Japan’s history with blades, alongside their religious connotations in both Shintoism and Buddhism, remains open, with swords often being treasured gifts to shrines and defenders from evil spirits or oni. Nonetheless, one smith managed to invert this belief through works that were believed to thirst for blood, inspiring centuries of superstition and driving Japan’s unifying shogunate to prohibit their ownership. Today’s article will look at a concealed yari from the legendary swordsmith, second-generation Sengo Muramasa. The workmanship in this blade is incredible, with a jigane being forged of a blend of larger, running itame with similarly runny masame, creating a textured appearance. The jiba is particularly dark, with the jitetsu consisting of abundant chikei with spots of jifu, alongside patches of yubashiri near the shinogi. Prominent hataraki are limited, and primarily follow the blade horizontally, such as sunagashi and kinsuji, however, patches of nie can also be spotted along the nioi-guchi. Near the machi, a pronounced, squarish koshiba foreshadows the beginning of the hamon, contributing to the imposing nature of Muramasa’s craftsmanship. With discussion on workmanship completed, below is a list of the spear’s relevant measurements.
Measurements:
Nagasa: 28.15 cm (Length is standard for spearheads, especially in the Muromachi Period)
Sori: 0.0 cm
Motohaba: 2.4 cm (Well-proportioned for a spear, especially one designed around thrusting)
Sakihaba: 1.8 cm
Motokasane: 1.1 mm (Particularly thin as a result of the double-edged nature of the weapon)
Sakikasane: 0.3 mm
The nakago of the blade is o-suriage, finished with a kuri-jiri tip. Although the blade is heavily shortened, due to it being a spear, the signature is preserved, with the niji-mei “Muramasa” (村正) being carved into the yari-omote. The spear’s tang has a single mekugi-ana, which may still be the weapon’s original hole, even after shortening.
The blade’s shape is in su-yari-zukuri. This is the most common form of yari to be produced, with the shape being un-pronged, and rather, resembling a straight, double-edged blade with a ridge, called a “Tsurugi”. A single ridge leads the spearhead to have a rhomboid-shape, well designed for prying through an opening in armor, especially in a time period in which blades were often required for functionality rather than as a status symbol. Although a common geometry for yari, this particular kind of weapon was rarely made by Muramasa, who primarily elected to forge tanto and uchigatana, making this piece truly rare.
The blade is rated “Hozon” by the NBTHK, confirming the validity of the blade’s signature, which is especially significant for a smith whose signatures were often erased, whether for self-preservation or the preservation of the weapon. In addition, the Token Kenkyu Rengokai attributes this spear specifically to “Nidai” (二代) Muramasa, which might further narrow down the identity of the swordsmith. More research on the validity of these papers is necessary.
Included with this piece is a set of Edo Period shiko-mizue koshirae. Both the saya and the tsuka of the spear follow the same motifs, being formed from Japanese honoki wood which is wrapped in polished same-gawa rayskin. This leads to a primarily monochromatic finish, with a black background being penetrated by clusters of white bubbles as a result of the remnants of the textured rayskin. This “kise-saya” is ornamented with polished copper accessories, which include the ishizuki, guchigane, the koiguchi, and the multiple semegane which wrap around the saya of the spear. What is most interesting, however, is a spring-loaded locking mechanism engineered inside the guchigane of the yari. This mechanism works by locking into a notch on the koiguchi, differing from most other blades, including other shiko-mizue fitted blades, instead acting in a similar manner to European swordsticks seen around the Victorian Era and Belle Epoque. This choice in koshirae is interesting, as it is often used as a method of concealing blades in plain sight. This is particularly relevant for Muramasa’s blades, as it was technically illegal to possess such weapons, with strict punishments including confiscation, destruction of the weapons, and even death of the owner.
As the Warring States Era raged on, the Matsudaira Clan soon came into need of quality armaments, especially due to its role as a vassal family under Oda Nobunaga, a powerful warlord who attempted to unify Japan through brute force and ruthless conquest. The Matsudaira Clan eventually came upon a series of swordsmiths in Ise Province known for their extremely sharp, yet similarly beautiful and well-constructed blades: the Sengo School. This school was descended from the Heianjo School of Yamashiro Province, with its founder, the first-generation Muramasa, having been taught by Heianjo Nagayoshi while he travelled Japan as an instructor. From his tutelage, Muramasa settled in Kuwana, opening a large workshop and taking in students. Known to be a mentally troubled individual, subsequent generations, who were likely biological descendants of the smith, similarly inherited whatever mental disorders were latent in the smith, leading to a reputation of instability and violence spreading not only to the smiths themselves, but also the blades produced by the Sengo School. Of the lineage of Muramasa, Nidai Muramasa is often considered the finest of these smiths. Operating from 1521 CE to 1528 CE, his blades quickly armed the depleted Matsudaira forces, allowing them to continue serving Nobunaga until his assassination in 1582 CE. Throughout this time, a member of the Matsudaira Clan, Matsudaira Takechiyo (later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu), was injured in his youth by a Nidai Muramasa ko-gatana. This trauma only amplified, as his grandfather was assassinated with a blade of the same smith and his father was crippled by a drunk samurai using a Muramasa uchigatana. The continued suffering came to a head when Nobunaga ordered the young Tokugawa to have his son commit seppuku after an alleged betrayal. The sword that beheaded him, just like the others, was forged by Muramasa. After a similar injury as that of his youth occurred after the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu’s trauma came to a head, leading him to impose a restriction on owning Muramasa blades with the formation of the Tokugawa Bakufu. Besides strict punishment, the ban was reinforced through consistent propaganda, such as artwork of frenzied samurai and Noh Theatre depicting stories of warriors being bestowed with murderous intent when drawing such blades, leading to the superstition that Sengo blades could not be sheathed without tasting blood. These Draconian laws, alongside recurring propaganda, had two major impacts on the legacy of this smith. Firstly, many Muramasa blades were concealed and either lost their signature or had a character altered, and secondly, Muramasa blades, especially by the Bakumatsu Period, gained prominence as a symbol against the shogunate, with one allegedly being worn by Imperialist samurai Saigo Takamori. This anti-shogunate symbolism, however, is inconclusive, as Tokugawa Ieyasu himself owned numerous tanto, alongside a grand hitatsura uchigatana from Nidai Muramasa, which were inherited by the mainline Tokugawa Clan and the Nabeshima Clan. Regardless of the many questions which still surround Muramasa, it is evident that this yari is a truly special work, being not only a rare example of the smith, but also one which was evidently concealed, validating the stories of the blade’s illegal nature. As such, it is truly an excellent witness to history and a joy to study, both as a blade itself, and as a centuries-long story of excellence, brutality, and trauma.
