KUDO, Masashige（工藤将成） 1-5

Independent

2021 冠落短刀 努力賞１席　（#1 Award for Effort）

In 2001, Kudo received official authorization to be a swordsmith. Two years later, Master Fujiyasu asked him to make a single long sword, and Kudo tried one. Kudo swordsmith himself wanted to make an old Bizen piece, but in the end, he was too particular about the blade pattern (hamon) and made it too neatly, and he had to remake it again. Finally he was able to complete it to be recognized by his master and got his permission to become independent. He also exhibited that sword and received the Awards.

Kudo once returned to his parents’ house in Iruma city and started looking for a blacksmith site in the suburbs.  One of his classmates was a real estate agent and he continued to look for land while working there as a part-time job.  If a blacksmith site is next to regular houses, sounds of hammer, dusts from charcoals and handlings of fire when making swords would disturb neighbors and it was very difficult to find a good site. Under such circumstances, he ended up settling down at the current location in Kiryu city which is the house of his grandparents. He started building a blacksmith in the garden.

Many swordsmiths make fire beds by themselves and Kudo swordsmith also made it and he was able to find a second-hand Fuigo to set in the bed.  In addition, many of the tools for making swords were made by the swordsmith themselves and Kudo made them during his training period before becoming independent. While his smithy shack was under construction, he borrowed the workplace of his senior apprentice in Fukushima, he made and sold some swords. The order came from “Heisei Meitoukai” sword shop and it was his first sword after he became independent.

The first short sword order came from a person who saw the newspaper article about him in the same prefecture. Usually when a swordsmith becomes independent, he would receive congratulatory orders from his relatives and friends, but this was not the case for Kudo swordsmith.  The first order customer is still one of his fans.

When he became independent, he was still single and he did not feel anything as a struggle even if it might be a struggle for others.  However, it became different with new responsibilities after he married and has his own children in his family.

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