Muramasa (blacksmith)

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Sword made by Muramasa ( Tokyo National Museum )

Muramasa ( Japanese 村 正 ) was one of the great Japanese swordsmith masters (including Yukimitsu , Masamune and Norishige ) who practiced one of the five swordsmithing traditions of Gokaden . Muramasa was a representative of the Sōshū tradition .

Life and meaning

Muramasa, who lived in Kuwana in the province of Ise in the early 16th century (late Muromachi period ), was one of the most famous swordsmiths along with Masamune ( Kamakura period ) and was known for his sharp blades. According to a legend, the character of the swordsmith could be transferred to the blades they made.

Muramasa, who was an excellent swordsmith who was not well-trained in character, was considered violent and uncontrolled. Since the owners of its outstanding blades were often involved in bloody disputes with others and because these swords often brought mischief to the wearer themselves, Muramasa was said to be "evil" and "bloodthirsty". Legend has it that Muramasa blades were destroyed because of this.

With the Tokugawa shogunate (1603), Muramasa blades fell out of favor. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself lost many friends and relatives to these blades. When he took up his shogunate, he forbade his samurai to carry these swords; they were only allowed to be used in battle. In doing so, he even contributed to the creation of legend about Muramasa, and this led to many plays and dramas with these blades in Japanese literature.

It is believed that there were three generations of Muramasa: Shodai Muramasa (1st generation), Nidai Muramasa (2nd generation and most famous), and Sandai Muramasa (3rd generation).

Sound

Muramasa blades are generally characterized by the following (main) features: The jigane (steel) has a bluish, "frosty" color, which should indicate a high quality steel. The Hada (grain and forged structure) is mostly Ko-Itame (dense wood grain), Itame-Nagare (wood grain-flowing), Masame (straight grain) and sometimes Mokume (tight, dense 'wood grain'). The Shirake Utsuri (white blade shadow) is also often seen.

Many of its blades have an irregular hardness line (but some also have a perfectly straight course - Suguha). The course of the hamon (hardness zone) is almost the same on each side of the blade, so the pattern on one side of the blade is similar to the pattern on the other side of the blade. In some places the 'valleys' of the hardness zone almost reach the cutting edge (HA) - "Kakedashi-Ha". The hamon of the blades usually begins with an oblique Sugu-Yakidashi (oblique-straight line of hardness at the beginning of the blade) and then merges into the actual pattern.

The most common types of Hamon are combinations of Notare, Gunome, Hako, Togari, Midare-Ba. There are some variations here, which vary from generation to generation - each Muramasa generation had its own kind of variations and combinations in the arrangement of patterns, waves and activities, e.g. B. of Hamon. However, roughly speaking, the first two generations are similar - the third Muramasa generation has less in common with the first two. The Boshi (hardness line of the tip - Kissaki) is mostly Midare-Komi (irregular) in 'Jizo' (Hamon end is similar to the shaved head of a statue of Buddhist monks) and ends in Kaeri (hardness line on the back of the blade running back and ending) . However, there are also deviations here - depending on the previous hardness curve of the main blade part.

The blade shapes are mostly Katana in Shinogi-Zukuri (with blade ridge), Wakizashi and Tanto in Hira-Zukuri (without blade ridge). Little Niku (steel volume on the cutting edge) and a relatively narrow Shinogi-Ji (area between the ridge of the blade and the back of the blade) in the katana. The mune (back of the blade) is either Iori-mune (pointed back of the blade) or Mitsu-mune (three-sided blade back). The dimensions of the blades are almost always quite short, have a mostly deep Saki-Sori (the lowest point of the curvature is in the upper area of ​​the blade) and the Nakago (Angel) is in the unmistakably short and very compact Tanago-Bara shape ( similar to the body of the bitterling). There are also some deviations in the form (light Saki-Sori).

Public receptions

In Japanese pop culture , the swords of Muramasa were often taken up as a cursed weapon and also explicitly named after him. They appear in the role-playing games NetHack , Terraria or Aura Kingdom and Wonder Boy III : The Dragon's Trap as well as in the Wizardry series.

In the manga Crying Freeman by Kazuo Koike , the sword Muramasa plays a leading role in the series 'Shadows of Death'.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ethel Watts Mumford: The Japanese Book of the Ancient Sword, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 26 (1905), pp. 334-410, p. 337
  2. ^ A b c Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin: The Japanese Sword. Katana wa Bushi no tamashii (The Sword Is the Soul of the Samurai), Vol. 4, No. 21 (Aug., 1906), pp. 29-31, p. 29
  3. ↑ Ethel Watts Mumford: The Japanese Book of the Ancient Sword, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 26 (1905), pp. 334-410, p. 334
personal data
SURNAME Muramasa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese master swordsmith
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century or 16th century
DATE OF DEATH 16th Century