Yamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo
山城守国清 (Yamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo)
Horikawa-school smith and pupil of Kunihiro who worked in Fukui, Echizen, in the service of the Matsudaira during the first half of the 17th century.
Profile
Kunikiyo, the first to bear the name, came from Shinano and trained with his father, a smith of the Shimada line of Suruga, before going to Kyoto as a pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro (堀川国広). After his master's death he entered the service of Matsudaira Tadamasa, following him to Echigo Takada and, in 1624, to Fukui in Echizen. In the late 1620s the court granted him the title Yamashiro Daijō and shortly afterwards Yamashiro no Kami; from then on he signed Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo (山城守藤原国清), with a chrysanthemum crest cut below the habaki, a mark tradition says the court allowed him to use. He made mainly katana and wakizashi. He excelled in suguha, which recalls the Hizen smiths, while his notare and gunome hamon show his Horikawa training; the hada is commonly observed as ko-mokume mixed with masame. The name and title were carried on by his descendants for several generations, one of whom is credited with adding the character ichi (一) beneath the crest. A katana by him is held by the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum.
Rankings
- Wazamono (good) (Kaihō Kenjaku, 1797)
Swords available
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Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo
Echizen blade with the kikumon chiselled ahead of the signature, attributed by workmanship and by the cut of the mei to the first generation Kunikiyo, a pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro. Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo worked in Echizen, present-day Fukui prefecture, around the Kan'ei era (1624-1644). Four generations used the name, and this blade is taken to be the work of the first, the finest of the line, an attribution the original seller rests on the workmanship and on the cut of the signature, as supported by the certificate. Kunikiyo came from Matsushiro in Shinano, the son of Sukemune, third master of the Shimada school of Suruga; he went up to Kyoto and studied under Horikawa Kunihiro. After his master's death he entered the service of Matsudaira Tadamasa, lord of Takada, and followed him to Fukui. In 1627 he received the title of Yamashiro Daijō and in 1628 that of Yamashiro no Kami, with which the blade is signed. Beneath the title is the kikumon, the chrysanthemum that records the privilege granted by the court to this line. The blade measures 69.6 cm nagasa with 1.0 cm sori. Koshirae, shirasaya and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers are included.
53.6/100
€10,860
