Miike Mitsuyo
三池光世 (Miike Mitsuyo)
Lineage: the signature does not state the generation
A Miike smith in Chikugo of the late Heian period, called Tenta; maker of the Ōdenta Mitsuyo, one of the tenka goken.
Profile
Mitsuyo worked at Miike, in today's Ōmuta, in Chikugo Province, at the end of the Heian period; he is called Tenta and his religious name was Genshin. After the place he is known as Miike Tenta, and his line is the Miike school, in which the name continued in later periods. His blades are broad and robust, and tradition credits them with the power to ward off evil. His only certain work is the Ōdenta Mitsuyo, a treasure of the Ashikaga shōguns; others are attributed to him.
Monograph
Miike Mitsuyo (三池光世)
A lineage more than a smith: what is known of the first Mitsuyo and what is not known of those who followed, with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Ōdenta Mitsuyo: signed tachi, one of the tenka goken, national treasure, Maeda Ikutokukai foundation.
- Sohaya no tsurugi: unsigned sword of Tokugawa Ieyasu, attributed to him by tradition.
Famous swords
- Ōdenta Mitsuyo 大典太光世