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

For the Kamakura forging tradition, Shintogo Kunimitsu appeared in the late Kamakura period and initiated the Soshuden style, which was completed by his disciple Masamune. The style had great impact on sword making across the nation. Kunihiro was a son of Kunimitsu and this short sword is a valuable piece in that it bears the inscription of the swordsmith, his place of residence and the year of forging. It is of the uchizori (a curve on the blade side) type and the fine-grained (koitame) ground shows thick jinie (nie – a larger crystal formation – in the ground) with chikei (a curved line of nie) across the sword. The hamon (literally "blade pattern," which is a visual effect created on the blade by the hardening process) is hososuguha (thin straight hamon) with konie (small nie) and its overall style resembles the style of his master Kunimitsu.