Other Famous SwordsTachiNational Treasure

小竜景光

Koryū Kagemitsu

Aussi connu sous le nom de: Little Dragon

Forgeron

Bizen Osafune Kagemitsu

Époque

Late Kamakura period (early 14th century)

Type

Tachi

Classement

National Treasure

Lieu de conservation

Tokyo National Museum

Description

Koryū Kagemitsu is a National Treasure tachi forged by the late Kamakura-period Bizen master Kagemitsu, regarded as one of the supreme examples of the Bizen Osafune school at its height. Its name, 'Little Dragon,' comes from a small dragon carved into the flat of the tang — an exquisite piece of metalwork that gives the sword an additional layer of mystique. The blade displays Kagemitsu's signature 'kataochi chōji' (one-sided clove) temper pattern — a uniquely beautiful form of chōji-midare found only in his work. Most significantly, Koryū Kagemitsu is recorded as having been worn by Emperor Go-Daigo, the forceful sovereign who overthrew the Kamakura shogunate in 1333. A sword actually worn by an emperor is extraordinarily rare among surviving swords. It is now a National Treasure at the Tokyo National Museum.

Légendes et récits

The small dragon carved on the tang of Koryū Kagemitsu is the first clue that this is no ordinary sword. In East Asian tradition, the dragon is the symbol of imperial power — of the emperor himself. If Kagemitsu carved this dragon because he was making the sword for Emperor Go-Daigo, then the blade is a kind of visual proclamation: this is a sword for the Son of Heaven, for the supreme lord of Japan. Emperor Go-Daigo was one of Japan's most remarkable rulers — a determined, brilliant, and ultimately tragic figure who successfully overthrew the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 but was then outmaneuvered by Ashikaga Takauji and forced to retreat to Yoshino, where he established the Southern Court. Through all of this — the exile, the restoration, the civil war, the flight to the mountains — he carried this sword. The blade is a witness to one of the most dramatic reigns in Japanese history: the last serious attempt by an emperor to rule Japan directly, and the beginning of seven centuries of shogunal government. Today, the small dragon on the tang watches silently from its museum case in Tokyo, still carrying the memory of the emperor who wore it.