Tachi Signed Motoshige
太刀 銘 元重
Also known as: Tachi inscribed "Motoshige"; heirloom of the Matsudaira lords of Takamatsu domain
Description
Style
This tachi measures 91.7 cm in blade length, a large sword with broad proportions and a commanding presence that well conveys the physique typical of the Nanbokucho period. It is the work of Motoshige, a smith of the Bizen Osafune school, and is designated an Important Cultural Property as a representative example of the large-format tachi that the school produced during the turbulence of the Northern and Southern Courts era.
Provenance
The blade is said to have been given by Tokugawa Mitsusada, son of the lord of the Kii domain, to Matsudaira Yorishige, lord of the Takamatsu domain, as a gift of condolence on the death of Yorishige's uncle. It is accompanied by an origami certificate of appraisal by Honami Kotoku, the foremost sword connoisseur of his day, which corroborates the reliability of its provenance.
Designation and Current Custody
The blade is designated an Important Cultural Property and is today held by the Kagawa Prefectural Museum in Takamatsu. The museum holds a substantial body of cultural properties formerly owned by the Matsudaira lords of Takamatsu, and this blade is preserved with care as a piece embodying that heritage.
The Smith Motoshige
Motoshige was a swordsmith active in Osafune, Bizen Province, during the Nanbokucho period, mentioned alongside his contemporaries Osafune Kanemitsu and Osafune Chogi. Few of his signed works survive, but those that do are uniformly regarded as being of high quality, making them an important resource for the study of the Bizen tradition.
The Tachi Form of the Nanbokucho Period
The broad blade width, shallow curvature and elongated point of this tachi reflect the demand during the Nanbokucho wars for large-format tachi and o-dachi suited to actual combat, and testify to the high technical level of the Bizen forges of the time.
Legends & Stories
Tradition holds that the gift of this blade from Tokugawa Mitsusada to Matsudaira Yorishige carried an expression of condolence on the death of Yorishige's uncle. Together with the Honami Kotoku origami that accompanies it, the episode is remembered as an illustration of the early Edo-period custom of using a fine sword as a medium for expressing mourning and bonds of kinship between daimyo houses.