* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Osafune Sanemitsu
長船真光
Description
Lineage
Osafune Sanemitsu was a Kamakura-period swordsmith of Osafune in Bizen Province, traditionally said to have been a pupil of Osafune Nagamitsu.
Representative works
A tachi signed "Bizen no kuni Osafune junin Sanemitsu" in the Kyoto National Museum is an Important Cultural Property (designated 20 March 1954), with a blade length of 74.8 cm and curvature of 2.4 cm. The Cultural Heritage Online commentary notes that signed works by Sanemitsu are very rare and that this blade strongly recalls Nagamitsu. A tachi signed "Sanemitsu" in the Chido Museum (Yamagata) is a National Treasure together with its itomaki-style tachi mounting (designated 31 March 1953; blade length 77.3 cm, curvature 2.9 cm). It is dated to the late Kamakura period and has a tightly knit itame grain with ji-nie and chikei.
Assessment
Although signed works are scarce, the survival of both a National Treasure and an Important Cultural Property marks him as one of the leading smiths of the Nagamitsu circle.
Famous Works
- 太刀 銘 備前国長船住人真光（重要文化財・京都国立博物館蔵）
- 太刀 銘 真光 附糸巻太刀拵（国宝・致道博物館蔵）