Newly Forged Sword | Kanemitsu / 75.4cm

[Newly Forged Sword] In the Style of Sukesada – Higo-no-Kuni-jū Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu / Auspicious Day in February, Reiwa 5 (2023)

Swordsmith Akamatsu Tarō Kanemitsu (real name: Mitsuhiro Kimura) resides in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture.
Born in 1979 (Showa 54), he began his apprenticeship under his father, swordsmith Kanetsugu, in 1998 (Heisei 10). In 2002 (Heisei 14), he completed the Preservation Training Course for Swordsmith Techniques, and in 2003 (Heisei 15), he was officially licensed to forge swords. Skilled in producing both artistic swords and practical swords for martial arts, he has won numerous awards almost annually since his first entry and first award at the Newly Made Masterpiece Sword Exhibition in 2004 (Heisei 16).

The Kimura family descends from the official smiths of the Sagara clan of the Hitoyoshi Domain. In addition to his father Kanetsugu, his uncles Kaneyasu and Kaneteru are swordsmiths, and his younger brother Kaneyuki is also a swordsmith.

Our company has commissioned Kanemitsu to forge artistic swords intended for mounting and polishing by skilled artisans—saya makers, habaki makers (silversmiths), and tsukamaki masters—so that they can confidently submit them to exhibitions such as the Contemporary Sword Mountings Exhibition (sponsored by the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) and the Sword Mounting and Polishing Technical Exhibition (sponsored by the Nihonto Bunka Shinko Kyokai Foundation).

This particular sword is one such piece. The habaki (blade collar) included with this sword received the Second Prize, Gold Award in the Silver Division at the 13th New Japanese Sword Polishing and Mounting Technical Exhibition held in 2023 (Reiwa 5). Furthermore, the plain wood scabbard (shirasaya) was crafted by a saya maker who has repeatedly received awards in the shirasaya division of the same exhibition.