Kantei
A whole tachi blade on a black background, with the tang on the left and a relief carving next to the base of the blade.

Osafune, Bizen · late Kamakura

Kagemitsu (景光)

According to the genealogies, the third master of Osafune, in Bizen, at the end of the Kamakura period: the maker of the Koryū Kagemitsu and the Kenshin Kagemitsu

Kagemitsu headed the Osafune school, in Bizen, at the end of the Kamakura period, between Nagamitsu and Kanemitsu, who according to the genealogies were his father and his son. His dated blades run from 1306 to 1334, and three of his works are National Treasures today.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

1306–1334
Dated blades
3
National Treasures
1322
Koryū Kagemitsu
1323
Kenshin Kagemitsu
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Kagemitsu, of Osafune; in the signature of a tachi of 1329 he styles himself 左兵衛尉 (Sahyōe-no-jō) HD
Kanji and reading
景光 (Kagemitsu) HD
Period
Late Kamakura period; dated blades from Kagen 4 (1306) to Kenmu 1 (1334) AT
Province
Bizen (備前, Bizen), in Osafune (長船, Osafune), today Setouchi, in Okayama Prefecture AT
School
Osafune (長船派, Osafune-ha), third generation after Mitsutada and Nagamitsu AT
Lineage
Son of Nagamitsu (長光, Nagamitsu) and father of Kanemitsu (兼光, Kanemitsu), according to the traditional filiation of the school AT
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: signed and dated blades, three of them National Treasures. Tradition: his kinship with Kagemasa and that he invented the katai-ochi gunome AT

In short

He was the head of the Osafune school after Mitsutada and Nagamitsu, and the main line of the school descends from him and his son Kanemitsu. He made tachi, many tantō, naginata and ken; his very dense ko-itame, with a crisp midare-utsuri, is held to be the finest jigane of Osafune, and his hardening is more restrained than that of his elders.

Three of his works are National Treasures (国宝, kokuhō) according to the official database of cultural properties: the tachi Koryū Kagemitsu, of 1322, in the Tokyo National Museum; the tantō Kenshin Kagemitsu, of 1323, and the tachi he signed with Kagemasa in 1329, both in the Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore. Japanese Wikipedia counts two: it leaves out the tachi with Kagemasa.

Sections

  1. Between Nagamitsu and Kanemitsu Life and times The Osafune school, Kagemasa and the warriors who commissioned swords from him.
  2. The finest jigane of Osafune Work and style Sugata, jihada, hamon, bōshi, nakago and mei: the keys to recognising him.
  3. Three National Treasures Famous works The Koryū Kagemitsu, the Kenshin Kagemitsu, the tachi with Kagemasa and other works in museums and shrines.
  4. His National Treasures, on display Videos Three videos of his works on display.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted and the image credits.