Shokudaikiri Mitsutada

## The Legend of Cutting the Candlestick The story that gave rise to the name Shokudaikiri Kanemitsu speaks simultaneously of Date Masamune's fierce governance and this blade's tremendous cutting power. Once, one of Masamune's retainers committed some breach of conduct (the exact details vary according to different accounts). Masamune flew into a rage, drew this very sword on the spot, and cut down the retainer. The single stroke was so deep and keen that it is said to have also severed in one blow a bronze candlestick standing beside the fallen retainer. The name "Candlestick-cutter" derives from this episode, demonstrating that the blade's keenness was such that it could cut not merely flesh but even a metal candlestick. Of course, severing a bronze candlestick with a Japanese sword is not physically easy, and the story likely contains considerable exaggeration. Yet regardless of its literal truth, from the moment the epithet "Candlestick-cutter" was attached to Masamune's beloved blade, this sword transcended being merely a fine blade—it established itself as a celebrated work embodying the individuality and martial authority of the one-eyed dragon, Date Masamune. ## Transmission to the Mito Tokugawa Family After Masamune's death (Kannei 13, 1636), no detailed records remain of when or how Shokudaikiri Kanemitsu passed from the Date clan to the Mito Tokugawa family. However, the Mito Tokugawa family was known throughout the Edo period as a culturally refined daimyo house that actively collected the realm's finest swords, so their acquisition of this blade with its exalted provenance as Masamune's own sword is readily understood. As a treasure of the Mito domain, Shokudaikiri Kanemitsu gained high esteem in the appraisals of the Honami family and was recognized as a supreme treasure of the Mito clan, which maintained deep ties with the Tokugawa shogunal house. ## Earthquake and Revival The Great Kantō Earthquake of September 1, Taishō 12 (1923) brought great loss to Japanese sword history. While many celebrated blades were consumed by fire or scattered, Shokudaikiri Kanemitsu was also damaged in the disaster and long treated as a "lost sword." Though long believed destroyed, in 2015, when inquiries flooded in prompted by the game Touken Ranbu, it was discovered that the blade had in fact survived in a fire-scorched condition in the Tokugawa Museum's storehouse and was made public. The blade that suffered the conflagration remains to this day in its fire-scorched state, and the original forging marks and chisel work cannot be directly observed. To address this, the Tokugawa Museum, as part of a "Sword Project," commissioned swordsmith Miyairi Norohiro to create a restoration showing the blade as it appeared before the disaster, completed in 2018. The damage endured by the original blade and the effort to restore its form in the present age speak to the profound passion people hold for celebrated swords. In the game Touken Ranbu, Shokudaikiri is depicted with a setting of revival from a wounded state, a narrative that reflects the actual history of its damage and restoration during the Great Kantō Earthquake, resonating deeply with countless fans. Sendai, where TOUKENZA is located, is the castle town founded by Date Masamune himself, and this sword stands as the spiritual cornerstone of our shop.