* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Saimura Sadamune
斎村貞宗
Also known as: Sadamune confiscated from Saimura Masahiro / heirloom of the Asano family
- Smith
- Sadamune (Sōshū tradition)
- Era
- Late Kamakura – Nanbokuchō period
- Type
- Wakizashi
- Designation
- Important Cultural Property
- Location
- Private collection (housed at the Tokyo National Museum)
Description
A Sadamune associated with Saimura Masahide, lord of Tatsuno Castle
The Saimura Sadamune is a wakizashi by Sadamune, a master smith of the Sōshū tradition. Sadamune works with reliably inscribed examples are extremely rare. This blade is unsigned, but it bears a vermilion inscription "Sadamune Hon'ami" with kaō, added by the appraiser Hon'ami Kōtoku. The temper line is a shallow notare-based suguha mixed with irregularities, and the tang is ubu (unshortened). Blade length is 30.4 cm and curvature is 0.5 cm. The name comes from Saimura Masahide, lord of Tatsuno Castle in Harima Province, who owned it. His original surname was Akamatsu.
Burning of Tottori Castle and confiscation
Masahide's son, Saimura Masahiro (Akamatsu Hirohide), initially sided with the Western army at Sekigahara. After learning that the Western main army had been routed, he surrendered to the Eastern army. On Tokugawa Ieyasu's order, he attacked Tottori Castle in Inaba Province, which was held by the Western side. For setting fire to the castle town and burning civilian houses, he was ordered by Ieyasu to commit seppuku, and this sword is said to have been confiscated at that time. In the eleventh month of Genna 1 (1615), it was granted to the Owari Tokugawa family as part of Ieyasu's personal effects distributed in Suruga. In Kan'ei 4 (1627) it was presented to Tokugawa Hidetada, and it passed through Tōdō Takatora and Tokugawa Iemitsu. In Kan'ei 12 (1635), Asano Mitsuakira, lord of the Aki Hiroshima domain, received it from Iemitsu, and it has since been passed down in the Asano family.
Designation and present status
The sword is designated an Important Cultural Property. It is currently in private ownership and is kept at the Tokyo National Museum.
Legends & Stories
Anecdote where merit and punishment go hand in hand
Saimura Masahiro earned military merit in the attack on Tottori Castle, yet Ieyasu ordered him to commit seppuku for violating military discipline by burning the castle town. This anecdote shows that the assessment of merit was not based solely on victory or defeat, but also questioned the manner in which the battle itself was fought. The fact that the confiscated sword was passed down through the Owari Tokugawa family and the shogunal family before reaching the Asano family quietly illustrates how a meibutsu can continue to carry the memory of a punishment.