* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Dōjigiri Yasutsuna
童子切安綱
Also known as: Demon Slayer
Description
Dōjigiri Yasutsuna is a tachi forged by Hōki Yasutsuna (Yasutsuna of Hōki Province), a master swordsmith of the Heian period, and is designated a National Treasure counted among the "Five Greatest Swords" (Tenka Goken). The Tenka Goken — Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, Mikazuki Munechika, Ōdenta Mitsuyo, Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, and Onimaru Kunitsuna — are the five swords regarded as the supreme masterpieces in Japanese sword history, and Dōjigiri Yasutsuna is often placed foremost among them. The sword is held at the Tokyo National Museum, where it is rigorously preserved as a National Treasure and regularly exhibited to the public. Hōki Yasutsuna was based in Hōki Province (present-day Tottori Prefecture); surviving examples of his work are extremely rare and much about him remains obscure, yet through Dōjigiri Yasutsuna his name shines with undying brilliance in the history of Japanese swords. The mid-Heian period when Yasutsuna is said to have been active was precisely the era in which the curved, single-edged bladed weapon we recognize today as the "Japanese sword" — the tachi — came into being, and Yasutsuna is celebrated as a pioneer who produced the finest tachi in that formative age. The blade silhouette retains an ancient character compared to tachi of the Kamakura period and later: a somewhat more pronounced koshi-zori (curvature near the base) and a compact ko-kissaki tip that embodies the classical tachi form of the late Heian to early Kamakura era. The blade length is approximately 80.0 cm, with moderate width. The jigane shows finely packed ko-itame-hada with uniform, fine ji-nie that radiates deep luminosity. The hamon, based on ko-midare with ko-chōji intermixed, carries fine, even nie and a clear, serene interior — a hamon of ancient character. The rusted hada, the restrained hamon, and the slender tang together preserve precious testimony to the characteristics of Heian-period tachi. In the sword world, Dōjigiri Yasutsuna's jigane is said to be "peerless under heaven," and the fine ko-itame surface with its delicate ji-nie and chikei — a condensed expression of the finest Heian-era forging art — has served as the aspirational ideal for all subsequent generations of swordsmiths.
Legends & Stories
The name Dōjigiri Yasutsuna originates from the legend that this sword was used by Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021) when he slew the demon king Shuten-dōji of Mount Ōe. In the mid-Heian period, a series of mysterious disappearances afflicted the capital and the surrounding provinces. Ordered by the imperial court, Yorimitsu, accompanied by his Four Heavenly Kings — Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata Kintoki, Usui Sadamitsu, and Urabe Suetake — and Fujiwara no Yasumasa, set out to destroy Shuten-dōji, the demon lord dwelling on Mount Ōe in Tanba Province (near present-day Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture). Disguised as mountain ascetics, the party was invited to Shuten-dōji's banquet, where they administered poisoned sake (shinpen-kidoku-shu) to intoxicate the demon, and when Shuten-dōji fell into sleep, Yorimitsu severed his head with this blade. But the legend continues further. Even though his head was severed, Shuten-dōji's head flew through the air and attempted to bite Yorimitsu's helmet. From this extraordinary supernatural power, the sword came to be called "Dōjigiri" — the blade that "cut down the demon of Mount Ōe," the blade that "severs demons." Thereafter, Dōjigiri Yasutsuna became a treasured possession of the Ashikaga shōgun, and subsequently passed through the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is said that Tokugawa Hidetada gave it to his third daughter, Princess Masako, upon her marriage into the Echizen Matsudaira family, and thereafter it was passed down through the Echizen Matsudaira and subsequently the Tsuyama Matsudaira of Tsuyama Domain. It is recorded in the Kanbō Meibuts-chō as a celebrated sword. In the modern era it eventually came to be housed in the Tokyo National Museum; yet the belief in its "power to sever demons" continues to live on, and it is said that with each exhibition of Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, many visitors come to pay their respects as if on a pilgrimage.