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Kiyota Jirokunietsu
Japanese Swordsmith

Born Hiroki Kiyota (first name, surname) in Amagazaki, between Osaka and Kobe, Japan, he followed the common path of all young Japanese until High School, where he decided to join an institution proposing the regular curriculum enriched with arts and craft studies. Japanese students generally decide what to do next a year before graduating. Although Hiroki considered many options (art teacher, architect, cook), the idea of being a craftman, and more precisely a swordsmith, crossed his mind. As his councelling teacher had nothing to say about this, he went on to find out for himself by visiting the organization in charge of the preservation of japanese art swords and the related museum, the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (NBTHK). He was very impressed by the refined beauty of swords, and told himself that he might choose to become a swordsmith. But it is upon his second visit to the NBTHK, when he formally had an appointment with a curator, that he was introduced to who  became his master, Kawachi Kunihira. Mr.Kawachi accepted him, and asked him to start the following year, right after his graduating in High School. His apprenticeship started in July 1994. He is the second apprentice, right below Takami Tarokuniichi. At this time, Hiroki enters apprenticeship while allowing himself to give up anytime should he not be convinced. But right away he feels he is at the right place, and thus does everything possible to become a good swordsmith. During these six years of apprenticeship, the idea of dropping out doesn't cross his mind even once. It is then in 1999 that his master invites him to take the test co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and the NBTHK, which is held in Shimane prefecture in Southern Japan. The test, intended for swordsmiths-to-be, consists of the making of one sword from scratch up to basic polishing, within about a week. After having received his swordsmith licence, necessary to legally produce swords in Japan, he stayed at his master's for another year, during which time he produced the sword illustrated in the oshigata (sword rubbing and tracing) presented at the bottom of this page —  a Bizen-style tachi, nagasa 2 shaku; 4 sun; 2 bu. —:— He settled as an independant swordsmith in Shimizu (now called Aritagawa), Wakayama prefecture, in 2000. Each year, the NBTHK organizes concours for every sword-related craft. To this day, Hiroki has submitted six swords at the event. Five have been accepted in the general ranking ("Nyusen"; normally withing the first ten positions), and one has received the Second Prize (Doryokusho). Shimizu valley Hiroki's house and smithy This ranking is very important in Japan for it determines the market price of a given smith's work. It is said that, to survive, a smith must rank within the first 30 positions (this includes the First and Second Prize, which can be attributed to more than one swordsmith). Above these categories exist about ten Special Prizes such as the Emperor Honorary Prize, the NBTHK President's Honorary Prize, and so forth. If a smith is to enter this category 7 times, he shall be declared Mukansa (without supervision). Mr.Kawachi is one of them. Even rarer is the title often refered to as "Living National Treasure", which exists for almost all traditional arts and crafts in Japan, in the case that such a master does exist. In each domain, there is never more than one or two craftmen that have reached such a level of mastery, personal accomplishment, and reflection of the ideal spirit of the craft. For Hiroki, today's swordsmiths are on an upward hill in regards to the quality of their work, although he still considers them far from the ideals. "Our greatest responsability is to continue a tradition already 1300 years old, and to preserve the standards of quality." He therefore tries to grasp the essence of the best swords ever produced - during the golden age, i.e. the periods of Heian and Kamakura, from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, hoping to reproduced their refinement and their truth, "while not reproducing the exact same swords." "The world of japanese swords is one of collectors and appraisers, not of makers" says he. "When I appraise a sword, I try to understand in what state of mind was its creator when he made it, what was his intention, instead of simply assessing its aesthetical properties." Well aware that most people cannot afford to buy themselves a japanese sword, he hopes that they will come to better understand its refined beauty.   Please visit the Kunietsu Gallery Kunietsu Gallery Here are presented works by Kiyota More details