Natsuka Tōshirō

長束藤四郎

Also known as: Iwakiri Natsuka Tōshirō (recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō)

Smith

Awataguchi Yoshimitsu (Tōshirō Yoshimitsu)

Era

Kamakura period (13th century)

Type

Tantō

Designation

Important Cultural Property

Location

Tokyo National Museum, Taitō, Tokyo

Description

A Meibutsu by Yoshimitsu

Natsuka Tōshirō is a tantō forged by the Kamakura-period swordsmith Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, known as Tōshirō, and formally titled "Tantō signed Yoshimitsu (Meibutsu Iwakiri Natsuka Tōshirō)." It is recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsu-chō, the shogunate-era register of celebrated swords, and has long been regarded as one of Yoshimitsu's outstanding tantō.

Ownership by Natsuka Masaie

The blade takes its name from Natsuka Masaie, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Five Commissioners, who owned it. After Masaie's death following the Battle of Sekigahara, it passed to Fukushima Masanori, and was later handed down within the Okudaira family of the Nakatsu domain in Buzen Province. An authentication certificate (origami) issued by Hon'ami Kōon in 1648 accompanies the blade.

Designation and Present Location

It is designated an Important Cultural Property and is now held by the Tokyo National Museum.

Legends & Stories

The epithet "Iwakiri" (rock-cutting) is said to derive from an episode in which a former owner, caught in a storm at sea, drove the blade into a rock to moor his boat. Among Yoshimitsu's tantō, prized chiefly as works of art, this blade is notable for carrying a name rooted in a dramatic tale of rough, practical use.