* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Inaba Raiguni Mitsui
稲葉来国光
Also known as: Inaba Raiguni Mitsui · Finest masterpiece of the Raiguni school, formerly in the Kaga Maeda collection · Listed in the Kyoho Mebutsu-cho
Description
The Inaba Raiguni Mitsui is among the most renowned blades crafted by Raiguni Mitsui, who is considered the apex of the Yamashiro Raiguni school. The beautiful hamon, which combines the Raiguni school's characteristic straight blade with subtle irregularities, together with the refined small-scale mokume jihada, embodies the essence of the late Kamakura Yamashiro tradition. The blade retains a clear two-character signature, making it a signed Raiguni Mitsui of exceptional documentary value. After being transmitted to the Kaga Maeda family, it entered the collection of the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, where it continues to be highly regarded by scholars as a masterpiece representative of the Raiguni school. With a blade length of approximately 50 centimeters, it demonstrates practical proportions that symbolize the functional beauty characteristic of Kamakura warrior swords.
Legends & Stories
Raiguni Mitsui was a master swordsmith representing the Raiguni school, a distinguished Yamashiro lineage descended from Raiguni Kuniyuki and Raiguni Kunishow, and was active from the late Kamakura shogunate period through the early Northern and Southern Courts era. The name 'Inaba Raiguni Mitsui' became established because the blade was transmitted to the Inaba family, but the manner in which the Inaba acquired this blade is not necessarily clear. According to one account, following the Battle of Sekigahara, the blade is said to have been transferred from western provinces to Owari and subsequently to Kaga as a reward for military service. Since works by Raiguni Mitsui are few in total, and wakizashi forms are particularly rare among them, this blade is regarded as one of the benchmark works in Raiguni school research. Having a history of being carefully preserved as a treasured possession of the Maeda family, after the Meiji Restoration it was transferred from the hands of the former daimyo to a public museum, and has been passed down to the present day as a treasure of Japanese sword culture.