One Sword, National Treasure since 1957
Tachi Sword (signed Mitsuyo, known as Odenta) (太刀, Tachi) is a Heian-period craft object at 4-3-55 Komaba, Meguro Ward, Tokyo, made an Important Cultural Property on 28 June 1956 and designated a National Treasure on 19 February 1957. The quantity is one sword and the owner the Maeda Ikutokukai foundation.
Only about eight months separate the two listings, next shortest after the four months for the engraved mirror, the Goto Toshiro dagger and the Fumi no Nemaro material.
19 February 1957 is the day on which the butterfly hand box was also designated.
A Comma Where a Decimal Point Belongs
The dimensions field carries an error of punctuation.
The blade length is given as 66.0 centimetres and the curvature as 2,7.
The curvature uses a comma. The length just before it uses a point. A comma stands where a decimal point should be.
Damage in these records has appeared several times. At the Ataka and Kurohashi shell mounds a character was replaced by a substitute mark; at the Futagoyama site one character stood for another; in the butterfly hand box a Roman letter was left in.
Those were errors of characters. This is an error of punctuation, a fourth kind.
This article reads the figure as 2.7 centimetres.
One Maker under Three Names
The title and the commentary name the maker differently.
The title reads: tachi signed Mitsuyo, known as Odenta. The maker's field also reads Mitsuyo.
The commentary opens otherwise, referring to the first Miike Denta and noting that almost no securely signed work of his survives complete.
So Miike Denta appears as well. Mitsuyo from the signature, Miike Denta from the commentary, and Odenta as the by-name: three names in one record.
With the Mikazuki Munechika, the signature was not a personal name at all and tradition tied it to a man. With the tachi inscribed Masatsune, several smiths shared one name.
Here the reverse holds: one maker carries several names, and which of them is used changes the wording.
It Is Held in Tokyo, Not in Kanazawa
The address is worth checking.
The Agency records 4-3-55 Komaba, Meguro Ward, Tokyo, with the Maeda Ikutokukai foundation as owner.
Accounts elsewhere describe the sword as on view at a museum in Kanazawa. That does not match the recorded address.
With the Yohen Tenmoku bowl, two records gave Marunouchi and Setagaya, evidently because the museum had moved. With the butterfly hand box, the prefecture field read Chiba while the address was in Tokyo.
Here the disagreement is not between records but between the record and accounts elsewhere. This article follows the Agency and gives Meguro Ward, Tokyo.
Seeing It
The owner is the Maeda Ikutokukai foundation. The sword is a collection holding, not kept on permanent display.
The form is closely described: ridged construction with a rounded back, thin in section, broad in the body, with a boar's-neck point and a high curve at the waist that gives it a firm stance.
Of the tang: untouched, ending in a shallow chestnut curve, with slanting file marks and two peg holes. It has never been cut back. The Goto Toshiro dagger has four holes, the Mikazuki Munechika two.
The carving is recorded too: a broad, shallow groove is cut and run out on both faces, with a secondary groove on the front. Channels are cut into the blade itself.
Of provenance: it passed from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the Maeda family and has been kept as that house's foremost sword ever since. The owning foundation derives from that family. Exhibition plans can change, so check before travelling.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Tokyo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Tachi Sword (named Mitsuyosaku (famous Odenta))
- [ Tokyo Skytree Asakusa & teamLab Experiences ]
Q&A
- When was the sword designated?
- It became an Important Cultural Property on 28 June 1956 and a National Treasure on 19 February 1957, about eight months apart. The butterfly hand box was designated on the same day.
- Is there an error in the dimensions?
- Yes. The curvature is written with a comma where a decimal point belongs, while the blade length just before it uses a point. This article reads the figure as 2.7 centimetres.
- Who made it?
- The maker's field reads Mitsuyo, while the commentary refers to the first Miike Denta. With the by-name Odenta, one record carries three names for the same maker.
- Where is it kept?
- The Agency records 4-3-55 Komaba, Meguro Ward, Tokyo, owned by the Maeda Ikutokukai foundation. Accounts elsewhere place it at a museum in Kanazawa, which does not match the record.
- How did it come down?
- The Agency records that it passed from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the Maeda family and has been kept as that house's foremost sword ever since, and that it has been counted since the Muromachi period among the five great swords of the realm.
Basic Information
| Name | Tachi Sword, signed Mitsuyo, known as Odenta (太刀, Tachi) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-3-55 Komaba, Meguro Ward, Tokyo |
| Designation | National Treasure (craft) |
| Year Designated | 1956 (28 June), Important Cultural Property; 1957 (19 February), National Treasure |
| Quantity | 1 sword |
| Dimensions | Blade 66.0 centimetres, curvature 2.7 centimetres, though the record writes the curvature with a comma. Ridged construction with a rounded back, thin in section, broad in the body, with a boar's-neck point. The tang is untouched with 2 peg holes. The maker is Mitsuyo and the period Heian |
| Owner | Maeda Ikutokukai foundation |
| Public Access | A collection holding, not on permanent display |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: tachi signed Mitsuyo, known as Odenta
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/db/heritages/detail/189036
- Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
- https://www.ishibi.pref.ishikawa.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: introduction to fine arts and crafts
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/bijutsu_kogei/
Last verified: 2026.09.05