Mikazuki Munechika
三日月宗近 (Mikazuki Munechika)
The tachi by Sanjō Munechika, held to be the most beautiful of the tenka goken, with crescent moons in its temper.
History
It was forged by Sanjō Munechika, the first great smith of Kyoto, at the end of the Heian period. It is a slender tachi with marked koshizori and a narrow point, and owes its name, «crescent moon», to the crescent-shaped arcs of nie (uchinoke) that run beside the hamon. Its history before Kōdai-in, the widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, is not documented; on her death in 1624 it passed to Tokugawa Hidetada; it was designated a National Treasure in 1951 and since 1992 has been kept at the Tokyo National Museum.