Osafune Tadamitsu

Osafune Tadamitsu was a swordsmith active in Osafune, Bizen Province (present-day Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture) during the late Muromachi period. Generations of smiths bore the name Tadamitsu, and extant dated works indicate that the "seventh-generation Hikobei-no-jō Tadamitsu" was active from the Bunmei era (1469–1487) through the Meiō era (1492–1501).

Lineage and School

Tadamitsu belonged to the mainline Osafune school of the Bizen tradition. Together with his contemporaries Katsumitsu and Munemitsu, he is counted among the leading masters of "Sue-Bizen" (Late Bizen), the group of Bizen smiths active in the closing decades of the Muromachi period.

Style

The Tadamitsu line was reputed to be skilled masters of suguha (straight hamon). However, a surviving signed blade dated to the second month of Entoku 3 (1491) shows a vivid midareba (irregular hamon) with a bright nioiguchi, and carries fine carved decoration (horimono) on both faces of the blade.

Representative Work

A katana signed "Bizen-koku-jū Osafune Tadamitsu saku, Entoku 3-nen 2-gatsu hi" is a designated Important Art Object that was passed down in the Date family of the Uwajima domain, and stands as a confirmed extant example of Tadamitsu's signed work.