Experts confirmed the authenticity of a famous sword that had been missing since it was presented by the Tokugawa family to the imperial family late in the Edo Period (1603-1867).
The Shimazu Masamune sword was a gift for the marriage of Princess Kazunomiya to Tokugawa Iemochi (1846-1866), the 14th shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
A collector of famous swords in Osaka donated what he said was the Shimazu Masamune sword to Kyoto National Museum last fiscal year. The man obtained the sword in 1969 from a member of the Konoe family, which has close ties to the imperial family. He said he made the donation because of his advanced age.
Experts said the sword should be considered a national treasure because it was crafted by Okazaki Masamune, one of Japan’s most outstanding swordsmiths who was active in the late Kamakura Period (1192-1333).Producing the highest-quality blades during a time of military power made Masamune’s swords extremely prized. Masamune (正宗), also known as Gorō Nyūdō Masamune (五郎入道正宗), Priest Gorō Masamune, c.1264–1343 AD),is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as tachi and tantō respectively, in the Soshu tradition. No exact dates are known for Masamune's life and he has reached an almost legendary status. Some stories list his family name as Okazaki, but some experts believe this is a fabrication to enhance the standing of the Tokugawa family.
Masamune is believed to have worked in Sagami Province during the last part of the Kamakura Period (1288–1328), and it is thought that he was trained by swordsmiths from Bizen and Yamashiro provinces, such as Saburo Kunimune, Awataguchi Kunitsuna and Shintōgo Kunimitsu.
Today, the only swordsmith who can approach his exalted historical status is Muramasa, who was born hundreds of years later. Justified or not, Muramasa is said to have been psychologically imbalanced and prone to violence. Superstition holds that these traits were passed on to the swords he forged, and as such Masamune’s are often held to be the superior weapons.
A legend tells of a test where Muramasa challenged his master, Masamune, to see who could make a finer sword. They both worked tirelessly and eventually, when both swords were finished, they decided to test the results. The contest was for each to suspend the blades in a small creek with the cutting edge facing the current. Muramasa's sword, the Juuchi Yosamu (十千夜寒?, "10,000 Cold Nights") cut everything that passed its way; fish, leaves floating down the river, the very air which blew on it. Highly impressed with his pupil's work, Masamune lowered his sword, the Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手?, "Tender Hands"), into the current and waited patiently. Not a leaf was cut, the fish swam right up to it, and the air hissed as it gently blew by the blade. After a while, Muramasa began to scoff at his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword. Smiling to himself, Masamune pulled up his sword, dried it, and sheathed it. All the while, Muramasa was heckling him for his sword's inability to cut anything. A monk, who had been watching the whole ordeal, walked over and bowed low to the two sword masters. He then began to explain what he had seen.
"The first of the swords was by all accounts a fine sword, however it is a blood thirsty, evil blade, as it does not discriminate as to who or what it will cut. It may just as well be cutting down butterflies as severing heads. The second was by far the finer of the two, as it does not needlessly cut that which is innocent and undeserving."
In another account of the story, both blades cut the leaves that went down on the river's current equally well, but the leaves would stick to the blade of Muramasa whereas they would slip on past Masamune's after being sliced. Or alternatively both leaves were cut, but those cut by Masamune's blade would reform as it traveled down the stream. Yet another version has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade while the leaves were repelled by Masamune's, and another again has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade and healed by Masamune's.
In yet another story Muramasa and Masamune were summoned to make swords for the Shogun or Emperor and the finished swords were held in a waterfall. The result is the same as the other stories, and Masamune's swords are deemed holy swords. In one version of the story Muramasa is killed for creating evil swords.
While all known legends of the two ever having met are historically impossible, both smiths are widely regarded as symbols for their respective eras.
A legend tells of a test where Muramasa challenged his master, Masamune, to see who could make a finer sword. They both worked tirelessly and eventually, when both swords were finished, they decided to test the results. The contest was for each to suspend the blades in a small creek with the cutting edge facing the current. Muramasa's sword, the Juuchi Yosamu (十千夜寒?, "10,000 Cold Nights") cut everything that passed its way; fish, leaves floating down the river, the very air which blew on it. Highly impressed with his pupil's work, Masamune lowered his sword, the Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手?, "Tender Hands"), into the current and waited patiently. Not a leaf was cut, the fish swam right up to it, and the air hissed as it gently blew by the blade. After a while, Muramasa began to scoff at his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword. Smiling to himself, Masamune pulled up his sword, dried it, and sheathed it. All the while, Muramasa was heckling him for his sword's inability to cut anything. A monk, who had been watching the whole ordeal, walked over and bowed low to the two sword masters. He then began to explain what he had seen.
"The first of the swords was by all accounts a fine sword, however it is a blood thirsty, evil blade, as it does not discriminate as to who or what it will cut. It may just as well be cutting down butterflies as severing heads. The second was by far the finer of the two, as it does not needlessly cut that which is innocent and undeserving."
In another account of the story, both blades cut the leaves that went down on the river's current equally well, but the leaves would stick to the blade of Muramasa whereas they would slip on past Masamune's after being sliced. Or alternatively both leaves were cut, but those cut by Masamune's blade would reform as it traveled down the stream. Yet another version has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade while the leaves were repelled by Masamune's, and another again has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade and healed by Masamune's.
In yet another story Muramasa and Masamune were summoned to make swords for the Shogun or Emperor and the finished swords were held in a waterfall. The result is the same as the other stories, and Masamune's swords are deemed holy swords. In one version of the story Muramasa is killed for creating evil swords.
While all known legends of the two ever having met are historically impossible, both smiths are widely regarded as symbols for their respective eras.
Many Masamune swords still in existence have been named national treasures or important cultural properties.
Kazunomiya was the eighth daughter of Emperor Ninko (1800-1846) and stepsister of Emperor Komei (1831-1867).
A volume published in 1919 about famous swords in Japan includes a passage about the Tokugawa family presenting the Shimazu Masamune along with gold coins to the imperial family when Kazunomiya married Iemochi.
Toshihiko Suekane, a curator at the Kyoto National Museum specializing in the history of Japanese metalwork, pointed to three factors that led to his conclusion that the sword was authentic.
The first is that the sword came from the Konoe family. The two other factors are related to entries in documents from the Edo Period about famous swords.
One document was compiled by the Honami family under the orders of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), the eighth shogun. The Honami family handled the appraisal of famous swords at that time. The entry for the Shimazu Masamune sword listed it as 68.7 centimeters in length, matching the sword in question.
The other document was a catalog of swords that contained the designs made on the blades. The design for the Shimazu Masamune was very similar to the one on the sword being studied. Taeko Watanabe, head of the Sano Art Museum in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, and a researcher of swords, also said the uncovered sword was authentic.
“While the design on the blade is somewhat mild compared to other Masamune swords, it is still a fine work that transmits a sense of movement within a calm atmosphere when one observes it closely for a time,” Watanabe said. “Another very interesting fact is how the sword was passed on from the Tokugawa family to the imperial family and then to the Konoe family.”
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