Tachi Sword (signed made by Nagamitsu, Sakon no Shogen, of Osafune in Bizen Province)

A Masterpiece of the Second Osafune Master

The Tachi Sword (signed made by Nagamitsu, Sakon no Shogen, of Osafune in Bizen Province) (太刀〈銘備前国長船住左近将監長光造〉) is a Kamakura-period tachi by Nagamitsu held by the Hayashibara Museum of Art in Marunouchi, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, which in 1957 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records one blade, first designated under the old system in 1942.

The Hayashibara Museum of Art gives a blade length of 78.8 centimetres and a curvature of 2.7 centimetres, designated with a mounting whose scabbard is lacquered in gold nashiji.

The Blade

According to the museum, the blade is ridged with a roof-shaped back, thick and strongly curved near the hilt, with a short, stout point. The steel shows a tight, fine grain with bright crystals, dark lines and irregular reflections.

The temper line mixes clove shapes, small half-circles and pointed forms, deep and full of activity, becoming quieter from the striking area upward on both sides, a characteristic of Nagamitsu. The tang is unaltered, with grooves running out on both sides.

What to Look For

The museum notes that Nagamitsu, second head of the Osafune school of Bizen, left many fine works, and that in the Edo period his blades headed the gifts exchanged at successions in the shogunal and daimyo houses, the name carrying a wish that the owner's light would shine long.

This sword belonged to Sugiyama Shigemaru, a sword connoisseur close to Ito Hirobumi and Goto Shinpei who led the prewar sword world with Hon'ami Ringa. Its mounting has shakudo fittings and guard, a black lacquered scabbard sprinkled with gold, and a hilt and cord of indigo-dyed deerskin with a scale pattern.

Visiting the Tachi Sword (signed made by Nagamitsu, Sakon no Shogen, of Osafune in Bizen Province)

The sword is held by the Hayashibara Museum of Art and is not always on display; check the museum's schedule.