Talk:Uguisumaru/@comment-31.33.217.53-20150325220120

Ko-Bizen den (Ancient Bizen tradition) is a verry important tradition of nihontô.

The founder, Tomonari, who happen to be the maker of Uguisu-maru...

http://www.sho-shin.com/biz2.htm

... is also the smith whose works are considered peerless in overall Sugata.

In other words, a thousan years ago, a man named Tomonari re-invented the classical Sugata we associate in our imaginations with the japanese katana. Then, ALL the smiths who came after him made variations based upon Tomonari work. Tomonari is thus one of the forefather of Japanese Swordsmithing along with Amakuni. Also, Tomonari blades are considered to have an higher price than any other smith, including Masamune. In fact, the "nie" of Tomonari blades are similar to those of Masamune, and it is said Masamune was inspired by Tomonari's blades. Masamune, the most famous smith by far in Japan, the great smith whose "nie" are considered Perfection... was a mere fanboy of Tomonari...

Crazy, isn't it ? x)

Ko-Bizen immediate successor, Bizen-den, was the most successful of the 5 traditions because it has produce more master smith than any other (the main difference is that Kobizen was a bit close in style to Yamashiro-den). Then, the Bizen-den was mixed with Sôshu-den by smiths like Chogi, this was called Soden-Bizen, in order to try to further perfect the japanese sword.

Uguisumaru, one of the few signed work of Tomonari (Bizen-no-kuni Tomonari), the nightingale. Magnificent work. The Ogasawara had it in it's collection, then submited it to Meiji-Tennô, a gift fit for an Emperor.