Rai Mitsukane

Establishment of Rai Mitsukane and Chūdō Rai

Rai Mitsukane was a swordsmith who, in the late Kamakura period, moved from Yamashiro Province (present-day southern Kyoto Prefecture) to Ōmi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture), where he secluded himself at the Konponchūdō of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei and made swords. The nickname "Chūdō Rai" derives from this anecdote. He is traditionally said to have been a disciple of Rai Kunitoshi.

The name is read Mitsukane, and the signature is basically the two characters 光包 (Mitsukane), although examples inscribed with the three characters 来光包 (Rai Mitsukane) are also known. He was a smith of unusual background within the Rai school, and his move from Yamashiro to Ōmi is also a fine example of the spread of sword-making in the provinces.

Range of Works and Characteristics of Jigane and Hamon

Extant works by Mitsukane are centered on tantō. This also conforms to the tendency of the Yamashiro and Rai school of the time, which was centered on tantō.

The jigane is densely packed ko-itame, and fine ji-nie appears throughout, presenting a surface with a strong impression of clarity. This clarity of the jigane is a characteristic shared by the Rai school as a whole, and it clearly appears in Mitsukane's works as well. The kasane (thickness, the thickness at the back of the blade) tends to be relatively thick compared with other schools, and this is presumed to be a feature common to the Rai school as a whole in the same period. The hamon is basically of two kinds, hoso-suguha and chū-suguha with a wide yaki-haba, and many works adopt a komaru or ōmaru bōshi.

The Meibutsu "Midare Mitsukane"

The most renowned of Mitsukane's works is the meibutsu "Midare Mitsukane." This tantō differs entirely in character from Mitsukane's other works. Rather than the usual suguha style, it adopts gunome-midare, making it an exceptional single blade. Its workmanship is said to be so fine that it could be mistaken for works of Kamakura-period Bizen, such as those of Bizen Kagemitsu.

This "Midare Mitsukane" was designated an Important Cultural Property (June 27, 1959). It is currently in private ownership and is held at the Japanese Sword Museum in Sumida City, Tokyo.

Evaluation

Mitsukane's own rating is jōsaku. With works characterized by the clear jigane peculiar to the Rai school and elegant suguha, he is placed in the history of swords as a representative provincial smith among the disciples of Rai Kunitoshi.