Yasukuni Shrine Katana by Kotani Yasunori 靖憲. Yasunori (Kotani Kenzo 小谷 憲三) was born on January 7, 1909 in Hiroshima. He was a student of the of his uncle Kajiyama Yasunori. In 1935 he became a Yasukuni Shrine swordsmith and was given the name Yasunori. During the next few years, Kotani Yasunori won many awards and was renowned for his skills. Yasunori made many swords for very high level military figures as well as for members of the Imperial family. The name Takenori 武憲 was used when he made blades outside of the Yasukuni Shrine. He passed away on March 1, 2003 at the age of 94 and was the last Yasukuni Shrine swordsmith.