame hada mixed with masame, a nie-based hamon in notare or gunome midare, a bōshi with a long kaeri, and a short tang with a rounded tip. The Tokyo National Museum holds a tantō signed 宇多国宗 (Uda Kunimune) in an aikuchi mounting.