Kanenobu

Kanenobu (Japanese兼 信) is the name of a Japanese swordsmith and his clan, a group responsible for producing Nihonto, ie Katana, Wakizashi and, occasionally, Polearms, such as Yari, in the nature of the Mino tradition are known.

The family's history covers a period of more than 500 years. According to Victor Harris, curator of the Department of Japanese Antiquities at the British Museum in London, the Kanenobu the first generation lived around the year 1655 in the former province of Mino, an area that was famous for its blades.

Kanenobu the first and some of his successors are recognized as above average swordsmith. Thus, the collective work Fujishiros Kanenobu rated the First with the rating Chu -jo saku, which means as much as above average. Some of the descendants Kanenobus are active even today. So took around 2004 one of the descendants Kanenobus part in a NBTHK - bladesmiths competition. In a Japanese blade exhibition at the British Museum one of the works shown was a blade of Kanenobu the third generation, which was produced 1688-1704.