古備前友成

Ko-Bizen Tomonari

Description

## Source of the Bizen Tradition — Ko-Bizen Tomonari Ko-Bizen Tomonari was the most important swordsmith of the Ko-Bizen school active in Bizen Province during the late Heian period — a pioneer who built the foundations of Bizen-den at a time when the Japanese sword's fundamental form was being established. While the swordmaking tradition of Bizen Province (modern Okayama Prefecture) stretches back to antiquity, Tomonari is a rare figure whose name and works both survive to the present day as the oldest named maker in that tradition. He is positioned as the distant ancestor of all subsequent Bizen-den schools — Osafune, Ichimonji, Aoe — and counted among the "fathers of the Japanese sword." The defining characteristics of Tomonari's works are the elegant form of a typical late Heian tachi with deep sori and slender proportions, the itame hada jigane characteristic of Bizen-den, and a hamon based on suguha with koshi-noki (partial hamon). Utsuri stands in the jigane, and the blade composition is distinctively Heian. Surviving works by Tomonari are designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties, and are of extremely high scholarly value as among the oldest surviving examples in Japanese sword history. ## Establishment of Ko-Bizen Technique The 11th–12th centuries when Tomonari was active was the period when the Japanese sword's basic form — the curved blade — was being established along with changes in Heian-period combat. During this transformative era, Tomonari elevated swordmaking techniques using Bizen's high-quality satetsu and tamahagane, constructing the technical foundation on which all subsequent Bizen smiths stood. The characteristics of Bizen-den — itame jigane, utsuri, tendency toward chōji-midare — were already embryonic in Tomonari's works. ## DATEKATANA and Ko-Bizen Tomonari DATEKATANA presents Tomonari as the founding ancestor standing at the starting point of Bizen swords' long history, and as the master who embodied the creative era of the Japanese sword as an art form. The Bizen tradition beginning with Tomonari was inherited by the Osafune and Ichimonji schools, reaching the apex of world sword artistry in the Kamakura period.

Famous Works

• 太刀（国宝）
• 太刀（重要文化財・複数）