* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Tachi signed Nagamitsu (Ikeda Family Provenance)
太刀 銘 長光（池田家伝来）
Also known as: Ikeda Family Nagamitsu
Description
Overview
This Kamakura-period tachi is signed by Nagamitsu of Bizen Osafune. Handed down in the Ikeda family, lords of Inaba Province (Tottori), it is now a National Treasure held by the Tokyo National Museum.
The Smith
Nagamitsu is regarded as the son of Mitsutada, founder of the Osafune school, and laid the foundation for the school's prosperity. Many signed works by him survive.
Form and Style
The blade is about 68.8 cm long with 2.1 cm of curvature, 2.9 cm base width and a 20.9 cm tang, in shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune. The steel is clear and lustrous, the hamon a showy choji-midare, and the work is said to inherit the style of his father Mitsutada well. The curvature is somewhat high.
Provenance
The sword passed down in the Ikeda family of Inaba and later entered the Tokyo National Museum. The family descends from the line of Ikeda Terumasa, known as lord of Himeji, and owned many swords, but the exact route by which this tachi was acquired could not be confirmed.
Today
It can be seen in the museum's sword displays and is regarded, alongside the museum's other Nagamitsu National Treasures such as Daihannya Nagamitsu, as a representative work from the peak of Bizen Osafune.
Legends & Stories
A Nagamitsu tachi handed down in the Ikeda family of Inaba, later entering the Tokyo National Museum and designated a National Treasure.