, commonly known as , was a famous swordsmith who founded the Muramasa school and lived during the Muromachi period (14th to 16th centuries) in Kuwana, Ise Province, Japan (current Kuwana, Mie).
In spite of their original reputation as fine blades favored by the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu and his vassals, the katana swords made by Muramasa gradually became a symbol of the anti-Tokugawa movement. Furthermore, in lore and popular culture from the 18th century, the swords have been regarded as .
Work
Style
Much like his unique reputation, Muramasa is known for some fairly unusual features in his work. These attributes are often called by terms prefixed with "Muramasa".
- —The first particular characteristic of his is the frequent use of a wave-shaped hamon. The of Muramasa is categorized as , that is, it forms randomized wave-like shapes. In particular, Muramasa's has very long, shallow valleys between a cluster of shapes.
Katana, length 66.4 cm, curvature 1.5 cm, bottom width 2.8 cm, , , and
In history
Origin
The exact origin of the Muramasa school is unknown.
The oldest extant sword equipped with both a name sign Muramasa and a date sign shows the year Bunki 1 (1501).
Scholars, however, assert several swords signed with Muramasa (but without year signs) are slightly older than 1501 in light of their styles.
Another theory states that Muramasa was a student of Heianjō Nagayoshi, a prominent Kyoto swordsmith known for spears and engravings.
The school of , a notable branch of the Muramasa school, records Masashige died in 1456, so Muramasa was active before 1456 if we believe the record.
Another popular legend says the mother of Muramasa worshipped the bodhisattva Senju Kannon and thus he was called Sengo, a shortened form of .
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, a grandfather of Ieyasu, was mistakenly killed by his own vassal Abe Masatoyo with a Muramasa. although it is clearly a fabricated story considering the heirloom of the Owari-Tokugawa family.
In the Bakumatsu period (1853–1868), Muramasa was somehow considered to be a curse bringer against the shogunate, and thus shishi (anti-Tokugawa activists) wished to acquire Muramasa blades.
It has also been told that once drawn, a Muramasa blade has to draw blood before it can be returned to its scabbard, even to the point of forcing its wielder to wound himself or commit suicide.
Thus, it is thought of as a demonic cursed blade that creates bloodlust in those who wield it.
These images date back to
kabuki dramas in the 18–19th century such as
(1781),
' (1860),
(1880),
and ' (1888).
When was driven mad because of power harassment from his superiors and killed them in Edo Castle in the 6th year of Bunsei (1823), townspeople rumored that Geki used a Muramasa, although actually the sword had no sign and there was no evidence to support the rumor.