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KO-CHIKUZEN School
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TAKATSUNA KONGOBYOE Founder from BIZEN GEN-KYU 1204
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RYOSAI Founder BUN-RYAKU 1234 to KO-AN 1278         JITSUA(1) 
   |____________________________________           NIN-JI 1240
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SAIREN KO-AN 1278 to BUN-PO 1317     NYUSAI (AKI JU)      
   |________________________           EI-NIN 1293
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JITSUA(2) KA-GEN 1303    TAMENAGA KA-REKI 1326
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O-SA "The Great SA" RYAKU-O 1338

JITSUA(1) NIN-JI: BUNGO JU. Of the CHOEN line. JITSUA(2), father
        of SA, is the namesake and grandson. KO-CHIKUZEN smiths
        came from BUNGO to arm KYUSHU against the horde.

TAKATSUNA GEN-KYU (f: TAKAMITSU): KO-BIZEN comes to the mountains
        of CHIKUZEN to found the YAMABUSHI KONGOBYOE. Dates are
        all vague. Work  must be determined from the sword in
        hand. Early KAMAKURA TACHI SUGATA. Standing ITAME HADA
        with JI-NIE. HAMON of KO-MIDARE KO-CHOJI BA.
     TAKATSUNA

RYOSAI KO-AN (f: TAKATSUNA): Founder in CHIKUZEN. Real name is
        KORESUKE. KANMURI-OTOSHI TANTO. Known pieces have been
        reduced by polish and are thin and narrow. There is an
        UCHIZORI thought to have been MU-SORI. Blades are IHORI-
        MUNE. JI-NIE on running ITAME with MASAME that stands. 
        AYASUGI touted. SUGU ASAKI-NOTARE in KO-NIE and NIOI that
        falls. There is HOTSURE. BOSHI: NOTARE with KO-MARU.
     RYOSAI
     CHIKUSHU JU KORESUKE

SAIREN - KUNIYOSHI (f: RYOSAI): HOJO SADATOKI's SHIKKEN (military
        regency) saw KUNIYOSHI in service to CHINZAI DANGISHO
        "The defense of KYUSHU" from which his signature HAKATA
        DANGISHO first appeared in KO-AN 9 (1286). 
        Old style KO-KISSAKI TACHI with FUNBARI. Running MASAME
        strongly furrows his coarse, standing ITAME. NIOI-SUGU
        with KO-ASHI where the NIOI is weak. His work carries the
        continuance of the classical KYUSHU CHOEN style 
        (see BUZEN).

NYUSAI EI-NIN (f: RYOSAI): A smith of the YUKIHIRA line in BUNGO,
        he transferred to CHIKUZEN for the defense of KYUSHU. 
        Moved to AKI in EI-NIN 5 (1297). Narrow KO-KISSAKI TACHI
        with strong SORI. Running KO-MOKUME with MASAME. JI-NIE
        veil is dappled on the surface. HOSO-SUGU KO-MIDARE in 
        KO-NIE and NIOI. BOSHI is KO-MARU KAERI.


JITSUA(2) KA-GEN (f: SAIREN): Joined his father at HAKATA. SHIRA-
        KERU "Turbid" running ITAME that stands out. Steel is 
        coarse, like his father's. SUGUHA has KINSUJI in the
        HABUCHI where NIOI is weak. Their line has coarse, 
        running HADA and weak NIOI - the appraisal mark.

On August 15, 1281, KAMEYAMA-JOKO, the retired father of Emperor GO-UDA, appeared before AMATERASU "The Divine Goddess of the Sun" in ISE asking her intervention on behalf of Japan. 

900 Korean ships with 10,000 infantry and 17,000 sailors had ferried 15,000 Chinese and Mongol troops to rendezvous at IKI Island with the 3,500 ship Chinese "Yang-tze" task-force of 60,000 navy carrying 100,000 soldiers to conquer the Land of the Gods.

Six and half years before, the 150 ship first invasion had thrashed against the coast in a storming November night to the loss of 13,000 lives.

This was summer - the well-planned, long awaited summer. 

A sea of angry boats and garish streamers imposed hideous clarity to the excited echoes of drums and horn, - filtering over the flat, naked water.

The Japanese had prepared six and half years. HOJO TOKIMUNE's coordinated national muster stood ready but outnumbered on its fifteen foot, 25 mile wall protecting HAKATA from the waves and this vast spectacle painted across everyone's eyes.

Moving effortlessly from the horizon, a small black dot appeared in the cloudless sky. - Searching a station just above the throng, it stretched dark fingers without wait. 

A huge and deafening still swallowed their noisy clamor as the ocean and its ships began to leap in eerie silence. 

Then the leaves started rattling...

Foretelling the deep growl that shook trees before its violent thunder hit with howling rage. Flags were pulled from standards. And warriors clung for the moaning earth  -  just to watch. 

Careening ships were pitched on crags or dragged away. Swamped wrecks rolled over, and over each other in the boiling sea;  
                                                     -  grinding their vessels to splinter wood.

The sight made men drunk, some sat numb.

That day, the Hand of God labored for the Japanese just as it had for Moses at the Red Sea.

AMATERASU allowed three lives to return the news to Kublai-Khan.