The first-generation Hoki no Kami Fujiwara Nobutaka was born in Eiroku 6 (1563) at Kami-Aruchi in Mino Province. Traditionally said to descend from the San'ami Kanekuni lineage, he received the court title of Hoki no Kami in Tensho 9 (1581) at the age of nineteen. He subsequently moved to Kiyosu in Owari Province and, in Keicho 15 (1610), accompanied Tokugawa Yoshinao to Nagoya, where he became one of the founding figures of the Owari shinto tradition. In Kan'ei 10 (1633) he retired under the Buddhist name Keiyu, dying three years later at seventy-six. His personal name was Kawamura Saemon, and the majority of his extant works are shinogi-zukuri katana and wakizashi, with hira-zukuri tanto and polearms comparatively few.
Nobutaka's forge work reveals the Mino tradition of his origin: itame-hada mixed with nagare-hada, tending toward hada-dachi, with thick ji-nie and chikei. His tempering ranges from tightly controlled notare with clear nioiguchi to bold, spirited compositions in which gunome-midare, tobiyaki, and yubashiri span into the shinogi-ji, developing into hitatsura-like all-over hardening. The nie is deep and sometimes coarsely formed, yielding nie-kuzure at the yakigashira and hotsure along the habuchi, punctuated by frequent kinsuji and sunagashi. His boshi tends to be deeply tempered with long kaeri, at times assuming an ichimai-like boldness.
Among the designated pieces, the Tensho 9 katana is celebrated as an utsushi after the renowned Inabae, executed with natural assurance immediately upon receiving his court title. His imposing o-kissaki katana display the wide-bodied proportions characteristic of the Momoyama period, while even his yari of extraordinary length show no breakdown in execution, demonstrating technical mastery across blade forms.
