Kantei
A short, broad wakizashi without mounting, standing upright on a black background, with the dark nakago at the bottom.

A Chikugo lineage · from the late Heian to Muromachi

Miike Mitsuyo (三池光世)

The Miike lineage, in Chikugo: a first Mitsuyo of the late Heian, maker of the Ōdenta, and a school that lasted into Muromachi. Its period, its work, its famous swords and its sources

Miike Mitsuyo (三池光世, Miike Mitsuyo) is the name of a lineage of smiths from Miike, in Chikugo Province, today’s Ōmuta (大牟田, Ōmuta), in Fukuoka. The first Mitsuyo, called Tenta (典太, Tenta), forged at the end of the Heian the Ōdenta (大典太, Ōdenta), one of the Tenka Goken (天下五剣, Tenka Goken), the five illustrious swords of Japan. The name then passed among smiths of the Miike school until the middle of Muromachi, but of those generations almost no certain work remains.

Kyūshū National Museum, via ColBase

1 of 5
The Ōdenta, among the Tenka Goken
1957
National Treasure, the Ōdenta
23
Signatures attributed to the school
no list
Generations with name and date
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Miike Mitsuyo; the first, Miike Tenta Mitsuyo; also Ōdenta Mitsuyo, after his sword AT
Kanji and reading
三池光世 (Miike Mitsuyo) · 三池典太光世 (Miike Tenta Mitsuyo) · 典太 (Tenta, also Denta) · 元真 (Genshin), his Buddhist name AT
Period
The first Mitsuyo, the late Heian, with four dates under discussion (1058–1065, 1074–1077, 1081–1084 and 1159–1160); the lineage, until the middle of Muromachi AT
Province
Chikugo (筑後, Chikugo): Miike, today Ōmuta, in Fukuoka Prefecture AT
School
The Miike school (三池派, Miike-ha), which begins with him AT
Master and generations
Master unknown. The name Mitsuyo passed among smiths of the school; neither the names nor the number of the generations are known. PC
Documented fact and tradition
Signed and certain: the Ōdenta, with the signature 光世作 (Mitsuyo saku). Attributed: the Sōhaya no Tsurugi, unsigned. Tradition: the site of his forge and his grave in Ōmuta, and the power of his swords against evil. AT

In short

What we know. A smith called Mitsuyo, or Tenta, worked in Miike at the end of the Heian and signed the Ōdenta, a National Treasure since 1957 and one of the Tenka Goken. For the 日本人名大辞典 (Nihon Jinmei Daijiten) it is his only certain work. The Kyūshū National Museum gives the Miike school as active from the end of the Heian until Muromachi.

How we know it. From the Japanese Wikipedia, which relies on Satō Kanzan, Ogasawara Nobuo and the Maeda Ikutokukai book (2012), from the Kotobank dictionaries and from Markus Sesko’s study; and, for the school, from the Kyūshū National Museum’s record (2024).

What we do not know. When exactly the first Mitsuyo lived, who his master was and who signed Mitsuyo after him: there is no table of generations in the sources consulted.

Sections

  1. Miike · Tenta · the Miike school Life and times The first Mitsuyo, the four dates given for him, the school that bore his name and the traditions of Ōmuta.
  2. Broad blades · Miike-hi · suguha Work and style Kantei keys of the Ōdenta and what a signed 15th-century wakizashi of the school teaches.
  3. Ōdenta · Sōhaya no Tsurugi · Tenka Goken Famous works The Ōdenta, a National Treasure and one of the Tenka Goken; Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Sōhaya; and his place in the lists.
  4. Outreach Videos An outreach video: the story of the Ōdenta.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their links, and the credit for each image.