Tachi signed Kunimune (Shimazu Family Heirloom)

The Tachi signed Kunimune, handed down through the Shimazu clan, is a long cavalry sword forged by Bizen Saburo Kunimune, one of the foremost swordsmiths of early Kamakura Bizen Province. Known by the informal name "Saburo" (Third Son), Kunimune is associated with the Ichimonji school but maintained a distinctive personal style, and his works are among the most prized of the early Kamakura period, with multiple pieces designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.

The sword was treasured as a heirloom of the Shimazu clan, the powerful daimyo who controlled the three southern Kyushu provinces of Satsuma, Osumi, and Hyuga from the Kamakura period onward, accumulating a rich collection of fine blades through centuries of warfare and peacetime rule. After the Meiji Restoration, it passed to the Shoko Shuseikan (formerly the Shimazu family museum) in Kagoshima City, where it is now designated an Important Cultural Property and displayed alongside other Shimazu historical artifacts.

The blade displays the classic early Kamakura form — high koshi-zori curvature, narrow tip, and small kissaki — with a refined ko-itame grain bearing clear utsuri, the vivid surface activity characteristic of this era. The hamon is a dignified ko-choji/ko-midare with fine nie. As a signed blade by Bizen Saburo Kunimune with centuries of Shimazu provenance, it is a document of both sword history and samurai history.