* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Miyoshi Masamune
三好正宗
Also known as: Miyoshi Masamune; the tantō of Miyoshi Nagayoshi
- Smith
- Masamune
- Era
- Late Kamakura period (early 14th century)
- Type
- Tantō
- Designation
- Meibutsu (listed in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō, fire-damaged)
- Location
- Whereabouts unknown (destroyed in the Great Fire of Meireki)
Description
Overview
Miyoshi Masamune is a tantō made by Masamune and inscribed "Masamune," measuring 8 sun 3 bu. It is said to have displayed a deep curvature. It was the beloved blade of Miyoshi Chōkei and is recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō, but it was burned in the Great Fire of Meireki and its present whereabouts are unknown.
The Origin of the Name
The name derives from its ownership by Miyoshi Chōkei, Shuri-no-daibu. Chōkei is said to have purchased this blade from Hon'ami Kōsatsu for sixteen pieces of gold.
Provenance
After Chōkei's death, the blade passed to his nephew Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, who presented it to Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga gave it to Hosokawa Yūsai, from whom it passed to his son Tadaoki, and then through Toyotomi Hidetsugu into the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, it was given as a memento, together with three hundred pieces of gold, to Maeda Toshiie, and it passed through Toshiie's son Toshinaga to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Hidetada regarded it as his foremost treasure ("hizō dai-ichi") and had it polished by Hon'ami Kōsa. At Tokugawa Iemitsu's shogunal investiture in 1623, the retired shogun Hidetada gave the blade to Iemitsu. Maeda Toshiie is said to have worn the blade when attending court and when paying New Year's greetings to the daimyo, and an anecdote holds that Sassa Narimasa wished to acquire it for three thousand kan but was refused. There is also a legend that Mishima Tenzen of Mishima district in Echigo had it forged in Kamakura.
Designation and Present Location
The blade was burned in the Great Fire of Meireki (1657), and the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō lists it as a fire-damaged meibutsu (yake). Its present whereabouts cannot be confirmed.
Related Famous Swords
若狭正宗
Former Gyobutsu (not designated a National Treasure or Important Cultural Property)Wakasa Masamune
Masamune
一庵正宗
Important Cultural PropertyIchian Masamune
Masamune (unsigned, attributed)
九鬼正宗
National TreasureKuki Masamune
Masamune (unsigned, attributed)
若江正宗
Meibutsu (listed in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō)Wakae Masamune
Attributed to Masamune (mumei)