Important Cultural PropertySword with gold-inlay signature Rai Kunimitsu, finished by Honna (written seal-mark)

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  • Rai Kunimitsu
  • 1 piece
  • blade L75.1 Curvature1.8
  • Kamakura period/14th century
  • Tokyo National Museum
  • F-17

This sword is a masterpiece that was ground by Honami Koshitsu, a grinder in the early Edo period and finished by Rai Kunimitsu. Rai Kunimitsu was a swordsmith representing the Rai school in Yamashiro no Kuni, who actively produced swords from the late Kamakura period to the Northern and Southern Courts period. His techniques included suguha (blade with a straight pattern), which his father was good at and midareba (blade with an undulating pattern), which reflects the Soshu forging style. He is known as a swordsmith with diverse forging styles. This sword displays the characteristics of suguha: On the fine-grained (itame) ground metal, nieutsuri (a reflective pattern that looks like a transparent water flow created by forging) is emerging from the shinogi (the ridge between the blade and the back). The hamon (literally "blade pattern," which is a visual effect created on the blade by the hardening process) is suguha with bright sharp nioikuchi (the dividing line between the hamon and the ground metal) with many koashi (small extensions of martensite/troostite crystals extending from the hamon to the cutting edge).

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