Shintōgo Kunimitsu Tantō....diamond in the rough?

[Jacques]

Quote

I don't think thats correct. This is the date inscription which I interpret as a year in Showa (Showa 2? [1314]).

Not the same. The one you quoted is dated from Showa 4 not showa 2?.(1315) 

 

[Zoglet]

3 hours ago, Lewis B said:

If you're correct about masame in the DTI blade Nicholas, it could be by Hasebe Kunishige (Markus indicates a connection with Shintaro Kunimitsu, same smith?). The data is inconclusive although the masame points to Yamato influence. The 'wet' appearance of the steel also fits. 

 

KUNISHIGE (国重), 1st gen., Kenmu (建武, 1334-1338), Yamashiro – “Hasebe Kunishige” (長谷部国重), real name Hasebe Chōbei (長谷部長兵衛), it is said that he came originally from Yamato province where his ancestors lived in Nara´s Hatsuse (初瀬), there exists the tradition that the family name Hasebe was, over “Hase,” a modification of the pronunciation of “Hatsuse,” another theory says that he was the son of Senju´in Shigenobu (千手院重信), so it is assumed that his roots were in the Senju´in or in the Taima school, some sources state that he moved to Kamakura to study as late student under Shintōgo Kunimitsu (新藤五国光) before he finally settled in Kyōto/Yamashiro, this is supported by the tradition that Kunimitsu too bore the family name Hasebe, some even assume that Kunishige was the son of Shintōgo Kunimitsu, however, he moved around Kenmu to Inokuma (猪熊) in the Bōmon district (坊門) in the vicinity of Kyōto´s Gojō axis (五条), he is listed as one of the “Ten Students of Masamune,” unfortunately no signed works are extant by the 1st generation Hasebe Kunishige, his most famous work is the meibutsu Heshikiri-Hasebe (圧し切り長谷部) which was once the favourite sword of Oda Nobunaga, this and other ō-suriage-mumei blades have a wide mihaba, a thin kasane, a shallow sori, and an elongated kissaki, the mune is iori or maru, the jigane is a dense ko-itame which tends to masame towards the ha and the mune, the hamon is a notare mixed with gunome with plenty of hataraki within the ha like ashi, yō, sunagashi and kinsuji, towards the upper blade section also tobiyaki appear which can turn into a hitatsura, the bōshi is midare-komi with hakikake and a somewhat pointed kaeri, unsigned blades of the 1st and 2nd gen. are hard to differentiate, the jigane of the 1st gen. looks more “wet” and “sticky” whereas the ha is more bright, jōjō-saku ⦿

 

At the end of the day, due to the low resolution of the pictures, it's difficult to tell for certain whether the straighter grain truly is masame or merely running o-hada, however, masame doesn't always indicate Yamato influence, as we also see it in examples of Awataguchi blades from the mid-Kamakura Period, namely Kunitsuna, who may have instructed Shintogo Kunimitsu on sword-crafting. As such, it may be early to jump to Hasebe Kunishige, although Markus's suggestion may indicate that Shintogo Kunishige may be an earlier form of Hasebe's work, so that lends some credence to your suggestion. Overall, I'd stay more conservative on this issue until I can more readily see the jigane on this piece.

[Jacques]

I think this text by Hon'ami Kôzon, translated by AFU Watson, deserves to be read very carefully, especially by those who see daimei everywhere.

[Jussi Ekholm]

I think Jacques has a valid point above that would fit well to me, I cannot differentiate the smiths or generations from 2 character mei. However there is also another point that can be seen from Nihontō Kōza page. For Kunimitsu there is the text for tachi "As for tachi, there is just one piece..." Now so far I have been able to find 1 ōdachi and 7 tachi that are seen as work of Shintōgo Kunimitsu.

 

There are also some more unknown Kunimitsu smiths, even in late Kamakura. I didn't even remember there was this Senjuin Kunimitsu tantō (which is the only blade I know by him) in Jūyō 20 as I am going through the book. NBTHK puts this as the work of Senjuin Kunimitsu and identifies it as late Kamakura piece if I understood the text correctly. 

 

[Jacques]

Quote

As for tachi, there is just one piece..

It's always about zaimei swords..

[Gakusee]

On 10/21/2025 at 10:37 AM, Jacques said:

I think this text by Hon'ami Kôzon, translated by AFU Watson, deserves to be read very carefully, especially by those who see daimei everywhere.

This above is a good point for people to always bear in mind; first and foremost the workmanship and traits should underpin our understanding, followed by the (secondary) view of the signature. 
 

In the last 20-30 years, long since the great Koza publication was written, scholarship has moved a bit in relation to the multi-generational theory and lately single-generation interpretations often prevail where previously there was a strict separation about some smiths (often the case in Bizen Osafune for example). Various examples include Mitsutada, Nagamitsu but also Kunimune etc. 

 

Moving on to how many zaimei Shintogo tachi exist. 

 

12 hours ago, Jacques said:

It's always about zaimei swords..

With regard to the zaimei Shintogo Kunimitsu tachi…well, there are more than one. Of course they are a great rarity but I think I have records of 5-6 such zaimei tachi. And
it is very possible that Jussi might have unearthed more with his visits to shrines and temples and perusal of old records. 
 

I attach some of the examples I have records of. 
 

Of these, on a couple of occasions,  I have been privileged to hold and study the last blade (TokuJu, one ana). It is an extremely fine blade, with sophisticated and fine jiba and in no way inferior to his tanto ( I have studied some in hand and various behind glass). So, I am not sure to which [inferior ibid.]  tachi the Koza refers in the excerpt above. 

 

[Keiji]

On 20/10/2025 at 22:07, Lewis B said:

 

 

 

I wanted to point out that the two blades on the right are from the Enju school. 

[Jacques]

Okay,

In fact, Hon'ami Kozon does not say that there is only one tachi, but that he has only seen one. Have you had the opportunity to see both the tachi you mention and a tanto at the same time to judge the potential difference in quality? Do you have the knowledge to evaluate such a thing? Personally, I don't, and I trust a real expert more than an ordinary person who claims to be one.

 

I questionned Chatgpt about the number of tachi answer below

Edited October 27, 2025 by Jacques

[CSM101]

So much for ChatGPT:

 

 

Token Bijutsu 593.pdf

[CSM101]

And the sword in question

 

 

[Jussi Ekholm]

These are the ones I have info so far

 

96,1 cm - Jūyō 27

76,1 cm - Tokubetsu Jūyō 2 (Mutsu Shintōgo 陸奥新藤五)

74,2 cm - Jūyō Bunkazai - Seikadō Bunko

73,6 cm - Ise Jingū - Dedicated by Tokugawa Ieharu in 1769

73,4 cm - Tokubetsu Jūyō 7

70,5 cm - Tokubetsu Jūyō 12

68,8 cm - Private collection - Was featured in 2002 Masamune: A Genius Swordsmith and his lineage (4 Museum combination exhibition)

65,4 cm - Jūyō 20

 

For the Ise Jingū item it is explained in the book that mei is good but the upper portion of the sword is in rough condition. Text also states that this particular item is noted as Bizen Kunimitsu in Tokugawa Jikki. However it is now seen as work of Shintōgo Kunimitsu.

 

Unfortunately I have never seen a Shintōgo Kunimitsu tachi in person.

[Lewis B]

@Lexvdjagt kindly sent me a short video and photo of the nakago of an exceptional Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto currently on display at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. This one was posthumously bequeathed to the museum from the Suzuki collection.

 

The tanto itself is probably one of the best examples I've seen. The deki is archetypical Shintogo, ubu with a nengo for 1316. The nagasa is 21.9cm with a slender sugata. There are beautiful lines of kinsuji, one of the key features of this smiths work. Overall it appears to be a very healthy, original example. 

 

If the NBTHK published something about this blade it would be interesting to see. Setsumei, kantei etc?

 

      

[Jacques]

 

Quote

The deki is archetypical Shintogo,

What do you mean ?

[Markus]

The oshigata of this blade, Jūyō Shinsa 49, just as a reference.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2025 by Markus

[Brano]

... and a video of this Tanto

https://eu.zonerama.com/Nihonto/Photo/14112229/575663890

[Lewis B]

Here are some well executed stills of the same blade taken by a really accomplished photographer given the limitations

 

https://www.facebook.com/foldable.at.its.lirnit/posts/pfbid036qtZgADUbdHoTViotbWY2H8cJXTxpnVijhepvhu3oZVEmf9YJMTCfweqC6Ru6986l

 

For example (better images in the links)

 

And just for giggles, couple more tanto from the early Soshu grandmasters in the same exhibition

-the Ashiya Masamune

 

 

 

 

[Lewis B]

-the Oshima Yukimitsu

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1990720528167178&set=pcb.1990722204833677

[CSM101]

Hachisuka Masamune 

 

 

[Robert S]

That mokume!

[Lewis B]

An update on progress. Habachi has been restored and a shirasaya is being made by the sayashi now that the togishi has removed the surface corrosion on the blade. I hope this will be completed in the next 1-2 months and given back to the togishi so he can begin the polishing.

 

I have to admit I've become a little obsessed by Mei and the stylistic forms of kanji adopted by smiths in the Kamakura period, especially. It seems to be quite quirky to alter the regular form of kanji and it got me wondering why Shintogo adopted the unique strokes that are peculiar to him. I doubt it was something done in isolation. Likewise Norishige also carried on this practise, probably influenced by his Sensei, in the characteristic style he adopted when carving Nori and Shige. 

 

Many theories circulate around Shintogo's origins and his teacher(s). The Soshuden Museum offers some interesting theories. 

https://www.nihonto-museum.com/blog/shintogo-kunimitsu

 

I'm reading the catalog @MassiveMoonHeh made available from the Art of the Samurai exhibition at The Met in 2009/10. In there a National Treasure tachi by Awataguchi Norikuni caught my eye. The character for Kuni has that distinctive central vertical strike. Could this smith have been the inspiration for Shintogo's Mei? One theory is that Shintogo's father was Awataguchi Kunitsuna, who was uncle to Norikuni, making Norikuni and Shintogo cousins. Both Norikuni and his father Kunitomo were two of the Gobankaji from the Awataguchi school. A young Shintogo might have held these guys in very high esteem and adopted some stylistic designs for his Mei in recognition and respect, as well as adding his own flourish in the form of the mirrored 'S' element. Norikuni also worked in narrow suguha. 

 

 

Awataguchi Kunitsuna mei

 

 

Extant works by Kunitomo are extremely rare (less than 5 known per Markus) and I've been unable to find a really clear example of his Mei. The is the best I could get. Slanted vertical. 

 

 

Did anyone attend the exhibition? What a unique experience that would have been. If only I had been actively involved in nihonto at that time. It would have been unmissable. 

[Sebuh]

always nice when there's an update in this thread, thank you Lewis for the updates. Patiently waiting to see how this all turns out!

[eternal_newbie]

12 hours ago, Lewis B said:

I'm reading the catalog @eternal_newbie made available

 

Credit goes to @MassiveMoonHeh for that one, the thread is here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/54748-art-of-the-samurai

 

Other than that, good luck with your pursuit, I await the results eagerly.

[CSM101]

Norikuni

 

 

[Lewis B]

42 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

 

Credit goes to @MassiveMoonHeh for that one, the thread is here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/54748-art-of-the-samurai

 

Other than that, good luck with your pursuit, I await the results eagerly.

My bad. Edited the post with the correct acknowledgement.

[MassiveMoonHeh]

6 minutes ago, Lewis B said:

My bad. Edited the post with the correct acknowledgement.

Haha, thanks @eternal_newbie & @Lewis B - I will forgive you for the confusing the two of us, as we are both Aussie. By the way the exhibition was held at the MET not MOMA (although that would be pretty cool) - both museums are in New York, though, so we are still in the right city! Glad you found the catalogue useful! Thank you both for everything you share - loving the content. 

[Lewis B]

6 hours ago, CSM101 said:

Norikuni

 

 

Thanks. An excellent example of the vertical radical for Kuni. 

 

The tanto shown shares many of the characteristics commonly found for Shintogo. Mitsu-mune, sugata, uchizori, nakago shape. Even the length of the futasuji-hi horimono is very similar to the koshibi carving on the 1306 and 1308 tanto. Something else I noticed is how the horimono carving on Uwe's tanto extends quite far past the machi and well into the nakago. The 1308 tanto has a similar extension which has had me perplexed but appears to be deliberate based on the Norikuni example. 

 

Norikuni's son, Kuniyoshi adopted a similar unique style for kuni although there are many examples of his Mei that are carved in the more traditional way with right slanting central radical.

 

One thing is clear that Shintogo learned from the some of best smiths of the day and the style of his work establishes a connection to the Awataguchi school and, in particular, the individuals who moved from Kyoto to Sagami during the Kamakura era. 

 

[Jacques]

Quote

The tanto shown shares many of the characteristics commonly found for Shintogo. Mitsu-mune, sugata, uchizori, nakago shape. 

Are you sure ?

[CSM101]

2 hours ago, Jacques said:

Are you sure ?

Well, that depends on several factors ..

 

First the translation.

673_NBTHK_February_2013.pdf

[CSM101]

and the sword again.

[Jacques]

1 hour ago, CSM101 said:

Well, that depends on several factors ..

 

First the translation.

673_NBTHK_February_2013.pdf 180.62 kB · 5 downloads

You didn't understand that it was a bit ironic; these characteristics are not exclusive to Shintogo Kunimitsu, far from it.