Tachi Signed Moritoshi

The Tachi Signed Moritoshi is a National Treasure attributed to Moritoshi, a swordsmith of the Ko-Aoe tradition of Bitchū Province (western Okayama Prefecture today), specifically of the Senoo group of Ko-Aoe smiths. The blade measures 74.1 cm in length with a curvature of 2.2 cm. The steel shows a mix of itame and mokume grain patterns often described as chirimen-hada (crepe-textured skin), while the temper line combines small notare with chōji elements, set on a slender, deeply curved silhouette of great elegance. Although Moritoshi is counted among the representative smiths of the Ko-Aoe school, extremely few signed works by him survive, leaving much of his oeuvre poorly documented. This tachi is one of those rare surviving signed pieces, and it was designated a National Treasure in recognition of both its documentary rarity and the high quality of its steel and temper. The blade remains in private hands today, with limited public viewing opportunities, but it occupies an important place in the study of the Ko-Aoe school as one of the key reference works for the tradition.