* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Tachi by Osafune Morikage
長船盛景の太刀
Also known as: Tachi signed Bizen no Kuni jū Osafune Morikage
- Smith
- Osafune Morikage
- Era
- Nanbokuchō (Northern and Southern Courts) period, 14th century
- Type
- Tachi
- Designation
- Important Cultural Property
- Location
- Fukuyama Museum of Art, Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture
Description
Overview of the Tachi by Osafune Morikage
Osafune Morikage was a swordsmith active in Osafune in Bizen Province during the Nanbokuchō period, and his signed tachi "Bizen no Kuni jū Osafune Morikage" is designated an Important Cultural Property. Morikage is considered a swordsmith belonging to the Ōmiya school of Bizen. The tachi is distinguished by its vigorous form with broad blade width, characteristic of the Nanbokuchō period, and by brilliant hamon based on the chōji-midare of the Osafune tradition.
Style and Lineage
During the Nanbokuchō period, the Osafune school of Bizen moved away from the graceful tachi of the Kamakura period and produced large, sturdy blades with broad blade width and thin kasane. Morikage's tachi shows this period style: the jigane is itame with prominent utsuri, and the hamon is a vigorous mix of gunome and chōji. Active in the same era as Kanemitsu and Chōgi, representatives of Osafune, he is evaluated as a master who played a part in Nanbokuchō-period Bizen.
Designation and Collection
The Important Cultural Property "Tachi, signed Bizen no Kuni jū Osafune Morikage" was designated in Shōwa 28 (1953) and is currently held by the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. Note that a great naginata signed "Bishū Osafune jū Morikage / Jōji 6" (1367) is also transmitted as an Important Cultural Property, so it must be understood separately from the tachi.
Legends & Stories
A signed tachi by Morikage, a representative work of Osafune in Bizen during the Nanbokuchō period, designated as an Important Cultural Property.