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What does the word Muramasa mean?
According to legend, in ancient Japan there were two very famous Japanese swords, one named Muramasa and the other known as Masamune, if Masamune was the world's number one work of art, Muramasa was the world's number one practical weapon. It is really famous not because of its connection with the Tokugawa family, but because it is very good, sharp, sturdy, and has a good reputation. Because this attribute of the Demon Sword is so widespread, it is mistakenly believed to have started in the Edo period. In fact, the Muramasa school was already famous during the Warring States period in Japan. At that time, the full name of the Muramasa swordsmith was Fujiwara Asomi-Asonen Muramasa, and Asomi-Asonen represented the fifth position in the imperial court, while the famous Izuminokami Kanesada was only the sixth. The first Muramasa was also called Senji Muramasa, and the earliest Muramasa in the name is from 1501.
Why is the Muramasa considered cursed?
The most popular theory is that several members of the Tokugawa family were killed by Muramasa swords. Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandfather, Kiyoyasu Tokugawa, and his father, Hirotaka Tokugawa, were both assassinated by their retainers, and both were killed with Muramasa swords. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself had his finger wounded by a Muramasa sword when he was a child, and in 1579, Nobuyasu, the first son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was killed by Nobunaga Oda, again by a sword named Sesshu Muramasa, so Tokugawa Ieyasu concluded that it was a demonic creature that haunted the Tokugawa family, and he ordered to destroy all the Muramasa swords, but in fact, it was all a coincidence, as the Muramasa appeared in the Muromachi era of turmoil! The coincidence is that Muramasa appeared in the middle of the turbulent Muromachi period, when demand for Japanese swords was high, leading to the production of a large number of inferior swords, and once the sturdy and sharp Muramasa was introduced, the Tokugawa family of the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and their henchmen were particularly fond of using them on the battlefield, and those who were responsible for the Tokugawa family's deaths and injuries were all from within the family.
Another theory is too mythological, according to legend Muramasa is Kamakura not period famous sword maker Okazaki Goro into the way of Masamune's disciple,, but Muramasa heart is not right, and because of the master does not pass on his forging sword of the water temperature control of the secret of the passages and hate, so privately steal this secret of the passages to the actual work, was found by the master, a sword cut his wrist. After Muramasa left the school, he aimed to defeat the sword that Masamune had made, and he put his evil heart into the sword, and Muramasa became a synonym for ominousness.
Do Muramasa swords exist?
Because Muramasa was so useful, many Muramasa katanas were consumed in combat, and in the Edo period, when society was at peace and swords became more practical and more decorative, fewer Muramasas were produced for combat. Although Shiju Muramasa's sword workers are still making Japanese swords, but due to the pressure of the Shogunate, no one dares to openly carry Muramasa, the former meiMuramasa's sword is also mostly changed to mei. therefore, the existing authentic Muramasa is extremely rare, its price is naturally very expensive.
