Nagasone Kotetsu 1597-1678

Nagasone Kotetsu (長曾禰虎徹) (c. 1597-1678) was a gunsmith who later took to making swords and earned a reputation for making simple sabres which were extremely strong. Said to have only made 31 swords in his working life which bear his name, he later became a Buddhist monk whose successors were Nagasone Okinao and Nagasone Okihisa.