* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Senobori Tachi
瀬登太刀
Also known as: Senobori; Nanbokucho-period odachi; sacred sword of Nikko Futarasan Jinja
Description
Sacred Sword of Nikko Futarasan Jinja
Senobori Tachi is a great sword (odachi) handed down at Nikko Futarasan Jinja in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. Its formal designation is "Odachi, unsigned (named Senobori Tachi), with gilt-bronze hirumaki hyogo-gusari tachi mountings," and it was designated an Important Cultural Property on 18 December 1959. It is judged to date from the Nanbokucho period, though it bears no signature identifying its maker.
Construction and Carving
The blade measures roughly 1.26 meters in length with a koshizori curvature of about 5 cm, presenting a form both robust and elegant. It is of shinogi-zukuri construction with an iori ridge and itame forging mixed with masame, tempered in a suguha pattern mixed with gunome. The obverse bears twin grooves together with a kurikara dragon amid grass and a lightning-bolt motif, while the reverse bears twin grooves and an unusual carving of bamboo and bamboo shoots, rare among odachi. The mounting is a yamagane hirumaki hyogo-gusari tachi koshirae with gilt-bronze fittings.
Origin of the Name
According to shrine tradition, a Nikko priest cast this sword into the Otani River to divine the outcome of a coming battle, and the blade climbed upstream against the current. Taking this as an auspicious sign, the priest went into battle and won a great victory, and the sword thereafter bore the name Senobori Tachi, "the sword that climbed the rapids." The carving of a dragon ascending the Otani River's swift water echoes this legend.
Role in the Yayoi Festival
At the Yayoi Festival, the annual rite of Nikko Futarasan Jinja, it is customary to lay the three great swords Senobori Tachi, Kashiwa Tachi, and Nenekirimaru upon the fresh hide of a stag taken on Mount Nantai and present them before the deity. All three are Nanbokucho-period odachi and stand as precious relics of the martial devotion associated with Mount Nikko.
Legends & Stories
The name Senobori Tachi comes from a legend in which a Nikko priest cast the blade into the Otani River to divine the outcome of a battle, and it climbed upstream against the current. Taking this as an auspicious omen, the priest is said to have gone into battle and won a great victory, and the blade's carving depicts a dragon ascending the rapids.
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Unknown (unsigned)