Yamashiro Mono - Yamashiro Mono

A general term for swords made in Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture). Also called Kyomono. Although the area does not produce iron, it has been a cultural center for many swordsmiths since the Heian period, and flourished as one of the five major sword-making areas along with Yamato (Nara Prefecture), Bizen (Okayama Prefecture), Sagami (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Mino (Gifu Prefecture) through the early Edo period. There are some famous swords made by Munechika (Sanjo Munechika), who lived in Sanjo around the Eien period (987-989), and he formed a school with many disciples. In the early Kamakura period, the Awataguchi school, including Kunitomo and Hisakuni, arose in Awataguchi, while the Ayanokoji school, including Sadatsugu and Sadakichi, was active in Shijo-oji around the same time. In the later period, the Rai school, whose founder was Kuniyuki, flourished, but in the Nanboku-cho period, Nobukuni continued the same name for several generations, and the Hasebe school also competed with him. In the Muromachi period, there were no other master craftsmen than the Nobukuni school, and at the end of the period, only the names of Heianjo Nagayoshi and Sanjo Yoshinori were mentioned. In the Momoyama period, blacksmiths suddenly gathered, and families such as Horikawa Kunihiro, Umeda Myoju, and Iga no Kami Kanemichi flourished, but they declined as the political center moved to Edo. The distinctive feature of Yamashiro-mono is that they were not subordinate to temples, shrines, or feudal lords, but were sold to the general public, and as a result, their style was gorgeous and many of them had elegant jigane and blade patterns.

[Nobuo Ogasawara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

山城国（京都府）で制作された刀剣の総称。京物ともいう。当地では鉄の産出をみないが、平安時代以降文化の中心地として多くの刀工が活躍し、大和(やまと)（奈良県）、備前(びぜん)（岡山県）、相州（神奈川県）、美濃(みの)（岐阜県）とともに五大生産地の一つとして栄え、江戸初期にわたる。永延(えいえん)（987～989）ごろ三条に住した宗近(むねちか)（三条宗近）の有銘作があり、彼は多くの弟子をもって一派をなした。鎌倉初期には粟田口(あわたぐち)に国友、久国をはじめとする粟田口派がおこり、一方、同じころ四条大路には定利(さだとし)、定吉らの綾小路(あやのこうじ)派が活躍した。後期には国行を祖とする来(らい)派の隆盛をみるが、南北朝時代に入ると信国(のぶくに)が同銘数工数代続き、長谷部(はせべ)派も腕を競った。室町時代には信国派以外に名工の輩出はなく、末期に平安城長吉、三条吉則(よしのり)の名があげられる程度である。桃山時代には急激に鍛冶(かじ)が蝟集(いしゅう)し、堀川国広、埋忠明寿(うめただみょうじゅ)、伊賀守金道(いがのかみかねみち)などの一門が栄えたが、やがて江戸に政治の中心が移るとともに衰退した。山城物は、寺社や領主に隷属せず、一般に市販されていたのが特色とみられ、ために作風も華やかで地鉄(じがね)、刃文の優美なものが多い。

［小笠原信夫］

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