Masamune
Gorō Nyūdō Masamune was a medieval Japanese blacksmith widely acclaimed as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as tachi and tantō, in the Sōshū school. However, many of his forged tachi were made into katana by cutting the tang in later times. For this reason, his only existing works are katana, tantō, and wakizashi. No exact dates are known for Masamune's life. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords between 1288 and 1328. 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, and it is thought that he was trained by swordsmiths from Bizen and Yamashiro provinces, such as Saburo Kunimune, Awataguchi Kunitsuna and Shintōgo Kunimitsu. He was the father of Hikoshiro Sadamune, also a famous Sōshū master.
An award for swordsmiths called the Masamune Prize is awarded at the Japanese Sword Making Competition. Although not awarded every year, it is presented to a swordsmith who has created an exceptional work.
Style
The swords of Masamune possess a reputation for superior beauty and quality, remarkable in a period where the steel necessary for swords was often impure. He is considered to have brought to perfection the art of "nie".Masamune studied under Shintōgo Kunimitsu and made blades in suguha, but he made notare hamon, where the finish on the leading edge of blade slowly undulates where it was quenched. There are also some blades with ko-midare, a style which appears to have been copied from the Old Bizen and Hōki Province styles. His works are well-characterized by striking chikei, kinsuji, and nie.
Swords created by Masamune often are referred to with the smith's name and often with a name for the individual sword as well. The "Honjo Masamune", a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate and passed down from shōgun to shōgun, is perhaps the best known Masamune sword.
Signed works of Masamune are rare. The examples "Fudo Masamune", "Kyōgoku Masamune", and "Daikoku Masamune" are accepted as his genuine works. Judging from his style, he was active from the late Kamakura period to the Nanboku-chō period.
Swords
Many of his forged tachi were later made into katana by cutting the tang. For this reason, his only existing works are katana, tantō, and wakizashi. Thus, cutting the tang of an old tachi and making it into a katana according to the popularity of the katana was called suriage, which was common in Japanese history.''Kyōhō Meibutsuchō''
The Kyōhō Meibutsuchō is a catalogue of famous Japanese swords commissioned by Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was compiled by the Hon'ami clan, renowned sword appraisers and polishers, and documents the characteristics and provenance of each blade. The catalogue also includes detailed drawings of each sword’s shape and hamon, faithfully reproduced on paper. Although many of the most celebrated swords in Japanese history are included, not all famous blades appear in the listing. The original manuscript has not survived, but several historical copies exist. Among these are four versions that begin with the tantō Atsushi Tōshirō, and three that begin with the tantō Hirano Tōshirō. Swords listed in the Kyōhō Meibutsuchō are traditionally referred to as meibutsu, meaning "celebrated item", and are often known by names that include this prefix, such as the Meibutsu Hyūga Masamune. All five of the Tenka-Goken, which have historically often been regarded as the finest Japanese swords, are listed in the Kyōhō Meibutsuchō and are referred to with the prefix meibutsu.The Kyōhō Meibutsuchō lists 248 famous swords. Among them, 80 had already been lost during the Siege of Osaka and are included only as historical records. Masamune is represented by 59 swords, 18 of which had already been lost at the time the catalog was compiled. This accounts for an overwhelming one quarter of the entire list, making Masamune the most prominently featured swordsmith in the catalog. is represented by 34 swords, 18 of which had been lost. Sadamune is represented by 22 swords, 3 of which had been lost, and is represented by 22 swords, 11 of which had been lost. These four smiths are recorded in far greater numbers than others. As a result, Masamune, Yoshimitsu, and Yoshihiro came to be regarded as the Tenka-Sansaku, meaning "Three Great Smiths under Heaven." Later, from the late Edo period to the Taishō era, Hon'ami Kōjo and several sword scholars compiled supplemental volumes to the original Kyōhō Meibutsuchō. These supplements added 2 swords attributed to Masamune, 5 to Yoshimitsu, 2 to Sadamune, and 1 to Yoshihiro.
Designation of cultural properties by the Japanese government
As of August 2024, the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan has designated 122 Japanese swords as National Treasures and 790 as Important Cultural Properties. Among those attributed to Masamune, 9 are National Treasures and 10 are Important Cultural Properties. These include 4 katana and 5 tantō among the former, and 6 katana, 3 tantō, and 1 wakizashi among the latter.The Honjō Masamune was designated a National Treasure under the former system established by a 1929 law, but its whereabouts became unknown in 1946. Since the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, which forms the basis for the current designations of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, was enacted in 1950, the Honjō Masamune is not designated under the current system and is not included in the official count of National Treasures. Under the current system, National Treasures designated under the former system are regarded as equivalent to Important Cultural Properties. Accordingly, they are not included in official statistics, but may still be considered part of that category.
Several of Masamune's swords have been designated as Important Art Objects. This designation was established under a 1933 law enacted to prevent the export of culturally significant artworks from Japan. At the time, the classification of Important Cultural Property did not yet exist, so these objects were effectively regarded as "quasi-National Treasures." With the enactment of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties in 1950, the 1933 law was repealed, and its certification system was reviewed. Items deemed of lower value had their designation revoked, while those considered of higher value were elevated to the newly created Important Cultural Property status. Others retained their designation as Important Art Objects. The 1929 law, under which National Treasures had been designated, was also repealed, and all former National Treasures under that system were reclassified as Important Cultural Properties. As a result, under the current system, National Treasures from the prewar era are regarded as equivalent in value to Important Cultural Properties, and only the most outstanding among them were subsequently re-designated as National Treasures. Although no new Important Art Objects have been designated since the 1933 law was repealed, the classification remains valid and is still regarded as a rank below Important Cultural Property.
Among the nine swords by Masamune that have been designated as National Treasures, the only one not listed in the Kyōhō Meibutsuchō and therefore not considered a Meibutsu is the Tsugaru Masamune.
National Treasure under the former system
Honjō Masamune (''katana'', ''meibutsu'')
The Honjō Masamune represented the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period and was passed down from one shōgun to another. It is one of the best known of the swords created by Masamune and is believed to be among the finest Japanese swords ever made. It was made a Japanese National Treasure in 1939. Under the current system established by the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, items that had been designated as National Treasures under the prewar system prior to 1950 are regarded as equivalent to Important Cultural Properties.The name Honjō probably came about by the sword's connection to General Honjō Shigenaga who gained the sword after a battle in 1561. Shigenaga was attacked by Umanosuke who already possessed a number of trophy heads. Umanosuke struck Shigenaga with the Honjō Masamune which split his helmet, but he survived and took the sword as a prize. The blade had a number of chips from the great battle but was still usable. It was kept by Shigenaga until he was sent to Fushimi Castle around 1592.
Shigenaga was later forced to sell the sword to Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew and retainer. It was bought for 13 Mai, 13 ōban, which was 13 large gold coins. The blade was later valued in the Kyoho Meibutsu Cho at 1,000 Mai. It then went to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Shimazu Yoshihiro, again to Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Yorinobu, and finally Tokugawa Ietsuna. It remained in the Kishū Tokugawa family, and this ownership continued after the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The last known owner was Tokugawa Iemasa at the end of World War II.
Under the United States occupation at the end of World War II, all production of nihontō with edges was banned except under police or government permit. The Americans required that all swords be surrendered to the Foreign Liquidation Commission. Tokugawa Iemasa turned in the Honjō Masamune and 13 other "prized heirloom" swords to a police station at Mejiro in December 1945.
In January 1946, the Mejiro police gave the swords to a man identified as "Sgt. Coldy Bimore" of the Foreign Liquidations Commission of AFWESPAC. Although the NCO to whom it was delivered is identified, to date its fate and current location still remains unknown. The Honjō Masamune is the most important of the missing Japanese swords. Only vague theories exist as to the location of the sword.