Samidare Gō

五月雨江

Also known as: Samidare; masterwork of Gō Yoshihiro; treasured sword of the Maeda clan

Smith

Gō Yoshihiro (Etchū Province)

Era

Nanbokuchō period (14th century)

Type

Katana

Designation

Important Cultural Property

Location

Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture

Description

Samidare Gō is a katana attributed to Gō Yoshihiro, a swordsmith active in Etchū Province (present-day Toyama Prefecture), and is designated an Important Cultural Property. Gō Yoshihiro is counted first among the Jūtetsu (Ten Disciples) of Masamune and is regarded as a preeminent successor of the Sōshū tradition; his works, collectively known as "Gō," have been treasured as supreme swords since the Edo period. Samidare Gō ranks among the most celebrated named examples of his work. The name "Samidare" — meaning "early summer rains" — is said to have been bestowed in reference to the way the activity within the ha unfolds ceaselessly and richly, like the unending rains of early summer.

Samidare Gō was presented by Kuroda Nagamasa to Tokugawa Hidetada, and subsequently passed to Tokugawa Iemitsu and the Owari Tokugawa clan. It is currently held and managed by the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya (a collection of the Owari Tokugawa clan) and is periodically exhibited at special exhibitions and other occasions.

The blade displays Gō Yoshihiro's typical style: moderately wide mihaba, shallow curvature, slightly extended kissaki — the Nanbokuchō form combining power and refinement. The hamon is the fierce ō-midare characteristic of Gō Yoshihiro, with gunome, yahazu, pointed ha, and notare elements fused together, blazing with nie, and lightning-like kinsuji and sunagashi running throughout. The jigane flows in itame-hada with abundant ji-nie and active jikei — altogether overflowing with the wild yet transcendently spiritual beauty unique to "Gō swords."

Legends & Stories

A poetic legend is transmitted concerning the origin of Samidare Gō's name. When a certain appraiser first took the sword in hand, the kinsuji and sunagashi within the ha appeared one after another like falling raindrops, and he found himself unable to look away. A bystander remarked: "It is as though one is gazing at a river's surface on a rainy early-summer night" — and this phrase, it is said, became the sword's name. A further anecdote concerning its transmission to the Maeda clan holds that a certain Maeda lord once drew the sword and held it up to the moonlight in his garden at night; from within the ha, he heard what seemed like a faint sound, and he said: "This sword remembers the sound of rain." From that time forward, it is said, the Maeda household observed the custom of placing Samidare Gō before the household shrine in drought years, offering prayers for rain. Gō Yoshihiro's swords, like Masamune's, are bywords for swords possessed of divine power, and Samidare Gō has been passed down through the ages as a spiritual blade capable of summoning the forces of nature.