Hisaichi Terauchi
In 1933, Kotani was summoned, along with his uncle and cousin, to Tokyo from Hiroshima to work at the Yasukuni shrine. On 10 July 1935 Kotani, as the senior sword student (), became the next official Yasukuni Shrine swordsmith and was given the name by the Minister of War, Lieutenant General Hayashi Senjuro. In the years 1935-38 he won more prizes at the shrine than his uncle and other senior swordmakers like Ikeda Yasumistu and Miyaguchi Yasuhiro. From 1935 to 1938 he won eight or nine prizes annually for high quality. He was selected to make swords for officers such as Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi and HIH Morihiro Higashikuni