* Image is for illustrative purposes only.The Honnoji Incident and Its Swords
本能寺の変と刀剣
The incident on the 2nd day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10 (1582), in which Oda Nobunaga took his own life at Honnoji in Kyoto after a surprise attack by Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga's beloved swords Jikkyu Mitsutada and Yagen Tōshirō are said to have been destroyed along with the burning of Honnoji. Soza Samonji, which Nobunaga obtained at the Battle of Okehazama, passed after the incident to the Toyotomi and then the Tokugawa families. It was burned in the Meireki no taika (1657), was then re-tempered, and survives today (Important Cultural Property, owned by Kenkun Shrine).
Description
Overview
On the 2nd day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10 (1582), Oda Nobunaga was attacked at Honnoji in Kyoto by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide and was forced to take his own life. In this Honnoji Incident, the many beloved swords that Nobunaga had in his possession while staying at Honnoji were also damaged along with the burning of the building.
Nobunaga's Beloved Swords and Their Destruction
Nobunaga is said to have favored famous swords such as Jikkyu Mitsutada and Yagen Tōshirō, which are said to have been destroyed along with the burning of Honnoji during the Honnoji Incident. Jikkyu Mitsutada is a work of Mitsutada of the Bizen Osafune school, and Yagen Tōshirō is a tanto attributed to Awataguchi Yoshimitsu of Yamashiro Province. Both were blades that Nobunaga held in high regard.
The Provenance of Soza Samonji
The katana Soza Samonji, once worn by Imagawa Yoshimoto, came into Nobunaga's possession when he defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama (1560). Nobunaga treasured it thereafter as his own beloved sword, including having a gold inlaid inscription added. It is said to have remained in Nobunaga's hands until Honnoji. After the incident it passed through Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hideyori to Tokugawa Ieyasu and became a treasure of the Tokugawa shogunal family. It was burned in the Meireki no taika (Meireki 3, 1657), but it survived after being saiba (a technique in which a burned blade is re-hardened). After the start of the Meiji era, the Tokugawa family donated it to Kenkun Shrine in Kyoto. It is currently an Important Cultural Property and is on deposit at the Kyoto National Museum.
Modern Continuation of the Lost Swords
For Yagen Tōshirō, said to have been destroyed in the Honnoji Incident, a reconstruction was made by a modern swordsmith based on materials such as the Taikō gyomotsu tō ezu. In 2017, the reconstructed blade was dedicated to Kenkun Shrine in Kyoto, which enshrines Nobunaga.
Characteristics of This Era
- On the 2nd day of the 6th month of Tenshō 10 (1582), Oda Nobunaga was attacked at Honnoji in Kyoto by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide and took his own life.
- One of Nobunaga's beloved swords, Jikkyu Mitsutada (a work of Mitsutada of the Bizen Osafune school), is said to have been destroyed along with the burning of Honnoji.
- Another of Nobunaga's beloved swords, Yagen Tōshirō (a tanto by Awataguchi Yoshimitsu), is likewise said to have been destroyed in the Honnoji Incident.
- Soza Samonji, a katana once worn by Imagawa Yoshimoto, was obtained by Nobunaga after the Battle of Okehazama (1560) and was his beloved sword thereafter. It is said to have remained in Nobunaga's hands up to the Honnoji Incident.
- After the incident, Soza Samonji passed through Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the Tokugawa shogunal family. After being burned in the Meireki no taika (1657), it survived through saiba (a technique of re-hardening a burned blade). It is currently held by Kenkun Shrine in Kyoto (Important Cultural Property).
- The lost Yagen Tōshirō was reproduced by a modern swordsmith, and in 2017 the reproduction was dedicated to Kenkun Shrine in Kyoto.