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Takano Yukimitsu is Ono Yoshimitsu's former student. Born October 15, 1952 in Ibaraki prefecture, Takano Hiroyuki moved to Tokyo with his parents at the age of two. He had developed a keen interest in Japanese swords at a young age and began studying them diligently soon after he left high school. As a supplement to his sword study, he took a part-time job at the Yoshihara Tanren Dojo as an assistant. It was during this time he met Ono Yoshimitsu. Takano was so impressed on the first occasion he saw Yoshimitsu produce a copy of the Yamatorige that he immediately asked Yoshimitsu if he would accept him as his student.
Yoshimitsu accepted Takano as a student in December 1986. After receiving his swordsmith's licence on April 4, 1992, Takano took the art name Yukimitsu. He has been entering the Shinsakutoten since 1996, where he has repeatedly attained the rank of Nyusen. He also regularly enter blades into the annual exhibition of smiths from the Kanto branch of the Japanese Swordsmiths Association at the famous Yasukuni shrine in Kudan, Tokyo. Takano doesn't make many long swords, as in today's economic climate they are difficult for relatively unknown smiths to sell. Since becoming an independent smith, Takano has chosen to work in the Gassan style of swordmaking. Gassan are a school of smiths whose work dates back to the Kamakura period. They were known for their ayasugi hada (Japanese cedar grain pattern), a characteristic Takano uses in his blades. Takano runs a successful kogatana (traditional utility knife) school out of his forge in Adachi Ku, Tokyo, very close to the Nishi Arai Daishi Shrine. He teaches one-day courses for people interested in understanding the swordmaking process.
Click here to see work currently available by Takano Yukimitsu.
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