Kantei
Black-and-white plate: above, a whole, strongly curved tachi; below, the base of the blade and the tang with two holes.

Swordsmith of Ko-Aoe (Bitchū) · tachi · kotō

Tametsugu (為次)

A swordsmith of the Ko-Aoe school, in Bitchū, between Heian and Kamakura, known for a single work, the tachi Kitsunegasaki: his life and times, his work, his famous sword and his sources

為次 (Tametsugu) was a swordsmith of the Ko-Aoe school, in Bitchū province, between the end of the Heian period and the beginning of Kamakura. Nothing of his life is on record: he is known for a single work, the tachi 狐ヶ崎 (Kitsunegasaki), a National Treasure, which the Kikkawa family kept for eight centuries and which preserves its original tang and mounting.

文化財協会 (Bunkazai Kyōkai), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1 tachi
Known works
78.8 cm
Length of the Kitsunegasaki
1951
National Treasure
1200
Its battle, according to tradition
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Tametsugu; also Ko-Aoe Tametsugu, 古青江為次 (Ko-Aoe Tametsugu) AT
Kanji and reading
為次 (Tametsugu) HD
Period
Between the late Heian and the early Kamakura period, according to the Japanese Wikipedia; Kamakura, according to the official record of the Kitsunegasaki AT
Province
Bitchū: Aoe, today in Kurashiki (Okayama) AT
School or tradition
Ko-Aoe (古青江, Ko-Aoe), the first stage of the Aoe school AT
Master
Not on record in the sources consulted PC
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: the Kitsunegasaki, its signature and its designation. Tradition: that Kikka Tomokane carried it in the battle of 1200. AT

In short

What we know. The database of cultural properties of the Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkachō) describes the tachi 銘為次 (mei Tametsugu), called Kitsunegasaki, a National Treasure with its mounting since 1951, and regards it as the best work of its maker.

How we know it. The rest comes from the Japanese Wikipedia, the dictionaries and Markus Sesko. Nothing of his life is documented: only the tradition of a battle in 1200 and a tachi.

What we do not know. No other work signed Tametsugu appears in the sources consulted, nor what the old treatises say about the Kitsunegasaki.

Sections

  1. Bitchū · Aoe · Heian and Kamakura Life and times His school, that of Aoe, and why it is not clear when he worked.
  2. Koshizori · sumi-hada · ko-midare Work and style The kantei keys of the Kitsunegasaki: the steel, the temper, the point, the shape, the tang and the signature.
  3. Kitsunegasaki · National Treasure Famous works The Kitsunegasaki: its battle of 1200, according to tradition, eight centuries in the Kikkawa family and its original mounting.
  4. Kikkawa Historical Museum Videos Two short videos by the Kikkawa Historical Museum itself.
  5. Bibliography and credits Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link, and the credit for each image.