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

　Kanemitsu, a sowrdsmith of the Osafune school in Bizen no Kuni, is said to be the son of Kagemitsu. He actively produced swords from the late Kamakura period to the early Northern and Southern Courts period. Kanemitsu's sword style shifted from a kataochigunomeba hamon (blade pattern) that he had inherited from his father Kagemitsu to a leisurely notareba hamon, which demonstrates the influence of the Soshu forging style. This sword has a long, wide blade with an extended kissaki (the tip of the blade) and constitutes one of the typical odachi (a long tachi (swords made to be worn with the cutting edge down)) of the Northern and Southern Courts period. This sword had been handed down to the Uesugi family.