-, 37th Session — Designated September 12, 1991
, : Yukimitsu (Senjuin) (行光)
Measurements 77.7 cm, 2.8 cm, 3.15 cm, 1.8 cm, 2.6 cm, 22.2 cm, 0.4 cm
Description Keijō: , ; slightly slender, with thick and a high ; deep with ; a marked difference between base and tip widths; forming a . : ; on the it shows conspicuous ; overall adheres well with visible, and a faint -like effect appears. : A -toned ; around the and midsection, -tendency and mingle in a relatively showy ; with , uchi-noke, , and appearing; overall adheres and the temper is bright, and in places the shows (a moist/soft quality). : With an -tendency, it becomes and ends in , taking on an appearance close to . : None. : ; ; ; one ; on the , in the lower half below the peg-hole, there is a two-character signature at the center of the tang.
Artisan Senjuin Yukimitsu (千手院 行光)
Era Late period (corresponding to around the Enkyō era)
Explanation Among the five Yamato schools, the Senjuin school is regarded as the earliest to have arisen. Old transmitted writings state that, in the late period, there were two master smiths named Yukinobu and Shigehiro. However, no works that can be accepted as firmly attributable to them have yet been seen. Of extant signed works, those considered the earliest are a bearing only the inscription “Senjuin,” and a signed “Yamato no jūnin Shigeyuki”; both are thought to date to the early period, and thereafter signed works remain few.
This is a rare extant, two-character signed work by Senjuin Yukimitsu. Its date is considered late , and it likely corresponds to what the describes as the Enkyō period. The long-bladed, —with —is dignified and powerful. The steel color carries a slightly blackish tone, yet possesses a lustrous quality and is clear. The tempering, as expected, displays a richly varied with changes of a kind not seen among the other four Yamato schools; in this, one can discern the distinctive features of the Senjuin tradition.
