Bizen Moromitsu

Bizen Moromitsu is a swordsmith of the Osafune school who was active from the Nanboku-chō period to the early Muromachi period, based in Osafune. He is known as one of the representative smiths of the “Kozori-mono,” who did not belong to the Kanemitsu lineage or the Chōgi line. The Osafune school was the largest swordsmith group in Japan, flourishing from the 13th to the 16th century based in the Osafune estate of Bizen Province. A tachi in the collection of Kotohira-gū, dated Meitoku 3 (1392), is said to be the work of Moromitsu.

Moromitsu's blades embody Bizen-den techniques in the style of the Nanboku-chō to early Muromachi periods. In the tachi at Kotohira-gū, the jigane has itame mixed with mokume and is densely forged, and the utsuri characteristic of Bizen-den appears faint and irregularly undulating.

The hamon is nioi-deki gunome mixed with ko-chōji, and gunome with an open base and pointed elements in the hamon are also seen. The tachi shape is shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune, with strong koshizori and a dignified ko-kissaki.

Three of Moromitsu's tachi in total, held by Kotohira-gū, Hie Shrine (Tokyo), and Kitano Tenmangū (Kyoto), are designated Important Cultural Properties. As a smith of the Osafune school in the Nanboku-chō period, he still enjoys deep-rooted popularity among modern sword enthusiasts and collectors.