The relationship between weapons and its owner among the inhabitants of Asia today is known to everyone by multiple cinematic masterpieces. The weapon was endowed with its own mystical properties: some were obsessed with demonic power, others gave its owner power and a clear mind. Among the most mysterious swords of Asia are the Japanese blades of Muramasa. In the world they survived about several dozen copies and see them is considered a great success. Despite the apparent simplicity, it’s precisely the Muramasa’s blades (photo below) and today are shrouded in legends and legends that they rightfully occupy their place in the ten most legendary katanas of Asia.
Today, the blades of the samurai Muramasa are in museums and private collections. According to some reports, about 200 of them survived, according to others - only a dozen. In any case, this melee weapon has a length of about 30 centimeters and is made of many (up to 25 thousand) layers of steel. A line created using special quenching means runs along the tip of the blade. Muramasa’s blades are inlaid with “shakudo” alloy (gold, copper, silver) and equipped with a sheath with dark lacquering. Katanas have incredible sharpness and strength, and their possession was considered an honor for the samurai of Japan. And these are not just swords - they are weapons with their own philosophy and exceptional personality. In addition, weapons in Japan were not only utilitarian military purposes. The sword was one of three relics received by the ancestors of the imperial dynasty from the gods. Together with the Yata-no kagami bronze mirror and the jasper pendants of Yakasani-no Magatama, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi sword performed a sacred function for the people of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Samurai recognized by katanas
The samurai of that time is a knight from a privileged class. He obeyed only the daima (master), who was subordinate to the higher class. Samurai was recognized by his two swords (katana - a long curved blade, wakizashi - a short blade), they were his business card. It was possession of a sword in Japan that testified to belonging to the highest class caste, because commoners and even merchants were deprived of the right to have such weapons. Swords were valued very highly, and the masters of their manufacture had a very high social status in feudal Japan. They had their privileges and privileges, they communicated with the highest dignitaries.
The Bushido samurai code of the time is a mixture of fearlessness, self-sacrifice, and contempt for death. The samurai had the right to execute on the spot any commoner who, in his opinion, behaved indecently or simply touched his sword. Samurai wore swords on their left side, and it was safer to pass by him on the right - otherwise you could lose your head. It is from here that the tradition of left-hand traffic in Japan went.
Gunsmith dynasty
The Masters of the Land of the Rising Sun, forging katanas, were a highly revered caste. They founded their schools, where they kept secret the technology of manufacturing weapons. These were ascetic samurai who had passed initiation rituals and despised worldly goods. That was Senzo Muramasa, who was born in 1341. He was a great blacksmith, but a man of quick-tempered and unbalanced disposition. It was believed that the master owned magical powers, which he invested in his blades.
The second in this dynasty was his son, who was also called Senzo, and then his grandson Meisu Kuvanu Muramasu. These masters signed blades with the same hieroglyphs. Therefore, among historians today there is debate about the number of weapons masters in this dynasty and the time of manufacture of katanas.
Cursed Blades of the Samurai Muramasa
These katanas are shrouded in many legends and traditions. So, one of the legends has it that Muramasa’s blade, once having left the sheath, will not find peace and will constantly call for bloodshed. If the owner does not satisfy the thirst for katana, then the blade will require the blood of the owner himself. According to legend, these blades carry death, have fury and thirst for blood.
Another legend tells how the blades of two masters - Muramasa and Masamune - were stuck into the bottom of the river, and the bloodthirsty blade of Muramasa mercilessly cut leaves floating along the stream, they skirted the blade of the second master.
Another legend says that the frenzy and cruel disposition of Senzo Muramasa himself was instilled in every blade that came out of his workshop in the village of Kavana in Sagama province. And the legend says that the master forged his blades, whispering "may there be terror in the world."
Base for legends
Muramasa’s blades are often mentioned in ancient plays and ethnos of Japan precisely in connection with their bloodthirstiness. Historians confirm that the master lived during the reign of the Tokugawa clan (Edo era), whose first Shogun was Tokugawa Ieyasu. With his politics and the desire to subjugate all of Japan to his clan, the master and samurai Muramasa did not agree. And so he put a curse on his katanas for the Tokugawa family, giving them a flair of mysticism and the stigma of the cursed blades of Muramasa.
There are other versions, but here are a few reliable facts about the blades and events associated with them:
- Grandfather Ieyasu Tokugawa cut in half the blade of the master Muramasa his servant (1535).
- The father of the first Shogun died of a mortal wound inflicted by the katana of Muramasa (1545).
- As a child, Ieyasu inadvertently inflicted a serious injury on himself with the weapons of this master.
- In 1579, the head of the son of Ieyasu Tokugawa Nobuyas was chopped off with a katana Muramasa.
Taboo on the master’s tool
The result of the sad experience of dealing with these weapons was the Tokugawa Ieyasu’s ban on possession of the weapons of this master under pain of death. And his heirs continued this ban, but there were always samurai who wanted to keep this unique weapon in their own possession. They hid them, deleted or changed the signatures on the blades, and thanks to them we have the opportunity to see the mystical bloodthirsty blades of Muramasa. Photos and even videos do not convey the entire game of colors, and most importantly - the sharpness of this edged weapon, which is sharper than a razor.
It is not surprising that the possession of such weapons at any time provokes its owner to use. The tragic cases and careless handling of katans in the Shogun’s family, the killing of high-ranking nobles for a trifle reason - all this led to the mass destruction of Muramasa’s blades. And even 100 years after the death of Ieyas Tokugawa, heads flew from the shoulders of the samurai, in whom they found the swords of this master.
What is the secret of Katan Muramasa
Katanas of this master possessed unique characteristics. Of course, they could not resist the armor of the samurai, but they were so good that they gave advantages to their owner. Today we know the secrets of making these swords, and although the production is primitive, it strikes the imagination of the modern observer.
In the manufacture of such a katana, steel is forged from many layers - pieces of steel are poured with clay and ash, then forged and flattened and again folded into a layer of clay and ash. And so many times, sometimes up to a thousand. Then a soft alloy was added to the steel so that the katana would not break, and a piece was pulled in length. Then - hardening, 9 sharpening steps and polishing. It took a couple more weeks to decorate the pen. And now, after a year and a half, a blade capable of cutting a person’s body even in light armor is ready.
Unique Katanas
Muramasa was given own names for some of the blades. For example, "Beard Carver" chopped heads with a beard. But the “Lord of the knees”, which carried out the execution in a sitting position, chopped off the victim’s head, slid down and cut his knees.
During World War II, a video was shot in Japan where a machine gun barrel was cut by a kuram of Muramasa. Of course, this is impossible, although there is evidence that one such blade in the Edo era cut the barrel of a gun.
Samurai spirit
Katan called "the spirit of the samurai", passed on to their descendants, multiplying their history and adding mystics. Be that as it may, Muramasa’s swords strike the observer with seeming simplicity and bewitching danger. The most famous authenticated sword is on display at the Tokyo National Museum. Numerous fakes and mock-ups are sold in online stores, but the authentic sword of master Senzo Murasama is truly priceless.