Tsukushi-Ryôkai (筑紫了戒)

The Tsukushi-Ryôkai group goes back to the later Ryôkai smith Yoshisada (能定) who moved towards the end of the Nanbokuchô period from Kyôto to Usa (宇佐) which was located along the border between the provinces of Buzen and Bungo. His students and their students spread then from the beginning of the Muromachi period onwards across the northern provinces of Kyûshû, e.g. Chikuzen, Chikugo, and Buzen whereas they were summarized by referring to the old name for that region, Tsukushi. Most smiths of this group used Ryôkai as a trade name, signing it as prefix to their own name, for example “Ryôkai Yoshizane” (了戒能真), most of them sharing the character for “Yoshi” (能). Known individual smiths from that grou are Hideyoshi (秀能), Nobuyoshi (宣能), and Naoyoshi (直能), just to name a few. Most Tsukushi-Ryôkai works are of a rustic charme that is typical for provincial works of the Muromachi period and basically follow the stylistic roots of the group, which are to be found in the Ryôkai interpretation of the Yamashiro tradition. Although not displaying a highly sophisticated workmanship in general, Tsukushi-Ryôkai were held in high regards among Sengoku bushi because they enjoyed the reputation of being good and reliable weapons, and this applies to other contemporary Kyûshû swordsmith groups like that of the Dôtanuki School of Higo province and the Takada School of Bungo province.