The blacksmith line Katsukuni was located in the province of Kaga, now Ishikawa Prefecture. She was also called Darani Katsukuni 陀羅尼 勝国.
The Darani school originated from the blacksmith Katsuie 勝家 who lived in the late Muromachi period, around 1394-1428. This one was originally from the province of Echizen and was famous for his mastery of the tradition of Mino. Katsuie and his students then settled in the province of Kaga after being hired as official blacksmiths to the monk-soldiers Ikkou Shu 一向宗, a Buddhist movement that overthrew the power of the Samurai of Kaga in 1488 and took control of this province. This militant movement later worried Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga. It was finally totally destroyed and annihilated by Oda Nobunaga around 1574.

The lineageof blacksmiths Katsuie lasted9 generations, until 18^thc.
The 3rd son of the 4th generation Katsuie was called Ieshige. He lived towards the Keicho era (1596-1615) and was the initiator of the line of the "Darani Katsukuni" school because his 2^nd son, who was called "Fujiwara Ieshige" 藤原家重, changed his name to "Tachibana Katsukuni" 橘勝国, and officially became the 1^st generation of the Darani Katsukuni school.
This one began to forge from the Kanei era (1624-1644) and worked for the powerful Maeda clan 前田.
He received the honorary title of "Iyo No Daijo" 伊予大掾 in the first year of the Kanbun era (1661) and died at the end of the Kanbun period, in 1672. It was rated O Waza Mono for the quality of its edge.

The Maeda clan was originally a vassal of the Oda family, who ruled over Owari province. (Today the Nagoya region, in Aichi prefecture). The first chief of the Maeda clan, Toshie Maeda, rose through the ranks of samurai society and became feudal lord of Kaga province (now Ishikawa prefecture). He owned a vast rizicole stronghold that fed 100 million adults, called Hyakuman Goku. The Maeda clan was one of the most influential families in samurai history. Toshie Maeda maintained close ties with Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

Since the beginning of the Edo period, the name of the blacksmith «Katsukuni» lasted for eight generations in the service of the prestigious Maeda clan. The Katsukuni lineage represents the most famous blacksmiths of the Kaga estate, with the Kanewaka lineage.
The tempering lines in Sanbontsugi, repeated pattern of three peaks, are linked and are a tribute to the great blacksmith Magoroku Kanemoto, from the tradition of Mino. The Sanbontsugi of the Katsukuni lineage is slightly different, however, with the presence of Nie in the valleys/hollows (Tani), between the ridges. We therefore notice an influence of the tradition of Soshu in the work of this lineage.