Kanemoto兼元

Mino province · active 1521-1558

Hawley reference KAN1570
Hawley
60
points — scale 15 (recorded) to 500+ (legendary)
Fujishiro
Sai-jo saku
supreme masterwork — the highest grade
Tōkō Taikan
¥8M
reference market valuation (Tokuno Kazuo, 1977)

Smith record

Active period1521-1558
ProvinceMino
TeacherKanemoto
Hawley IDKAN1570

Recorded signatures (mei)

濃州関住兼元作nōshū seki ju kanemoto saku
兼元作kanemoto saku
不破郡住兼元fuwa gori ju kanemoto
兼元kanemoto

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About these ratings

Hawley points come from W. M. Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths (1981), the standard Western reference cataloguing over 12,000 smiths. Most recorded smiths sit at 15–20 points; only a few dozen legendary masters exceed 150.

Fujishiro grades (from Nihon Tōkō Jiten) rank workmanship from Chū saku up to Sai-jō saku, while the Tōkō Taikan valuation (Tokuno, 1977) reflects each smith's relative market standing in yen. Explore more smiths in the searchable swordsmith index.

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