Description
Nagamitsu (active early 14th century) was the founder of the Bizen Osafune School and is said to have been the son of Mitsutada (active late 13th century). Many examples of his work remain and represent a wide variety of blades. This long sword (J., <i>tachi</i>) blade clearly displays characteristics of the early Osafune School, including the following features: the blade is relatively wide; deeply curved around the mid-point; the small wood-grain surface texture is combined with a relatively white, reflective, cloudy effect (J., <i>midare utsuri</i>); and a flamboyant temper line that alternately combines clove shapes (J., chôji midare) with tadpole-shaped cloves (J., kawazuko chôji).
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
July 20, 2026