Kamakura

Seeking Blossoms (Tankazu) by the early Ming court painter Shi Rui is a fifteenth-century Chinese masterpiece preserved in Japan as an Important Cultural Property. The hanging scroll depicts literati seeking out early-spring blossoms in a mountainous landscape, rendered in the brilliant blue-and-green style with lavish use of mineral pigments and gold. Surviving works by Shi Rui are exceptionally rare, making this painting one of the finest examples of Chinese imperial court painting preserved in Japan. It is occasionally displayed in special exhibitions at the Tokyo National Museum.

Preserved in Tokyo and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, this Mandala of the Eight-Syllable Manjushri is the oldest surviving example of its iconographic type. Painted in mineral pigments on silk in the early Kamakura period, it shows Manjushri and his eight youthful attendants seated only on lotus thrones rather than on lions, surrounded by sixteen enigmatic circles found in no other example. Used as the principal icon for an esoteric ritual to avert eclipses, earthquakes, and other natural disturbances, it stands as a singular treasure of medieval Japanese Buddhist art.

Held at the Nezu Museum in Aoyama, Tokyo, this Important Cultural Property is a hanging scroll painted in colour on silk during the latter half of the 12th century, late Heian period. It depicts Fugen Bodhisattva (Samantabhadra) seated upon a six-tusked white elephant, accompanied by the Ten Rakshasi in Tang-style robes and two banner-bearing heavenly youths. A masterpiece of late Heian Buddhist painting, it captures the refined spirituality of Lotus Sutra devotion among aristocratic women, and stands as one of the earliest surviving examples of an iconographic tradition uniquely created in Japan.

Discover the Pigeon on a Peach Branch (Momohato-zu), a Japanese National Treasure attributed to Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty. This exquisite silk painting from 1107 showcases the boneless (mokkotsu) technique, Slender Gold calligraphy, and a provenance tracing back to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Held in private ownership in Tokyo, this Important Cultural Property tachi was forged in the autumn of 1297 by Nyūsai, a late-Kamakura swordsmith from Chikuzen who relocated to Aki Province and is recorded as the earliest documented smith of that region. Standing at the head of the Kyushu classical lineage that runs through Sairen, Jitsua, and culminates in the celebrated Samonji school, Nyūsai is known today by only two surviving dated works — making this 1297 tachi a uniquely valuable witness to medieval Japanese sword history.

A National Treasure tachi forged by Sadatsugu, a master swordsmith of the Ko-Aoe school in Bitchū Province during the Kamakura period. Sadatsugu was honored as one of Emperor Go-Toba's imperial rotation swordsmiths. This blade beautifully embodies the hallmarks of the Ko-Aoe tradition, including the distinctive sumi-hada steel grain and elegant koshi-zori curvature. Privately owned in Tokyo.

A signed, unaltered Bizen tachi of the Kamakura period by the smith Sukekane. Note its low koshizori curve, cloudy utsuri in the steel, and quiet ko-midare temper.

A Kamakura-period tachi signed by the rare Old Bizen smith Sukekane at the Tokyo National Museum, its 73.3 cm blade keeping an early curve and original signature.

A 77.2 cm Kamakura tachi by Tamekiyo of the Bizen Ichimonji school, an Important Cultural Property since 1941, prized for its vivid clove-pattern temper line.

An Important Cultural Property tachi signed by Nagamitsu, a late-Kamakura Osafune master of Bizen, kept at original length with its choji temper and Bizen utsuri.

A privately held Kamakura tachi by the Bizen master Nagamitsu, an Important Cultural Property prized for its choji temper, misty utsuri, and original signed tang.

A Kamakura tachi by Nagamitsu of Bizen's Osafune school. Its brilliant clove-pattern temper and misty utsuri mark this privately held Important Cultural Property.

A Kamakura tachi signed Hisakuni, an Awataguchi smith of Go-Toba's goban kaji. An Important Cultural Property of unknown whereabouts, on Japan's missing register.

A signed late-Kamakura tachi by Osafune Kagemitsu of Bizen, with a formal cord-wrapped mounting, held at the Tokyo National Museum and designated in 1950.

A tachi forged in 1334 by the Bizen master Kagemitsu, now an Important Cultural Property of unknown whereabouts. We trace its story and where to see his work.

A signed tachi forged in 1300 by Nagamitsu of Osafune, a leading Kamakura swordsmith. This Important Cultural Property is now an object of unknown whereabouts.

An Important Cultural Property tachi in Tokyo, signed Masatsune, a name used by several early Bizen smiths. This privately held blade dates to the Kamakura period.

A Kamakura tachi by Moritsugu, an early Aoe-school smith of Bitchu. Its steel shows the school's signature sumihada, and a gold inlay ties it to Hakone Shrine.

A National Treasure tachi forged by master swordsmith Yoshihira of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school during the mid-Kamakura period. Passed down through the Kishū Tokugawa family, it features a magnificent chōji-midare tempering pattern and a rare chrysanthemum crest engraving. With a blade length of 73.8 cm and curvature of 2.9 cm, it exemplifies the pinnacle of Japanese sword artistry.

Discover the National Treasure tachi signed by Yoshifusa, a masterwork of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school forged in the Kamakura period. Learn about its Shimazu clan provenance, stunning jūka-chōji hamon, and where to appreciate Yoshifusa's swords in Japan.