List of Wazamono


Wazamono is a Japanese term that, in a literal sense, refers to an instrument that plays as it should; in the context of Japanese swords and sword collecting, wazamono denotes any sword with a sharp edge that has been tested to cut well, usually by professional sword appraisers via the art of tameshigiri.
The term wazamono has been popularized by two books published during the late Edo period. The first is called Kaihō Kenjaku, a single-volume authoritative index classifying historic Japanese swordsmiths based on the quality of their blades; the book's first edition was compiled and published in 1797, with re-publishings made in 1805 and 1815 due to the book's popularity. The contents, written and edited by Tsuge Heisuke Masayoshi, a samurai of the Karatsu Domain in Hizen Province, were based on the recorded cutting tests done by Yamada Asaemon V Yoshimutsu, an executioner of the Tokugawa Shogunate and fifth head of the famous Yamada Asaemon line of sword testers; single cuts were performed on the corpses of executed criminals aged 30 to 50, cutting their torsos roughly above nipple height.
The Kaihō Kenjaku identified, in total, 163 wazamono swordsmiths, grouped into four "grades" based on the cutting performance of their blades:
  • Saijō Ōwazamono — the highest grade, which counted 12 swordsmiths whose swords could cut through torsos 8–9 out of 10 times;
  • Ōwazamono — the second-highest grade, counting 21 swordsmiths whose swords could cut through torsos 7–8 out of 10 times;
  • Yokiwazamono or Ryōwazamono — the third-highest grade, counting 50 swordsmiths whose swords could cut through torsos 5–7 out of 10 times;
  • Wazamono — the fourth and lowest grade, counting 80 swordsmiths whose swords could cut through torsos 3–4 out of 10 times.
The Mixed Grades category included 65 additional swordsmiths noted for having swords of mixed quality/sharpness level.
The 1805 and 1815 re-publishings of Kaihō Kenjaku saw adjustments be made to the rankings. In 1830, a second book, called Kokon Kaji Bikō, was published as a major revised list of the wazamono ratings. This new list yet again made amends to the original, and new sword makers were added, such that there were now 15 sword makers in the Saijō Ōwazamono category, 21 in the Ōwazamono category, 58 in the Yokiwazamono category, 93 in the Wazamono category, and 68 in the mixed category, for a total of 255 swords. This time, the cutting tests had been conducted by the 7th head of the Yamada family lineage, Yamada Asaemon Yoshitoshi.
The katana forged by Nagasone Kotetsu, one of the top-rated swordsmiths, became very popular at the time when the books were published, and many counterfeits were made. Furthermore, the swordsmiths treated specially in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō and Muramasa were omitted from the listings. The reasons are thought to be that Yamada was afraid of challenging the authority of the shōgun, that he could not use precious swords possessed by the daimyō in the examination, and that he was considerate of the legend of Muramasa's curse.
A misconception about the wazamono classification is that it is a sword ranking, since the term wazamono itself refers to swords; however, the grades pertain to swordsmiths, graded according to the cutting ability of their blades. See the below list of the swordsmiths listed in the Kaihō Kenjaku.

Twelve (12) ''Saijō Ōwazamono''

The original list of 12 swordsmiths who, based on the cutting ability of their blades, hold the highest rank of Saijō Ōwazamono :Osafune Hidemitsu = Hidemitsu IIMihara Masaie = Masaie IVOsafune MotoshigeNagasone Okisato = Nagasone Kotetsu, AKA Kotetsu INagasone Okimasa = Kotetsu IISeikan Kanemoto = Kanemoto IMagoroku Kanemoto = Kanemoto IITatara NagayukiMiyoshi Nagamichi = Nagamichi ISendai Kunikane IHizen Tadayoshi IHizen Tadayoshi III = Mutsu no Kami Tadayoshi
In the reprinted edition released in 1805 as well as the major revised edition of 1830, the three swordsmiths Soboro Sukehiro, Osafune Kagemitsu, and Izuminokami Kanesada were added to the list.

Twenty-one (21) ''Ōwazamono''

The original list of 21 swordsmiths who, based on the cutting ability of their blades, hold the second-highest rank of Ōwazamono :Takatenjin KaneakiKashū Kanewaka IKanenoriIyo Daijō Katsukuni IHorikawa KunihiroIzumi no Kami Kunisada IHorikawa KuniyasuHigo no Kami Kuniyasu ITsushima no Kami Sadashige IYosozaemon SukesadaTōshiro SukesadaTsuda SukehiroŌmi no Daijō Fujiwara TadahiroEchigo no Kami Kanesada IIFujishima TomoshigeEchizen no Kami NobuyoshiMondonoshō MasakiyoShūri no Suke MorimitsuSakyō no Suke YasumitsuIchinohira Yasuyo or Ippei Yasuyo
  • ''Osafune Yoshikage''

Fifty (50) ''Yoki-/Ryōwazamono''

The original list of 50 swordsmiths who, based on the cutting ability of their blades, hold the third-highest rank of Yokiwazamono, alternatively pronounced Ryōwazamono :Osafune Iesuke IIWakasa no Kami UjifusaJirō Saemon KatsumitsuUkyō Susumu KatsumitsuKanesada IIISeki KanefusaSeki KanetsuneKōzukenosuke KaneshigeEchizen Kanetane IEchizen KanenoriAizu KanesadaEchigo no Kami KunihiroYamashiro no Kami Kunikane IIYamashiro no Daijō Kunitsugu IOkayama KunimuneŌyogo KunishigeIshidō Korekazu I = Musashi Daijō Koreichi IIga no Kami SadatsuguNanki Shigekuni ITsuda Ōmi no Kami SukenaoOsafune SukemitsuYokoyama Sukesada = Sukesada IX Osafune TadamitsuIkkanshi TadatsunaSettsu no Kami Tadayuki IMutsu TadashigeSōshū Tsunahiro ITsushima no Kami Tsunemitsu = Heki TsunemitsuTango no Kami NaomichiOsafune Norimitsu ISukeemon NorimitsuOsafune Norimitsu IOsafune Norimitsu IIOsafune HidesukeŌmi no Kami Hisamichi IKanabō MasazaneSakakura Masatoshi ISakakura Masatoshi IIYamato no Daijō Masanori IŌshū Masanaga = Aizu MasanagaHeki MitsuhiraSakyō no Shin MunemitsuHeki MunehiroOsafune Morikage = Ōmiya MorikageYasutsugu IYasutsugu IIYamato no Kami YasusadaBitchū no Kami YasuhiroTakada YukinagaKyō Yoshimichi IKyō Yoshimichi IIŌsaka Yoshimichi IŌsaka Yoshimichi IIMusashi no Kami YoshikadoIse Daijō YoshihiroAoe Tsugunao
  • ''Shizu Kaneuji''

Eighty (80) ''Wazamono''

The original list of 80 swordsmiths who, based on the cutting ability of their blades, hold the fourth-highest rank of Wazamono : Tachibana Ippō =? Sasaki Ippō IITegarayama Ujishige I''Yamato no Daijō Ujishige IKashū Katsuie IKashū Katsuie IIAizu Kanetomo IKanetane Musashi no Kami KanenakaSakushū KanekageTsutsui Kijū, son of Kanekuni Kunikore = Sagami no Kami KunimasaKawachi no Kami Kunisuke I II IIIYamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo IYamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo IIAizu KunisadaSagami no Kami KunitsunaObama Kuniyoshi =? Takai KuniyoshiKōriyama Kunitake =? Sugawara KunitakeSuzuki Kaga no Kami SadanoriIzumo no Kami SadashigeKaga no Kami SadahiroYamato no Daijō SadayukiInoue ShinkaiDoi ShinryōUmetada ShigeyoshiHarima no Daijō Shigetaka INobukuni ShigekaneNobukuni Shigesada of Takada ShigeyukiMaru Tsuda Sukehiro =?Tsuda Sōsho Mei Sukehiro, successor of Sukehiro I above.Suketaka = Sesshū SuketakaSukenobu = Sesshū jū Minamoto no Sukenobu = Dewa no Kami SukenobuHanabusa Sukekuni = Bizen no Kami YūkokuHarima no Daijō Tadakuni I = Hizen jū Harima no Daijō Fujiwara no Tadakuni I = Hizen Tadakuni ITadayoshi IVShinano Daijō Tadakuni I = Heianjō jū Tadakuni ITsuguhira IShimosaka TsuguhiroHigo no Kami TeruhiroShitahara TerushigeMutsu no Kami Toshinaga IYamashiro no Kami Toshinaga IMusashi no Kami TomotsuneTsunbo NagatsunaTakai Nobuyoshi IHōki no Kami Nobutaka IHōki no Kami Nobutaka IIJūrō Saemon HarumitsuKinshiro HisamichiYamashiro no Kami Hidetoki IHiromasa = Wakasa no Kami HiromasaHōki no Kami HirotakaHōjōji MasahiroEtchū no Kami MasatoshiHizen Masahiro I, disciple of above.Bitchū no Daijō MasanagaKanabō MasatsuguTakada Muneyuki IShimosaka Munemichi =? Kazusa no Daijō MunemichiMutsu no Kami MuneshigeMotoyuki = = Kawachi no Kami MotoyukiSenjuin MorikuniTōren Morihisa =? Ishidō MorihisaYasunaga = Kawachi no Kami YasunagaSendai Yasutomo IIDewa no Kami Yukihiro = Hizen Yukihiro IIzumo no Daijō Yoshitake IIzumo no Daijō Yoshitake IIYamato no Kami Yoshimichi IYamato no Kami Yoshimichi IIKōzukenosuke YoshimasaYoshikuni Tosa = Kōzuke no Kami YoshikuniOnizuka Yoshikuni''

Mixed

The following is the category of sword makers who, per the aforementioned listings, produced a mixture of quality: Ōwazamono, Yoki-/Ryōwazamono, or Wazamono. A total of 65 swordsmiths belong to this category:Osafune ArimitsuSasaki Ippō IKashū IeyoshiKashū IetadaSeki KanekuniHachiya KanesadaSeki KanetokiSeki KaneotoSeki KanemichiSagami no Kami KaneyasuKōzuke no Kami KanesadaShimousa no Daijō KanemasaKomatsu KanemakiTegai KanesadaKawachi no Kami TsutsusadaNaminohira KiyosukeAkasaka Senjuin KuninagaUda KunifusaSatsuma KunihiraKawashima KunihiraHōjōji KuniyoshiMatsuyama KuniteruYamato no Kami KuniyukiNisshū KunitomiNamihira ShigeyoshiNanki Shigekuni IIIga ShizumasaSeki JumyōMusashi SukechikaDewa no Kami SukeshigeShichibe YusadaEtchū no Kami TakahiraEchigo no Kami TadamichiMutsu no Kami Tameyasu IShimosaka TametoshiSōshuū TsunaieOsafune Tsuneie IOsafune Tsuneie IIMutsu no Kami TerumasaTakada TeruyukiSeki NagatoshiSettsu no Kami Nagashige IOsafune HisamitsuKōzuke no Kami HisakuniSenjuin HironagaAki Hirotaka IShinano no Kami Hirokane INamihira HiroyasuDōtanuki MasakuniMihara MasachikaIshimichi MasatoshiBungo no Kami ShōzenSagami no Kami Masatsune IWakasa no Kami MichitokiShimousa no Daijō MuneyoshiTaira MorikataSōshū YasuharuShimohara Yasushige IYamato no Kami YasuyukiFujishima YukimitsuDarani YoshiieHarima no Kami YoshinariSanjō Yoshikuni
  • ''Osafune Yoshimitsu''

In popular culture

In the hit manga One Piece, so-called meitō are prominently featured: bladed weapons forged by master craftsmen and wielded by powerful pirates and marines alike. The finest of these fall into a Wazamono grading system, classifying them into four grades that are directly inspired by those defined in the Japanese Kaihō Kenjaku. Namely, there are 12 Saijō Ōwazamono blades, 21 Ōwazamono blades, 50 Ryōwazamono blades, and an unknown number of low-ranking Wazamono blades. One of the main characters, Roronoa Zoro, is notable for wielding three Wazamono swords at all times.