Kantei
A tantō without mounting, lying on a black background, with the point to the right and the nakago with three holes to the left.

Ōmi · late Kamakura · tantō

Mitsukane (光包)

A tantō master of the late Kamakura, trained according to tradition in Osafune and with Rai Kunitoshi, who settled in Ōmi. His period, his work, his famous tantō and his sources

Mitsukane (光包, Mitsukane) was a tantō master of the late Kamakura. According to tradition, he trained at the forge of Osafune Nagamitsu and then with Rai Kunitoshi in Kyoto, and settled in Ōmi Province. He never signed with the Rai prefix and no long blade of his is known. Two signed tantō of his have been Important Cultural Properties since 1953.

Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase

5
Designated tantō, according to Sesko
7
Jūyō tantō, according to Sesko
2
Meibutsu in the Kyōhō meibutsuchō
none
Known tachi
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Mitsukane; also Rai Mitsukane and Chūdō-Rai Mitsukane AT
Kanji and reading
光包 (Mitsukane) · 来光包 (Rai Mitsukane) · 中堂来光包 (Chūdō-Rai Mitsukane) AT
Period
Late Kamakura; tradition has him born in 1278 and dying in 1349 AT
Province
Ōmi (近江, Ōmi), in Tozu; trained in Bizen and in Kyoto AT
School
The Rai school (来派, Rai-ha), with an Osafune training AT
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: two tantō signed 光包 (Mitsukane), Important Cultural Properties since 1953, in the Tokyo National Museum and the Fukuyama Museum of Art. Tradition: his masters, his dates and the nickname Chūdō-Rai. HD

In short

What we know. The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ database of designated properties records two tantō signed 光包 (Mitsukane), in the Tokyo National Museum and the Fukuyama Museum of Art, Important Cultural Properties since 1953. The Tokyo National Museum presents him as a pupil of Rai Kunitoshi living in Ōmi.

How we know it. Almost everything else comes from a study, the chapter Markus Sesko devotes to him (2016), which brings together the old treatises; and from the museum records and the official database.

What we do not know. When he was born and died: there are two chronologies. Which are the other three designated tantō that Sesko counts, and whether the NBTHK’s Midare Mitsukane is an Important Cultural Property: it is not in the official database consulted.

Sections

  1. Osafune · Kyoto · Tozu Life and times From Nagamitsu’s forge to Kunitoshi’s workshop and on to Ōmi; two chronologies, and the nickname Chūdō-Rai.
  2. Tantō · suguha · midare Work and style Only tantō: his kantei keys compared with Kunitoshi, his two phases and the tantō of the Tokyo National Museum.
  3. Midare Mitsukane · Kuwayama Mitsukane Famous works His designated tantō and his two meibutsu, with what has been checked in the official database and what remains to be checked.
  4. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their links, and the credit for each image.