Tachi (inscribed Masatsune)

One Sword, National Treasure since 1952

Tachi (inscribed Masatsune) (太刀, Tachi) is a Heian-period craft object at the Tokyo National Museum, 13-9 Ueno Park, Taito Ward, Tokyo, made an Important Cultural Property on 19 January 1931 and designated a National Treasure on 29 March 1952. The quantity is one sword, the designation number 00046, and the owner the state through the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Nothing is designated as an appendage.

19 January 1931 is the date on which the Taihi Tenmoku bowl also became an Important Cultural Property. The two went on to National Treasure separately, in 1952 and 1953.

The dimensions are given in the older Japanese units: length two shaku six sun four rin, curvature eight bu two rin, one sun wide at the base, five bu seven rin at the point, point length nine bu. The tachi signed Hisakuni, covered immediately before, uses the same units.

A Signature That Still Does Not Fix the Maker

One sentence in the commentary stands out.

It is a work of Masatsune of the old Bizen tradition. Several smiths in Bizen bore that name, but this Masatsune shows good form and a good hand in the signature, displays the true character of old Bizen work, and is sound.

Several smiths bore the name. More than one man signed himself Masatsune.

Three stages of the signature question have now appeared. On the katana with the gold-inlaid attribution to Masamune, the tang had been shortened, the original signature lost, and a name set in gold by an appraiser. On the tachi signed Hisakuni, an untouched tang preserved the smith's own signature and the maker was fixed.

This sword goes a step further. The signature survives. Even so, since several smiths used the name, the signature alone does not settle who made it.

Three other grounds are therefore given: form, the hand in which the signature is cut, and manner of work. Not what the characters say, but how they were written.

Properties of the Same Name Stand Side by Side

The related entries show the same difficulty directly.

Several properties are titled tachi inscribed Masatsune, one of them with a black-lacquered mounting appended.

With the Twelve Devas, two properties shared name, count and owner, and only period and museum could separate them. Around this sword there are more namesakes than that.

Because a sword's title transcribes its inscription, swords with the same inscription carry the same title. The title alone cannot tell them apart.

The designation number serves instead. This one is 00046. Numbers differ from property to property, so names may repeat without confusion.

The Signature Located by the Peg Hole

The field for form and condition places the signature.

The tang is untouched, with file marks in the manner used for tachi, and below the original peg hole stands the signature Masatsune.

A peg hole takes the pin that holds blade and hilt together. The original peg hole is the one cut at the outset.

Below it stands the signature: the position is given. For the tachi signed Hisakuni the record said only on the face of the untouched tang, naming the side but not the relation to any hole.

The tang is untouched here as well. Nothing having been cut away, both the original hole and the signature remain where they began.

Seeing It

The sword is at the Tokyo National Museum, owned by the state. It is a museum holding, not kept on permanent display.

Of its shape the record says: ridged construction with a peaked back and a small point, the curvature at the waist rather shallow, standing with a firm taper.

Of the temper line: a straight middle with small irregularities mixed in, with dense feet and leaves, deep in mist and fine crystals, and crystals gathering at the point.

Exhibition plans can change, so check the museum's information before travelling.