National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

　Although this sword bears no signature due to later grinding, it has been authenticated as a Mitsutada. The width of the blade is wide and the sugata (the shape of the blade) is powerful with outstanding utsuri (a white misty formation that runs parallel to the hamon in the ground metal) in the jigane (the ground metal) with a koitamehada (a small wood grain pattern). The hamon (literally "blade pattern," which is a visual effect created on the blade by the hardening process) shows a brilliant combination of chojiba (a clove pattern) and kawazukochojiba (a pattern of tadpole-shaped cloves) with rich activities within the hamon, such as ashi (martensite crystals), yo (a falling leaf-like activity in the hamon) and kinsuji (small shiny lines). The jigane and hamon clearly demonstrate the characteristics of Mitsutada.