Koto-Period Swordsmiths and Temple Dedication Culture: The Tradition of Votive Swords and the Provenance of Surviving Kamakura Blades

Swords of the Kamakura Period and the Union of Religious Authority

The samurai government established by the Kamakura shogunate sought to strengthen its legitimacy by binding it to religious authority. Just as Minamoto no Yoritomo developed Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu and revered it as the guardian deity of the samurai, presenting swords to shrines and temples transcended mere religious practice and was also a political act. The presentation of sacred swords not only sought the protection of the gods and Buddha but also served as a means of making visible the wealth and power of those who presented them.

This culture developed particularly during the Kamakura period. While the custom of presenting swords existed in the Heian period, the rise of the samurai government gave sword presentation new social significance. Warriors offered swords to gods and Buddha as prayers for victory, gratitude, and oaths, and swordsmiths developed specialized production practices dedicated to creating presentation swords to meet this demand.

Makers of Presentation Swords—Master Smiths of Bizen, Yamashiro, and Yamato

Among the groups of swordsmiths who made numerous presentation swords during the Kamakura period, the most famous was the Osafune school of Bizen Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture). Master smiths such as Osafune Mitsuada, Osafune Mitsutsugu, and Osafune Kagemitsu, in addition to making commissioned blades for nobility and warriors, also produced presentation swords for renowned shrines. Among the Kamakura-period presentation tachi that have been preserved in major shrines in Okayama, Hiroshima, Hyogo, and other regions, many are by Osafune-school smiths.

The Rai clan of Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto Prefecture) also played an important role in making presentation swords. Swordsmiths of the Rai school such as Rai Kunitada, Rai Kunishun, and Rai Kunimitsu had deep relationships with Kyoto's shrines and temples, and presentation swords they made for Kamo Shrine and Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine have been preserved. Rai-school swords are known for their delicate hada featuring nie, called nioi-deki, and possessed the refined beauty appropriate as offerings to gods and Buddha.

In Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture), a presentation-sword culture centered on Kasuga Taisha developed. Groups of Yamato swordsmiths (the five major schools of Senjuin, Tegaki, Hosei, Taima, and Shirigake) maintained close relationships with powerful Yamato shrines including Kasuga Taisha and systematically produced presentation swords known as "Kasuga presentation swords." This tradition continued through the Muromachi period, and the Kasuga Taisha Treasure House today preserves numerous presentation tachi from the Kamakura through Muromachi periods.

Formal Characteristics of Presentation Tachi—Reflections of Ritual

Swords created specifically for presentation sometimes differed in several formal characteristics from swords made for actual combat.

First was the lavishness of the mounting. The mountings of presentation swords prioritized aesthetic value over utility and were often made into "ornamental tachi" (kazari-tachi) with decorations such as gold leaf, maki-e lacquer, and mother-of-pearl inlay. The "black-lacquered tachi" with gold fittings on a black-lacquered saya and the "Hyogo-chain tachi" with ornate decoration were representative forms for shrine presentation.

Regarding the blade itself, presentation swords were not necessarily made differently from those for combat, but there was a custom of presenting "finest works" made with especially superior materials and techniques. Based on the principle that the finest offerings should be presented to gods and Buddha, masterworks created with the full efforts of renowned smiths were selected as presentation swords. This resulted in most surviving famous Kamakura-period blades being preserved in shrines and temples.

The blade length also had characteristic features. Presentation swords for ritual use tended to prefer longer blades than those for combat, and the presentation of "long great tachi" was considered a mark of honor. Some presentation tachi from the late Kamakura period have a ha-watari (blade length) exceeding 80 cm.

Provenance of Extant Presentation Swords—A Treasure House of Sword Research

In modern sword research, presentation swords preserved in shrines and temples are among the most important subjects of study. This is because these swords are exceptionally excellent in terms of "certainty of provenance."

While the provenance of general heirlooms often becomes obscured after passing through warfare, inheritance, and sale, presentation swords are recorded in shrine and temple "treasure registers" and "origin records," and information regarding the donor, date of presentation, and maker may be supported by documentary sources. Such swords serve as reference blades for authenticating signatures and dating.

The "gold-ground mother-of-pearl-inlaid hair-plucking-shaped tachi" preserved at Kasuga Taisha, the group of presentation tachi preserved at Hinomisaki Shrine in Shimane Prefecture, and the blade group preserved as treasures of Ise Shrine are indispensable primary sources for studying the morphological characteristics of Kamakura-period blades.

Presentation Swords after the Meiji Period—Designation as Shrine Treasures and Cultural Property Protection

The effects of Meiji-period separation of shrine and temple and Buddhist destruction also affected the treatment of presentation swords. While presentation swords were scattered in confusion at some Buddhist temples, those at Shinto shrines were generally continued to be protected. As the Meiji government's cultural property protection policies were developed, important presentation swords came to be protected systematically as "shrine treasures."

In modern times, many Kamakura-period presentation tachi have been designated as Important Cultural Properties or National Treasures. Through collaboration between specialized institutions such as the Sword Museum (Tokyo) and shrines and temples, the preservation, research, and exhibition of these presentation swords are advancing.

The study of presentation swords serves as a window illuminating not only the technical history of blades but also the complex history of religion, politics, and economics in medieval Japan. The culture of Kamakura-period swordsmiths and shrine presentation constitutes an important chapter in the long history of how the Japanese sword has functioned as a social and spiritual symbol beyond its role as a weapon.