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YAMASHIRO RAI
| RAI can be quiet.
KYOTO was the capitol, the seat of the Emperor, where YAMASHIRO tradition teaches refinement. Both early schools, YAMATO and YAMASHIRO, have an austerity and refinement of style to support. Competing forces drive the time, however, because we have the HOJO in KAMAKURA, where AWATAGUCHI Sixth Son, KUNITSUNA, finds BIZEN SUKEZANE and SABURO KUNIMUNE, laying foundations for an emerging SOSHU. Soon, RAI KUNITSUGU returns from SOSHU with fashion conscious
trends. MITSUTADA's undulating GUNOME wins over the fading ICHIMONJI KAWAZU
CHOJI patterns and is all the rage, a fashion being spread from SAGAMI
like wild fire:
RAI captain, NIJI Two-characters KUNITOSHI had always been in touch and in love with the rocky boulders of Mid-KAMAKURA GUNOME HA, but his departure leaves SANJI, Three Characters RAI KUNITOSHI, to provide the serene and refined austerity of balanced quiet for the RAI school and its product. |
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YAMASHIRO RAI Technical: SUGATA - In KAMAKURA TORIIZORI. The stout IKUBI KISSAKI was lengthened as NAMBOKUCHO dawned. HADA - Strong KO-MOKUME with O-HADA and fine KO JI-NIE. Wet "KYOTO steel" of transparent blue. Can be dark. Some examples have O-HADA-like patches where core-steel is seen. HAMON - SUGU KO-CHOJI MIDARE, CHU-SUGU HOTSURE, some O-CHOJI MIDARE in NIE and NIOI. KINSUJI and INAZUMA. Some SUNAGASHI. JI-BA (next page). BOSHI - SUGU with KO-MARU or KAEN. Little turnback. NAKAGO - YAMASHIRO NAKAGO. MEI: school and smith. ________ NORIHIKO KO-HEI 1058 ____________________ AWATAGUCHI KUNIYOSHI RAI Originator HO-JI 1247 _____________|___ RAI TARO KUNIYUKI SHO-GEN 1259 |_________________________________ _____________________|_________ ________|____ NIJI "Two-characters" KUNITOSHI ENJU HIROMURA _____________________|______ ENJU KUNIMURA SANJI RAI MAGOTARO KUNITOSHI | _______________|_________________________________ ________ _____|__ ____|____ __________|____ | KUNIYUKI(3) KUNITSUGU "Ten Students" TAMBA KUNITOSHI | KUNIYUKI(4) KUNIHIDE (KUNITSUGU 2) | |__________ ______________ | ____________|____ ____|____ ________|____ | ECHIZEN MUNEMITSU SADAMITSU RAI HIDETSUGU | RAI SHIGEKUNI KUNITSUGU | SETTSU YOSHIKUNI SUYEYUKI(1) | SUYEYUKI(2) | SUYETSUGU | SUYEYOSHI | _____________ ___________________ ________________ _________| ___|__ ____|____ ________|____ ________|____ | RYOKAI KUNITOSHI OMI MITSUKANE RAI KUNIMITSU(1) | |_____________________ MICHISADA RAI KUNIMITSU(2) | ___|____ -brothers- ___|____ MORICHIKA SUYEYOSHI | HISANOBU KUNIHISA ____________ | NOBUKUNI (NOBUHISA) YOSHISADA RAI YORIMASA GEN-KYO 1321 | Became: TAMBA KUNIMITSU | __________ __________ ___________________ ________| ____|___ ____|____ ___|____ -brothers- ___|____ | TOMOYASU TOMOMITSU TOMOKUNI KUNIZANE(1) | KUNIMUNE KUNIZANE(2) | __________________________ ______________ ___| _______________|__ ________________|____ ___|____ SAGAMI JU KUNISUYE NAKAJIMA RAI KUNINAGA(1) KUNIYASU NAKAJIMA RAI KUNIYASU NAKAJIMA RAI KUNINAGA(2) ECHIZEN RAI KUNIYASU NAKAJIMA RAI KUNINAGA(3) __________ RAI MORIMUNE (SETTSU) RAI MUNETO |
KUNITSUGU's return from KAMAKURA brought the reputation of TOBI-like
forms for RAI School, but the origins are earlier. If used, early RAI or
AWATAGUCHI may have TOBI-like YAKIBA figures incorporated within the HAMON,
as perhaps disjointed CHOJI. TOBI-like formations brings one to pursue
MIDARE specialists such as KUNITSUGU, then also Two-characters KUNITOSHI
and KUNIYUKI. Another early type of clustering, devoid of TOBI-like formations
and edging the HAMON, resembles UTSURI.
KUNIYOSHI HO-JI (f: NORIKUNI): He and his son, KUNIYUKI found RAI School. Made TACHI, TANTO and KEN. NASHI-JI MOKUME has AWATAGUCHI JI-NIE. KO-MIDARE BA or GUNOME couches long NIJUBA. See treatment in AWATAGUCHI KUNITOMO - 1st son KUNIYUKI(1) SHO-GEN (f: KUNIYOSHI): RAI TARO. At MUKAI MYO-JIN in NISHIOKA. He placed his career in the teachings of his father, RAI originator, KUNIYOSHI to become the first true RAI master. As there are no dated examples, the school history has been pieced together from study. There has been heated controversy on the origins of RAI. Historically based conviction proposes RAI, "Coming" tells of a style import from KOREAN roots through MUTSU. See HIROMURA in YAMATO SHIKKAKE School. Other argument extrapolates from a dated death, KUNITOSHI's birth to NIN-JI 1240. This allows that KUNIYUKI son a reliable work period of KO-AN 1278, and thereby re-affirms that for KUNIYUKI as SHO-GEN 1259. Early pieces have FUNBARI but seem evenly narrow to the eye, much like early KAMAKURA SUGATA. His mid-KAMAKURA, wide MI-HABA TACHI has the IKUBI "Boar's Neck" KISSAKI that has forever been described with the most elegant words: All writers are moved to comment of the grace achieved in his work. The HADA is strongly standing with exceptionally bold JI-NIE. HAMON in KO-NIE. Early: KO-MIDARE KO-CHOJI with ASHI. Later: O-MIDARE, O-CHOJI or DAIBO CHOJI-MIDARE with ASHI and YO. His YAKIBA is wide in the later work. BOSHI can be MIDARE but likely a wide SUGU pulls around a CHU-MARU KAERI. There are often BO-HI that extend to the KO-SHINOGI. See KOKUHO KUNIYUKI following |
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KOKUHO KUNIYUKI
National Treasure
Width follows the smooth, long reach of this mid-KAMAKURA TACHI SUGATA to support its elongated KISSAKI. A wide BO-HI replaces the SHINOGI-JI. Somewhat early KUNIYUKI work, the YAKIBA style was certainly fuel for the youthful strides of young KUNITOSHI's DAIBO CHOJI patterns. This piece, however, has his father's master work of refinement and complexity. ITAME with profuse JI-NIE. Squarish, fist and T0BI like KO-CHOJI sit like the weathered stacks of an erosion-scoured table-land. KO-ASHI washes through SUNAGASHI while YO dots and anchors. KINSUJI stratifies the line. MONOUCHI clears, with few defined SAKA-ASHI to a smooth SUGU BOSHI that turns in KO-MARU. The whole of the YAKIBA is a gently varying CHU width. A single Vajra SU-KEN HORIMONO rises in the KOSHI-MOTO, BO-HI well. His large signature resides near the MUNE in the midst of a nearly UBU NAKAGO. The altered walls of three MEKUGI-ANA testify to many mountings. |
NAGASA: 69.1cm
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NAGASA: 74.5cm
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HIROMURA SHO-O (f: SENJUIN SHIGEMURA, t: SHIKKAKE NORIHIRO): This is the son-in-law of RAI KUNIYUKI from YAMATO. He and his son followed their own dictates, moving through the great houses to found ENJU at KIKUCHI in HIGO. KUNIMURA SHO-WA (f: HIROMURA): ENJU Founder. His father married RAI TARO KUNIYUKI's daughter. See YAMATO and HIGO |
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