The lower half of the katana, upright: the wavy temper and the shortened tang, with three holes.

Kyūshū National Museum, via ColBase · ColBase terms of use

Important Cultural Properties · meibutsu · museums

Famous works

A shortened katana that inspired one of the most famous copies in Japan, a dated tantō, several Important Cultural Properties and the blades of the national museums.

On this page
  1. The Honsaku Chōgi
  2. His designated works and those in museums
  3. His only signed naginata
  4. In the lists
  5. At the Kyūshū National Museum

The Honsaku Chōgi

  • 本作長義 (Honsaku Chōgi) is a heavily shortened katana, without its original signature, at the Tokugawa Art Museum, in Nagoya.
  • Hōjō Ujinao gave it to Nagao Akinaga on 21 July 1586; on 3 May 1590 Horikawa Kunihiro engraved a 62-character inscription on the tang; Tokugawa Tsunanari bought it in 1681. It has an appraisal certificate (折紙, origami) by Hon'ami Kōjō.
  • It became an Important Art Object in 1939 and has been an Important Cultural Property since 29 August 1950, the date on the State record. The Japanese Wikipedia gives another date, 18 February 1949.
  • It is the model for Kunihiro’s copy, the 山姥切国広 (Yamanbagiri Kunihiro), an Important Cultural Property since 1962; according to the Japanese Wikipedia, it is the only case of an original and a copy that are both designated.

His designated works and those in museums

WorkDesignationWhere it is
本作長義 (Honsaku Chōgi), katanaImportant Cultural Property (1949 or 1950)Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya
大坂長義 (Ōsaka Chōgi), tantō dated 1360Important Cultural Property—
朱銘長義 (Shu-mei Chōgi), wakizashiImportant Cultural PropertyMyōkokuji temple, on deposit at the Sakai Museum
Tachi 銘備州長船住長義 (mei Bishū Osafune jū Chōgi)Important Cultural PropertyThe company Brest Sieve, according to the Japanese Wikipedia
Tachi 銘備前国長船住長義 (mei Bizen no Kuni Osafune jū Chōgi)Important Cultural PropertyKanisendō foundation; stolen in 1991, according to the Japanese Wikipedia
Katana with the gold inscription 長義磨上 (Chōgi suriage) by Hon'ami Kōshitsu, 71.5 cmImportant Art ObjectTsuchiura City Museum
六股長義 (Rokumata Chōgi)Important Art ObjectBurned in the Second World War
Tachi 銘備前国長船住長義 (mei Bizen no Kuni Osafune jū Chōgi)Not listed in ColBaseTokyo National Museum
Tantō 銘備州長船住長義 (mei Bishū Osafune jū Chōgi), Shōhei 17 (1362), 27.6 cmNot listed in ColBaseTokyo National Museum
Katana 朱銘長義 (shu-mei Chōgi), 66.8 cmNot listed in ColBaseKyūshū National Museum

The NBTHK speaks of two signed tachi that are Important Cultural Properties, one at the Tokyo National Museum, dated Kōryaku 1 (1379), and of an uchigatana with the same date. The Japanese Wikipedia gives a different whereabouts for the two tachi; it has not been possible to reconcile them.

The Kyūshū National Museum describes its katana with ō-kissaki, ō-itame with nie, notare with gunome, a pointed bōshi and bōhi, and allows that it could be of the Ōmiya school.

His only signed naginata

A signed naginata, now turned into a tachi (naginata-naoshi) of 75.1 cm, is Tokubetsu Jūyō of the NBTHK: itame with ji-nie and chikei, ko-notare with a complex midare and a very large kissaki. It was shown in “Masamune Jūtetsu”, at the Japanese Sword Museum, in January and February 2024.

In the lists

  • The 六股長義 (Rokumata Chōgi), of the Ōkubo of Odawara, and the Honsaku Chōgi were his most cited works; the first burned in the war. Of the 八文字長義 (Hachimonji Chōgi), in a private collection, only the Japanese Wikipedia gives any report.
  • His article in the Japanese Wikipedia says that the Kokon Kaji Bikō classes him as ō-wazamono, but the wazamono list of the same Wikipedia does not include him.