* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Iwatooshi
岩融
Also known as: Benkei's sword
Description
Iwatooshi is a sword named in the Gikeiki as one carried by Musashibō Benkei (birth year unknown – 1189), the loyal retainer of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. In that work it appears as the sword Benkei wears together with his tachi. Its name can be read as "piercing even rock." The smith is unknown; some attribute it to Sanjō Munechika, but no historical basis for this has been confirmed. No surviving example is known, and its whereabouts are unknown. In the game Touken Ranbu it appears as a naginata sword spirit and is widely loved as a symbol of the bond between Benkei and Yoshitsune.
Legends & Stories
The most striking legend about Benkei, the owner of Iwatooshi, is his "standing death" (tachi-ōjō) at the Battle of Koromogawa. Defending Yoshitsune, he is said to have fought the forces of Fujiwara no Yasuhira of the Ōshū Fujiwara alone with his naginata and died on his feet, his body pierced by countless arrows. Benkei is also known for the legend that he vowed to seize a thousand swords in Kyoto and had collected 999 when he met Yoshitsune. Many of these tales of Benkei derive from the Gikeiki.