Tachi (inscribed Kunimune)

A Masterpiece of the Bizen Smith Kunimune

The Tachi (inscribed Kunimune) (太刀〈銘国宗〉) is a Kamakura-period tachi sword owned by Terukuni Shrine in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, which in 1964 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records an earlier designation under the old system in 1927. It is a single sword by Kunimune, kept at the Reimeikan, Kagoshima Prefectural Center for History and Art.

The Agency ranks it, with the National Treasure at Nikko Toshogu, as the finest work of the Kamakura-period Bizen smith Kunimune, imposing in form and exceptionally well preserved.

Form and Workmanship

The Agency records a length of 81.3 centimetres, curvature of 2.6 centimetres, width 3.3 centimetres at the base and 2.2 centimetres near the point, a point 3.6 centimetres long and a tang of 23 centimetres.

It has a ridged blade with a peaked back, broad and strongly curved near the hilt with a firm stance. The steel shows a wood-grain pattern with thick bright particles and irregular reflections throughout; the temper line is a deep, varied clove-bud pattern mixed with rounded waves. The tang is unaltered and bears the two characters of Kunimune, finely and angularly cut.

What to Look For

Terukuni Shrine says the sword was handed down in the Shimazu family and dedicated to the shrine in June 1927 by Shimazu Tadashige for the 700th anniversary of his ancestor Tadahisa. After the war it went to America and was lost for a time, but passed to an American sword collector and was returned to Japan in 1963.

The shrine explains that Kunimune was a Bizen smith of the Naomune school, distinct from the Ichimonji and Osafune lines. The first Kunimune, called Bizen Saburo, was summoned to Kamakura with Kunitsuna of the Awataguchi school and became a founder of Kamakura swordsmithing. The broad blade and high, firm curvature show mid-Kamakura character.

Visiting the Tachi (inscribed Kunimune)

Terukuni Shrine says the sword is kept at the Reimeikan and shown in special displays twice a year; check display dates with the Reimeikan.

The Reimeikan's permanent galleries open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (last entry 5:30 p.m.), closed on Mondays, the 25th of each month and other days; general admission is 430 yen.