Description
National Treasure
Long Sword (Tachi)
Inscription: “Norikuni”
From the end of the Heian (794-1185) through the Kamakura (1185-1333) periods, three brothers, who were swordsmiths, Kunitomo, Hisakuni, and Kuniyasu, lived in the Awataguchi area of Kyoto and found the Awataguchi School. The brothers served the retired emperor Gotoba (1180-1239, r. 1180-98) on a rotating basis. Norikuni is said to have been a son of Kunitomo.
The blade of this long sword (J., <i>tachi</i>) is slender. The point is somewhat turned down and the center of the curve is near the tang of the blade. The surface of the blade is characterized by a fine wood-grain texture, and the temper line is narrow and straight. These features and manufacturing techniques are characteristic of Kyoto swords made in the early Kamakura period.
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