* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Jiganemaru
治金丸
Also known as: Jiganemaru; Black-lacquered wakizashi mounting, unsigned blade named Jiganemaru
Description
A Wakizashi Passed Down in the Ryūkyū Royal House
Jiganemaru is one of the treasure swords passed down to the Shō family, the royal house of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Although the blade is unsigned, it is traditionally attributed to Ōei Nobukuni, a Kyoto swordsmith of the Muromachi period. It is a hira-zukuri wakizashi with a cutting edge length of about 53.8 centimeters, and it survives together with its koshirae (mounts), which include a scabbard finished in black lacquer. It is a sword that was made in mainland Japan and, after crossing the sea, became a precious treasure of the Ryūkyū royal house.
Presentation to King Shō Shin
According to Kyūyō, the official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, this sword was presented in Daiei 2 (1522) by Nakasone Tuyumya, a local chieftain of Miyako Island, to Shō Shin, the king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom at that time. Nakasone Tuyumya is known as a powerful figure who unified Miyako. The sword, received into the royal house as his offering, was thereafter carefully handed down as a treasure of the Shō family.
An Anecdote About a Polisher
Jiganemaru has an anecdote that a polisher who recognized the value of this sword tried to swap the genuine blade for a fake and carry it off. The queen had traced the shape of the sword, and this exposed the substitution of a fake. By the king's order, the envoy Ahagon was sent back to Kyoto, and over three years he recovered the genuine sword. The tale shows that the sword was treated not merely as a weapon but as a symbol of royal authority.
Designation and Current Status
Jiganemaru is designated as a National Treasure as part of the Materials Related to the Shō Family, Kings of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, together with Chiyoganemaru and Chatan Nakiri, which were likewise passed down in the Shō family. It is currently held by the Naha City Museum of History in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture. It is an important remnant of sword culture in Okinawa, conveying the history in which the forms of Japanese swords were incorporated into the ritual of Ryūkyū royal authority.
Sword Mounts Reflecting Japan–Ryūkyū Exchange
The blade of Jiganemaru is presumed to be a wakizashi made by the Nobukuni school of Kyoto, and its outer mounts, a black-lacquered wakizashi koshirae, were also made in Japan in the 17th century, following the format of sword mounts from the late Muromachi period. Together with Chiyoganemaru and Chatan Nakiri, which were likewise passed down in the Shō family, it is also regarded as an important source for the history of exchange between Japan and the Ryūkyū Kingdom.
Legends & Stories
There is an anecdote that a polisher who recognized the value of Jiganemaru secretly tried to swap the genuine sword for a fake and carry it off. Thanks to a queen who had traced the shape of the blade in advance, the substitution of a fake was exposed, and it has been passed down that an envoy spent three years recovering the genuine sword.