Important Cultural PropertyLong sword signed Unshō

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  • 1 piece
  • blade L79.1 Curvature3.1
  • (Blade) Kamakura period, 13th century (Exterior) Edo period, 19th century
  • Tokyo National Museum
  • F-168

Unsho was a swordsmith who lived in Ukai, Bizen no Kuni in the late Kamakura period. Unju and Unji succeeded Unsho's style and they are together called "Un-rui." The style is closer to the style of the Aoe school in neighboring Bichu no Kuni than to that of the Osafune school in the same country. This sword clearly demonstrates the characteristics of Unsho's forging style and the long appearance with a nakazori (the deepest part of the curve is at the center of the sword) retains its original form, constituting a valuable material. The fine-grained (koitame) ground metal has a clear blackish utsuri (literally reflection; a white misty formation that runs parallel to the hamon in the ground metal) while the hamon is a suguha (straight) type with a tight, bright nioikuchi (the dividing line between the hamon and the ground metal), displaying a style similar style to that of the Aoe school. Some nicks in the blade suggest that this sword was actually used.

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