Sword (Katana), Signed "Rai Kunimitsu" (with Inscription "Polished by Umetada") 刀 額銘来国光切付銘埋忠磨上之カタナ ガクメイライクニミツキリツケメイウメタダコレヲスリアゲル

Description

Rai Kunimitsu, active at the end of the Kamakura period (1185-1333), was a swordsmith of the Rai School in Kyoto. Even within the Rai School, he made a wide range of swords, varying from slender, classical blades to broad, magnificent ones. His temper lines also varied from the basic straight temper line (J., <i>suguha</i>), characteristic of the Rai School, to narrow straight (J., <i>hoso-suguha</i>) and wide straight (<i>hiro-suguha</i>) temper lines.

This <i>katana</i> blade, featuring Rai Kunimitsu's representative style, is broad with a wide, straight temper line in which dots (J., <i>y&ocirc;</i>, literally, leaves) and streaks (J., <i>ashi</i>, literally, legs) cross the temper line perpendicular to it and near the cutting edge of the blade. The blade was a long sword (J., <i>tachi</i>), but in the Edo period (1615-1868), the swordsmith Umetada My&ocirc;j&ucirc; (1556-1631) shortened the tang and made it into this <i>katana</i> blade.