Jōji Era

Jōji (1362–1368) is a nengō used by the Northern Court (Jimyōin line) during the Nanboku-chō period. It began on Kōan 2/9/23 (11 October 1362, Julian calendar), when the era was changed from Kōan, and lasted until Jōji 7/2/18 (7 March 1368, Julian calendar), when it was changed to Ōan. The reigning emperor was Emperor Go-Kōgon. It was a period in which the Nanboku-chō turmoil continued and the power base of the Muromachi shogunate was consolidated. In the history of Japanese swords, the period from the Enbun era (1356–1360) through the Jōji era is known as a time when the shape of Japanese swords changed greatly, and ōdachi, far longer than ordinary tachi, became fashionable. A representative example is the ōdachi held by the Ōyamazumi Shrine on Ōmishima in Iyo Province. It bears a date of Jōji 5 (1366) and has a blade length of 135.7 centimeters. Its maker was the Yamato smith Senjuin Nagayoshi, and it is said to have been dedicated by Emperor Go-Murakami of the Southern Court. Ōdachi are said to have developed as practical battle swords with which mounted warriors swept away enemies on foot, and their enormous size conveys the aspect of battles during the Nanboku-chō turmoil. Meanwhile, the Aoe school, based in Aoe in Bitchū Province (present-day Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture), was a prestigious group of smiths dating from the late Heian period. It produced smiths up to the Nanboku-chō period but declined during the Muromachi period. The style of this late phase is called Sue-Aoe, and Tsuginao, Tsugiyoshi, Moritsugu, and Sadatsugu are known as representative smiths. They retained a distinctive style, producing straight-edged blades and reverse-chōji hamon with itame-hada and small ko-midare with ko-nie. The characteristic of the Jōji era in sword history is that, even as extreme enlargement in the form of ōdachi continued, smiths of Sue-Aoe continued to work within the prestigious Aoe school.