Osafune Nagamitsu
長光 (Nagamitsu)
First generation (shodai)
An Osafune smith in Bizen of the mid- and late Kamakura period, son of Mitsutada according to the genealogies; one of the kotō smiths with the most signed blades preserved.
Profile
Nagamitsu, son of Mitsutada according to tradition, worked at Osafune roughly between 1264 and 1306, and blades of his are dated from 1274 to 1304. Old texts distinguished two generations and gave the second the signatures of Sakon Shōgen Nagamitsu; recent research tends to see one smith working for about thirty years, partly with pupils working for him, such as his son Kagemitsu. His work ranges from showy chōji, with kawazuko chōji and jūka chōji, to a calm suguha, over a dense ko-itame with midare-utsuri, and a bōshi known as that of the three masters. Six of his works are national treasures, and between twenty-eight and thirty-three, depending on the source, important cultural properties.
Monograph
Osafune Nagamitsu (長光)
His quick profile: what is documented, what tradition says and what is not known.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Daihannya Nagamitsu: tachi, national treasure, Tokyo National Museum; from the Ashikaga shōguns.