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The Sôshû 相州 (also called Sagami
相模) tradition was established by Shintôgo Kunimitsu
新藤五国光 in the late Kamakura period. His known
swords with inscribed dates show that he was active at least between 1293 &
1334 AD. Kunimitsu’s Hamon are Suguha in Nie, his Jihada is rich in Jinie
with swirling Itame forming Kinsuji. Among his pupils were two of the most
famous names among Japanese sword smiths: Yukimitsu 行光 and
Masamune 正宗.
Masamune had enormous influence on sword making throughout the country. His
success was in part due to the fact that he carefully selected his iron,
forging together different kinds of steels to give improved strength and
hardness. He also successfully tempered blades at a higher temperature than
anyone before him, resulting in brilliant Nie. The high temperature usually
causes the blade to become extremely hard and brittle; however, he is also
credited with "inventing" stress relief, thus avoiding those
undesired effects.
The Jigane is complex with varied hues in the Jihada, rich in Jinie, with both
bright and dark pools of Chikei. The Hamon is predominantly Notare with
Midareba, deep and intense with varied lines of Inazuma, Sunagashi and Kinsuji.
The effect is not unlike the work of Yasutsuna of Hôki
伯耆安綱 in its extremes of activity, and it is thought
that Masamune may have consciously emulated him.
Although Masamune worked mainly during the Kamakura period (1185 ~ 1333 AD)
when one of the characteristic of swords was the pronounced tapering down of
the width towards the point, Chû-kissaki and Koshi-zori or deep Torii-zori, he
also produced swords at the beginning of the Nambokuchô period (1333 ~ 1392
AD) and consequently we see swords of him with an overall wide Mihaba, shallow
Torii-zori and Ô-Kissaki.
Because blades actually signed by Masamune are exceedingly rare, a theory was
developed at the end of the 19’th century that Masamune never existed at all.
In the sword books of the Muromachi period the scarcity of signed blades by
Masamune is accounted for by the explanation that his work was so absolutely
distinctive that there was no need for a Mei. However, it is more likely that
the reason lies in the fact that Masamune was employed by the Kamakura Bakufu
(administration); many of his swords were made for the use by the Shôgun, and
it would have been presumptuous and contrary to all normal practice - at that
time - for him to have signed them. Another reason is simply that Tachi were of
such great length that they have been cut down to a convenient size for wearing
in Uchigatana-koshirae, and have therefore lost the inscriptions that were on
the original Nakago.
A number of signed Tantô are extant which are demonstrably by the same hands.
Those blades that still retain his signature are inscribed with two characters
- MASA 正 MUNE 宗 - except the Tantô "Daikoku Masamune"
that bears the signature "Masamune Saku 正宗作".
Masamune is perhaps the most famous of all Japanese smiths. The distinguished
scholar and statesman Kanera Ichijô (1402 ~ 1481 AD) recognized Masamune as
one of the great men of modern times, and praised him as a smith whose blades
were equal in quality to the sharp weapons of the Buddhist guardian deity Fudô
himself. Masamune’s Hamon is usually described as refined and leisurely at
the same time, his Kinsuji looking like lightning in the clouds, and his Nie
like bare patches in partially melted snow.
There is not much known about Masamune the man - at least not much verifiable.
At least we know his real name: according to the Nihonshi Kojiten
日本史小辞典, he was born Okazaki Gorô
岡崎五郎. He's supposedly the son of Tôsaburô
Yukimitsu 藤三郎行光, therefore also called
Kômitsushi (when the character for "child 子 [of]" is added to
"Yukimitsu 行光", the resulting three Kanji are read
"Kômitsushi行光子"). No explanation is given as to
when and why he chose Masamune as his art name. He evidently later became a lay
priest (Nyûdô 入道), and therefore is commonly called Gorô
Nyûdô Masamune 五郎入道正宗.
However, the thesis that Masamune was the son of Yukimitsu is nowadays refuted
by scholars, it being much more likely that they were fellow students of
Shintôgo Kunimitsu.
The Yagi-Bushi 八木節 ("bushi" is an old fashioned,
story-telling song) gives a colorful description of Masamune's life. The story
goes that Yukimitsu, while passing through Kyôto, had an affair with an
innkeeper's daughter, resulting in little Masamune. Being born out of wedlock,
Masamune is teased by the kids in the neighborhood, and decides to look for his
father. He travels to Kamakura where he tries to become an apprentice of
Yukimitsu, who has a hard time choosing from all those who apply for being his
student. Masamune shows him the dagger that his mother gave him, and Yukimitsu
recognizes it as his own work - he had left it with Masamune's mother as a
farewell present.
This apparently made up Yukimitsu's mind, and he embraced the son he never knew
of and saw before, making him his apprentice. Unfortunately they didn't live
happily ever after. Yukimitsu died, and Masamune became Kunimitsu's student.
Well, so much for an interesting story at the camp-fire …
Swords by Masamune were very highly regarded throughout Japanese sword history,
and 39 are listed in the Kyôhô Meibutsuchô (not counting Yakemi). The
Daimyô of the Edo period saw it as a matter of prestige to own a Tantô by
Masamune or Awataguchi Yoshimitsu 粟田口吉光.
When a new Shôgun succeeded his predecessor, it was the custom to present him
with a sword made by Rai Kunimitsu 来國光 or Shintôgo
Kunimitsu 新藤五國光 since Kunimitsu
國光 can be interpreted as "may the country prosper" (or,
rather, "shine"). At important birthdays like the 61'st, 70'th or
77'th, swords from the Enju 延寿 school or Toshinaga
俊長 were presented; those Mei can be taken to mean "long
life".
The demand for blades by above mentioned smiths obviously couldn't be met by
the already existing swords, and therefore forgeries became abundant. However,
the underlying idea behind this was that "it's the thought that
counts", not the intention to maliciously deceive the receiver of the
gift. This doesn't mean that a sword buyer didn't fall for a Gimei now and
then, but the Daimyô, for example, usually had no qualms presenting a probable
forgery to the Shôgun, who accepted the blade without showing the bad taste of
questioning its authenticity, and mostly presented it back to the giver on a
suitable occasion.
Important swords were constantly exchanged as gifts, used as bribes, or given
as rewards. Receiving a sword from ones lord was an honor beyond its monetary
value. Toda Ujitetsu, one of the generals of Shôgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, was once
given the choice between a Tantô by Masamune and an increase of his annual
stipend by 30,000 Koku (one Koku is 180 liters of rice, the amount needed to
feed one person for a year, and used as a means to calculate income) - Toda
unhesitatingly chose the Tantô.
"Meibutsu 名物" are items that are recorded in the
Kyôhô Meibutsuchô 享保名物帳 ("genealogy
of famous things of the Kyôhô era"), compiled by Honami Mitsutada
本阿弥光忠 in 1719 at the behest of Shôgun
Tokugawa Yoshimune 徳川吉宗. It was the first time that
other items than tea utensils, lacquer work, paintings and ceramics were listed
as Meibutsu; the swords recognized as such are described in three volumes and
an appendix:
1. (上) 68 swords by the Sansaku 三作 (“three [greatest]
makers”) Yoshimitsu 吉光 (Tôshirô 藤四郎),
Masamune 正宗 and Yoshihiro義弘 (Gô 郷),
All swords in the Meibutsuchô are made not later than the Nambokuchô period,
and only about one hundred of them are still in existence today. The high
number of blades that are forged in the Sôshû tradition reflect the
popularity these swords enjoyed with the Daimyô. It can be safely assumed that
more than a few swords with doubtful attributions are listed, or that in other
ways don't merit their status as Meibutsu, because the Honami were under a lot
of pressure to be "politically correct". It would have been
unthinkable for them to offend any of the high-ranking owners in declaring
their sword a fake, or of inferior quality.
The Meibutsuchô isn't actually very helpful in getting a lot of information
about those famous swords; basically only the sword owner, and a brief
description including the measurements, are given. Oshigata are not included,
but there's quite a collection of them made by the sword smith Ômi no Kami
Tsuguhira 近江守継平 (Nidai 二代),
who was the keeper of arms for Shôgun Yoshimune at that time.
One of Tsuguhira's Oshigata is of the Honjô Masamune
本庄正宗, a sword of legend and mystery. This Oshigata
was drawn in ink, and doesn't seem to be very accurate - Oshigata back then
weren't as sophisticated as they are nowadays.
Honjô Echizen no Kami Shigenaga
本庄越前守重長 ("Shigenaga"
is also sometimes written 繁長) was one of the generals serving
under Uesugi Kenshin 上杉謙信 and Uesugi Kagekatsu
上杉景勝. During one of the Uesugi campaigns, Shigenaga
attacked and overthrew the Dewa Shônai 出羽庄内 castle
which was held by Daihôji Yoshioki 大宝寺義興.
After the siege, Shigenaga was approached by Tozenji 東善寺
(or 東禅寺) Umanosuke 右馬介, a retainer of
Daihôji, under the pretense of showing him some captured heads. Umanosuke
attacked Shigenaga, and managed to cut the latter's helmet in half - seriously
wounding him - before he was finally overcome and slain by Shigenaga.
The sword that was used in the assassination attempt turned out to be made by
Masamune, and had sustained some chips on the edge from cutting Shigenaga's
helmet. How it came into the possession of Umanosuke in the first place is
unknown - the original owner certainly wasn't in the condition to answer
questions anymore.
Shigenaga kept it as a war trophy, and later it was sold to Toyotomi Hidetsugu
豊臣秀次. It then went to Toyotomi Hideyoshi
豊臣秀吉, Shimazu Yoshihiro
島津義弘, again to Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu
徳川家康, Tokugawa Yorinobu
徳川頼宣, and finally Tokugawa Ietsuna
徳川家綱. It remained in the Kii 紀伊
branch of the Tokugawa family, the last known owner being Tokugawa Iemasa
徳川家正 at the end of WWII.
It is said that the Honjô Masamune was one of the treasure swords of the
Tokugawa, and that it symbolically was presented to each succeeding Shôgun
when he took office from Ietsuna on. On May 29, 1939 it was designated as a
Kokuhô, or national treasure (but technically speaking, it isn't a Kokuhô
anymore. In 1950 all former national treasures were re-assigned as
Jûyô-Bunkazai, and had to be submitted again to regain their Kokuhô status.
The designation of the 14 pre-war Kokuhô that were "lost" after WWII
is therefore void).
Although the sword is said to have had the original length of 3 Shaku 8 Sun
when Umanosuke attacked Shigenaga, at the time of it becoming a national
treasure the description by the Japanese National Museum in Ueno reads as
follows:
Gyobutsu 御物 Honjô Masamune ("Gyobutsu" nowadays refers
to items in the possession of the imperial family, but in the Edo period it
meant property of the Shôgun).
As stated above, the Honjô Masamune lost its signature - if it ever had one -
due to the shortening. The rumor that it is signed is probably due to there
being *another* Honjô Masamune: an Ubu Zaimei Tantô owned by the Honjô
family. Not a Meibutsu, an Oshigata can be found in Imamura Kashô's
飯村嘉章 "Yûmei Kotô Taikan
有銘古刀大鑑".
Besides the description in the Meibutsuchô and later at the designation as a
national treasure, both Imamura Chôga and Honami Kôsan inspected the Honjô
Masamune in 1880 and 1943 respectively. Well known and respected connoisseurs,
they didn't find it - its historical value not withstanding - artistically very
appealing. As with many other swords owned by powerful people and attributed to
Masamune, some doubts about its true maker remain.
Bibliography
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