Jūyō Tōken Nagamitsu Kodachi

Number

SP-E-014

Smith Name

Nagamitsu

Active Period

Shōō (正応, 1288-1293)

School

Bizen Osafune

Province

Bizen

Mei

zai-mei: Nagamitsu

Rating

Jūyō Tōken

Nagasa

54.30 cm


Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu (備前長船長光) was the eldest son and heir of Mitsutada (光忠) who was the founder of the Osafune School. According to the Kotō Meizukushi Taizen (古刀銘盡大全), Nagamitsu was born in the 1st year of the Jōō era (貞応, 1222) and died in the 5th year of the Einin era (永仁, 1297) in his 76 year. We know of his dated works from the 11th year of Bun ́ei era (文永, 1274) to the 5th year of the Shōwa era (正和, 1316) which means Nagamitsu had a relative long artistic period of about 60 years, this leaded to a two-generations theory, according to this theory, it was nidai Nagamitsu, i.e. Sakon Shōgen Nagamitsu. San ́indō (山陰道), saijō-saku.



Jūyō-tōken zufu translation: 

Designated as Jūyō-tōken at the 23rd jūyō-shinsa held on the 1st July, 1975. 

Kodachi: zai-mei NAGAMITSU

Measurements: nagasa – 54.30 cm; sori – 1.80 cm; motohaba – 3.0 cm; sakihaba – 2.1 cm;

nakago sori – very little; nakago nagasa – 13.40 cm; kissaki nagasa – 2.90 cm.

Sugata: The blade is in shinogi-zukuri with iori-mune, exceptionally strong toriizori with fumbari and chū-kissaki

Kitae: The itame hada mixed with mokume, the hada dachi-gokoro, and with utsuri-tatsu.

Hamon: Chōji mixed with gunome, and ko-chōji midare of small pattern all over, frequent. Cloudy and luminous nioi, scattered with frequent legs ashi. 

Bōshi: Slightly midare-komi with almost no turn-back and yakizumeru of almost straight line from the tempering line to the point.

Horimono: Wide grooves bohi with squared end in kaku-dome on both sides.

Nakago: Ubu nakago with a slightly moist brown patina, saki kiri and kattesagari yasurime, tree mekugi-ana. The signature Nagamitsu is thinly engraved between the mune and the mekugi-ana on the haki-omote side in tachi-mei style.

Smith: Nagamitsu the founder of the Bizen Osafune School.

Period: Mid Kamakura period (1265).

Explanation: Nagamitsu was the greatest master of the Osafune school in Bizen, and he is said to be the son of Mitsutada. He left many works of high quality, and trained many disciples, represented by Kagemitsu, Sanenaga, Nagamoto etc. Nagamitsu’s workmanship varies widely from gorgeous choji, which resembles that of his father Mitsutada, to suguha-chō.

It is necessary to pay attention that NBTHK experts indicated in setsumei that signature is: «thin chiselled niji-mei inscription "Nagamitsu", made in a somewhat non-standard manner (ga aru, がある). The signature is made in smaller letters, but still typical.» 

Sayagaki translation:

Bizen no Kuni Osafune-jū Nagamitsu. This smith frequently made kodachi and this blade is comparable with the meibutsu Tōtōmi-Nagamitsu. Blade length - 54.5 cm. Written by Dr. Satō (Kanzan) Kan’ichi (1907–1978) on a summer day in 1953.


Kodachi (小太刀) of less than 60 cm appeared in large number at the mid of the 13th century. Since the vast majority of extant examples are from Yamashiro and Osafune, it appears that they relatively short period of production was restricted mainly to these two schools. This example dates from circa 1265. One theory holds that a kodachi served as a secondary sword to the tachi, not unlike the function of the future wakizashi (short sword) in a daisho (pair of long and short swords) that will appear about 300 years latter and will be the standard two swords of the samurai in the Edo period. There are a fiew extant short kodachi like this one left. The kodachi is also called kuruma-dachi (車太刀), but further research into its purpose and the manner of its use is necessary. This sword is an ubu (original length) and zai-mei kodachi of which the jiha is splendid and the mei although small is typical. Nagamitsu forges very fine and clear jigane then produces clear chōji-utsuri, so-called botan-utsuri (牡丹映り, peony flower shaped utsuri).


This sword is published in the Yūmei Kotō Taikan (有名古刀大鑑) by Iimura Kasho, 1982, p. 426.


This sword belonged to Dr. Walter A. Compton and was one of the jewels in his collection. It was so important that at one time it was awarded a publication in the catalog: One Hundred Masterpieces from the Collection of Dr. Walter A. Compton, published in 1992 by Christie, NY. It was published in this catalog as a masterpiece at number 13.

Walter A. Compton: April 22, 1911 - October 11, 1990

Walter Ames Compton, a medical doctor who became a prominent pharmaceutical researcher and head of Miles Laboratories, one of the nation's leading manufacturers of health care products, was born Apr. 22, 1911, in Elkhart, Ind.

In a research career that spanned nearly half a century, Dr. Compton was noted for his roles in a number of pharmaceutical and health-care advances, among them the development of the first multivitamin and more efficient tests for effects of diabetes.

Dr. Compton was educated at Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, and he interned from 1937 to 1938 at Billings Hospital in Chicago. So he soon returned to Miles Laboratories, overseeing the company's research and development efforts in the 1940's and 1950's. In 1964 he became president and chief executive, and he was appointed chairman in 1973. On his retirement in 1981, he was made honorary chairman.

His research led to the development of One-a-Day multivitamin supplements, introduced in 1940. The next year, the company began selling Clinitest, a tablet used to detect sugar in the urine, and Clinistix, a paper strip for the same purpose. Both were Dr. Compton's creations. His research also led in 1950 to Bactine, a nonstinging antiseptic, and in 1960 to Chocks, the first chewable multivitamin for children. 

Dr. Compton's interest in Japanese swords began when he read about them in a boy's magazine when he was 14 years old. While a student at Princeton University in the early 1930's he bought his first samurai blade for $6 in a Chinatown laundry in New York. During WWII Walt served in the Army Medical Corps in Japan as a It. colonel. He was awarded a medal by the order of the Rising Sun for his work in Occupied Japan. He became interested in Japanese and Oriental art, eventually forming a notable collection. He collected Japanese swords for 50 years while he worked at and eventually headed, as president and later chairman, Miles Laboratories. He continued to buy swords until shortly before his death in 1990 at the age of 79.

The story of Walter Compton, the great collector and connoisseur, returning the Kokuhō sword by Saburō Kunimune to Japan from the United States in 1953 is widely known, especially since Compton did not demand any compensation for his extremely generous act. This sword had been taken from the Terukuni shrine in Kagoshima Prefecture by a member of the United States armed forces after World War II. At the time, Compton sent “runners” throughout the country, who looked for Japanese swords for him, even among family members of military officers who had returned home from the occupation troops. There is a story that the sword known as Saburō Kunimune was bought on sale in a military base for only $10 by one such runner, with the purpose of subsequently reselling it to Compton (he guaranteed payment of $50 for each historic sword brought to him). Since then, many dealers and collectors have dreamed of finding something valuable in an old abandoned loft. There are many stories and legends about this in the collectors’ community. Yet all of them, with very few exceptions, are nothing more than fantasies and beautiful stories, having no real basis in fact. 

The One Hundred Masterpieces from the Collection of Dr. Walter A. Compton, 1992.

The auction took place in New York on March 31, 1992. This kodachi by Nagamitsu was sold as lot # 224 for $132,000. The price paid as a result of the bidding exceeded the starting price by more than two times. It can be noted that in the description of the lot Christie's experts made a mistake, providing incorrect information that the sayagaki was made by Kunzan (Honma Junji) while Dr. Satō (Kanzan, 寒山) Kan’ichi wrote it.

Compton Auction Catalog by Cristie’s, 3 Volumes edition, NY, 1992, pp. 138-139.


Previous owner: Michael Hagenbusch, former president of the NBTHK European Branch.


This sword was exhibited in Fujishiro Exhibition Solingen 1999 and Ausgewählte Schwerter Solingen 2002.

The bottom photo shows that Nagamitsu kodachi was accompanied by the magnificent tachi koshirae, whose fate is currently unknown.

At one time, Uwe Grabowski talked with Michael Hagenbusch about this sword of Nagamitsu. According to Mr. Grabowski's memoirs: «Most of the facts (about this Nagamitsu kodachi) you already know. In his personal conversations Hagenbusch once said that the Nagamitsu is one of his later works because it is a classic Bizen Den when you have a wild hamon close to the tang and a more quiet one close to the kissaki. The only drop of salt is, that the kissaki lost around 5 mm due to age and the polishing. You can see the sansaku-boshi and utsuri. A Nagamitsu from the textbook. And when he bought the blade it was compared to other Nagamitsu swords very cheap».

Michael Hagenbusch

June 28th, 1942 - January 2nd, 2016

Mr. Michael Hagenbusch, president of the NBTHK European Branch since 1994, was a collector of Japanese swords for about 50 years. He underwent long time studies which included extended presence at the NBTHK Sword Museum in Tōkyō under guidance of Ogawa-sensei, and later Tanobe-sense. Several times he was allowed to study swords in the basement of the Tōkyō National Museum in Ueno Park under the guidance of Kashima-san, and Ogasawara-san. He was a major contributor for the two exhibitions in the Klingen Museum Solingen in 1984, and in 2002, showing swords from different European collections including a collection of Yagyu Tsuba. During his life as a collector of Japanese swords, he generously passed on his knowledge to anyone who showed interest in the art form.


Original content Copyright © 2020 Dmitry Pechalov