SHIZUSABURO KANEUJI KEM-MU 1334: From Yamato. Worked in Nara from 
   Tegai roots. First signed with the HO form of KANE and began 
   earning acclaim. See his earlier pieces in: Yamato Shizu 
   He traveled to learn in Kamakura and then moved to Naoe in Mino,
   altering his name to use the KEN "bushel" Kane-form.

   All the Ten Students headed to new places when the Hojo had lost 
   power. Kamakura could no longer afford the many artists that 
   had set up careers there. 

KANEUJI founds MINO with the NAOE SHIZU
MINO SHIZU: 

Technical SUGATA - Shallow curve of gently tapered width.
            HADA - Fine KO-MOKUME, ITA MASA mix. JI-NIE on clear, 
                   moist blue steel. UZU. Some pronounced HADA in 
                   the folds. CHIKEI.
           HAMON - A few HIRO-SUGU, but mostly O-MIDARE, GUNOME-
                   TOGARI MIDARE, O-GUNOME O-NOTARE, and NOTARE-
                   MIDARE with KINSUJI and INAZUMA. NIE-TSUYU on 
                   NIOI. SUNAGASHI and ASHI. NIJU.
           BOSHI - MIDARE or KAEN. Some TOGARI. Little turnback.
          NAKAGO - Many SURIAGE and usually with two character 
                   signatures if any.

NAOE SHIZU were descendants. Their blades are lighter and of
less curvature but have otherwise similar characteristics.
                                     See NAOE SHIZU School

    "The Ten Students"
        MINO-DEN Founder SHIZU KANEUJI GEN-O 1319
               NAOE ______________|____________________________
         ________|____   _________|____                    ____|____
         SENA KANETOMO   NAOE KANETOSHI TEI-WA 1345        KANETSUGU
    ____ ________|                |                   _________|
   | ___|____ ___|_____           |          ________|____  ___|____
   | KANEKUNI KANETSUGU           |          NAOE KANENOBU  KANENOBU
   |                      ________|_________ ________       ___|____
   | SANAMI       _______|____ ___|_____ ___|___  ___|____  KANENOBU
___|____ EI-KYO   RI KANETOSHI KANETSUGU KANEUJI  KANEHISA  OWARI(2)
KANENORI    1429                                  ___|____
   |_________ _________                           KANEHISA
___|____  ___|____  ___|____
KANENORI  KANEKUNI  KANENAGA
___|____  ___|____
KANENORI  KANEKUNI 

"The Ten Students" - See The Ten Students
KANEUJI(1) KEM-MU (f: NAGAKANE(1): SHIZU Founder at Mino. 
        Buddhist name: SHIZUSABURO. From Nara Yuruki, -DOKI.
        1st KANE form, YAMATO road-sign: HO "Wrap." 
        MINO KANE form: KEN. These were regional trademarks and 
        respected as such.
        SHIZU is TEGAI roots. Old books say he was the son TEGAI
        KANENAGA, the TEGAI dean. However, there are no ZAI-MEI 
        with this KANE. Only O-SURIAGE MU-MEI and logic would 
        therefore tell us to expect KANENAGA influence in his 
        early, YAMATO work. Attribution pieces have been 
        SUE-KAMAKURA style with wide and raised SHINOGI. 
        MASAME HADA. KO-GUNOME with clear NIE JI-BA along the line. 
        As one of the "Ten Students" it is taught that he moved 
        for study with SOSHU MASAMUNE and then traveled to MINO 
        where his KANE form changes to KEN "Combine." Note: the 
        "Ten Students" is largely a fanciful legend. There are 
        different smiths included, all great names of the time. 
        Some we know to have been a MASAMUNE peer at the least.
        By the time of the troubles for the Kamakura Shikken, of 
        KEM-MU, KANEUJI has moved to rural MINO, setting up shop 
        in NAOE. Always check style: is it YAMATO SHIZU? or 
        SODEN SHIZU? Remember, KANEUJI(1) & (2) are teacher and 
        student, they dance at the same time. Therefore KEM-MU 
        to TEIWA 1345 is where to keep focus for KANEUJI(1).
        Making TACHI and TANTO. Wide blades, IHORI-MUNE and 
        with normal KISSAKI-NAGA expected before the on-set of 
        NAMBOKUCHO styles. 
        ITAME has MASAME running. JI-NIE is particularly strong.
        SUGUHA with KO-GUNOME-MIDARE  and KO-NOTARE that becomes 
        NIJU from running SUNAGASHI and KINSUJI. NIE NBIOI-FUKASHI
        BECOMES stronger in the mid. 
        TACHI will have radically varying JIBA, with MANY HAMON of 
        O-GUNOME MIDARE BA with swept HAKIKAKE NIE in and through 
        the HABUCHI and small TOBI-YAKI and YO.
        Expected early BOSHI are NOTARE-KOMI HAKIKAKE to TEGAI 
        throw-back, YAKIZUMI KAERI. Later we may see deep ICHIMAE 
        with HAKIKAKE. 
        NAKAGO may be MARU-MUNE. 6 sun TANTO of MITSU-MUNE,
        Noted work from KEM-MU 1334 and KANEUJI-style pieces are 
        seen to the MEI-TOKU 1390. This would make him a very old 
        man. Of course, KANEUJI signatures stretch all the way to 
        the SHIN-SHINTO. Always check the sword itself, they hold 
        secrets but never lie.
        KANEUJI signatures are large and boxy, with squarish angles.
        
        Early: YAMATO SHIZU, sedate, conservative. See YAMATO
        Later shows SUNAGASHI and KINSUJI in more exuberant 
        O-GUNOME O-MIDARE BA with JIBA of TOBI in swept HAKIKAKE 
        YAKIBA. 
    MEI: KANEUJI

KANEUJI(2) EN-BUN (f: KANEUJI 1):  TEI-WA 1345 to TEI-JI 1368. 
        Wide ENBUN O-KISSAKI NAMBOKUCHO blades emerge to full 
        flower from the style of KANEUJI(1). Made MITSU-MUNE 
        and MARU-MUNE. Mostly O-SURIAGE MUMEI are found. Signed 
        pieces are extremely rare.
        KO-ITAME HADA with a little running MASA has JINIE and 
        CHIKEI. 
        KO-NIE DEKI SUGUHA, NOTARE lines of GUNOME and SODEN style 
        MIMIGATA will show SUNAGASHI. SUGU KO-MIDARE HA. 
        NIOI-DEKI GUNOME O-MIDARE and HITATSURA style. 
        His two-character MEI is done large. ZAIMEI may be 
        associated with his earlier SOSHU years as, later, MUMEI 
        became the NAOE SHIZU school tradition. MUMEI, SOSHU style 
        are found - however, while having developed their style 
        from their SOSHU MASAMUNE School roots, KANEUJI NAOE SHIZU 
        style pieces are the highest ranked. 
        Examples from the time of his late years are so changed, 
        they may simply be the work of other men.
    MEI: KANEUJI
         KANEUJI SAKU

KANEUJI O-AN: This work has been differentiated by MEI, by style 
      and in appraisal over the years. A known KINZOGAN gold inlay 
      piece specifies the KANE character as being rounded, exactly 
      as certain late KANEUJI, which establishes in scholarship, a 
      third man. The first and second KANEUJI are, essentially 
      earlier. They came through YAMATO and SOSHU times. In style 
      and signature we accept O-AN 1368 time for a third KANEUJI 
      making KO-ITAME HADA with MASAME in SHIZU style. 
      NOTARE holds GUNOME-MIDARE where there is YUBASHIRI and 
      TOBI-YAKI. 
      O-MARU and ICHIMAE BOSHI, typical of the NAMBOKUCHO but some-
      what larger than the MARU of KANEUJI 2nd. 
      Also, OAN KANEUJI MEI are smaller and rounded, setting them
      distinctly apart from the squarish and large KAKU-MEI of the 
      earlier generations. 
      OAN KANEUJI is SHIZU style of the NAOE Group and must be 
      considered the inheritor of the school.
  KANEUJI

KANESADA OEI (t: KANEUJI(2): Originally from WAKASA. 
        WAKASAGORO SADAMITSU. SHICHIUEMON. HOMYO JOA. Worked
        from OEI 21 to 31. He is DARUMA HACHIYA KANESADA, DARUMA
        MASAMITSU student who brought teacher and school back to
        MINO. NARA group. See NARA.
     KANESADA
     MINO-no-KUNI JUNIN KANESADA

MITSUYOSHI (f: KANEUJI): See NAOE SHIZU School



YAMATO:
KANETOMO(1) KEM-MU (t:KANEUJI 1): TEGAI. Moved with KANEUJI(1) to
        MINO, changing the first character of his name along with
        his KEM-MU YAMATO style. See YAMATO.
        See KANETOMO IN NAOE SHIZU School
     MEI: KANETOMO

KANETOMO(2)TEI-JI (f:KANETOMO 1): See NAOE SHIZU KANETOMO

KANETOMO(3) O-EI: TEGAI. While his forebears, KANETOMO(1) and (2),
        championed SHIZU in MINO, KANETOMO(3) stayed in YAMATO. 
        See YAMATO SHIZU

See KANEUJI'S NAOE SHIZU School