Tanto signed Rai Kunimitsu (Meibutsu Shiokawa Rai Kunimitsu)

Rai Kunimitsu, said to be the eldest son of Rai Kunitoshi, was a smith who produced work over a longer span than any other member of the Rai school. Active in Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto) from the late Kamakura through the early Nanbokucho period, he inherited his father's style while producing numerous celebrated tanto.

This tanto measures 25.6 cm in blade length, with a flat (hira-zukuri) construction and no curvature. Its accomplished tanto proportions and the refined, dignified steel characteristic of the Rai school are its defining features.

The Kyoho Meibutsucho records the blade as valued at "100 gold pieces, owned by Lord Shiokawa of Omi Province in the time of Lord Nobunaga," referring to Shiokawa Hoki-no-kami Kunimitsu of Omi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture), who held the blade during Oda Nobunaga's rule over Owari and Nagoya — the origin of its name, "Shiokawa Rai Kunimitsu." It later passed to Honda Mino-no-kami Tadamasa and was long transmitted through the Honda family of Himeji domain in Harima Province (present-day Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture).

Designated an Important Cultural Property, the blade has been highly regarded since the Edo period as a named meibutsu listed in the Kyoho Meibutsucho. It is now held by the Token World Foundation (Toukenko Corporation).