Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 18 Nanboku(Yoshino) Cho--North and South dynasty, Uncategorized

17| Nanboku-cho Period History 1333-1392(南北朝歴史）

0-timeline - size 24 Nanboku-cho

            The red circle above indicates the time we discuss in this section.

After Jokyu-no-ran (Chapter 10 Jokyu-no-ran), the power of the Imperial Court declined significantly.  The successor, the Hojo clan, which was a dominant force during the Kamakura period, also began to face financial difficulties and began to lose control over regional lords.  One reason was the costs incurred by the Mongol invasion.  The Kamakura bakufu (government) could not adequately reward the samurai who fought hard during the war.  As a result, they became very dissatisfied with the bakufu.  Seeing this as an opportunity, Emperor Go-Daigo attempted to attack the Kamakura bakufu twice but failed both times.  He was exiled to Oki Island.  In the meantime, Ashikaga Takauji (足利尊氏) and several groups of anti-Kamakura samurai gathered armed forces and succeeded in destroying the Kamakura bakufu in 1333.  This war ended the Kamakura period.                                                                                                                                                  

Emperor Go-Daigo, who had been exiled to Oki Island, returned to Kyoto and attempted political reforms.  This reform was known as Kenmu-no-chuko (or Kenmu-no-shinsei, 建武の中興).  However, his reforms failed to satisfy most of the ruling class.  Seeing an opportunity, Ashikaga Takauji attacked the Imperial Court in Kyoto, deposed Emperor Go-Daigo, and installed a member of a different branch of the Imperial family as emperor. 

Emperor Go-Daigo, however, insisted on his legitimacy, moved to Yoshino in the south of Kyoto, and established another Imperial court.  Thus, the Northern and  Southern Dynasties began.  With much strife between these rival courts and internal problems within each court,  more samurai groups began to move to the Northern Dynasty.  About sixty years later, the Southern Dynasty was forced to accept the Northern Dynasty’s proposal.  Consequently, the Northern Dynasty became the legitimate imperial court.  This sixty-year period is referred to as the Nanboku-cho or Yoshino-cho period. 

During the Nanboku-cho period, samurai preferred longer, more elaborate, yet practical swords.  The Soshu-den was at the height of its prominence.  However, the Soshu group was not the only one to produce Soshu-den-style swords.  Other schools and provinces in different areas also made Soshu-den-style swords.

Late Kamakura Period Swordsmiths (Early Soshu-Den time)

  • Tosaburo Yukimitsu (藤三郎行光)  
  • Goro Nyudo Masamune (五郎入道正宗)     
  • Hikoshiro Sadamune (彦四郎貞宗)

 17 Masamune hamon (Sano)             Masamune from Sano Museum Catalog (permission granted)

Nanboku-cho Period Swordsmiths  (Middle Soshu-Den time)

  • Hiromitsu (広光)   
  • Akihiro (秋広)

 20 Hitatsura Hiromitsu Hitatura )                  Hiromitsu from Sano Museum Catalog (permission granted)

Muromachi Period Swordsmiths (Late Soshu-Den time)

  • Hiromasa (広正)    
  • Masahiro (正広)

Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 12| Ikubi Kissaki, Uncategorized

11| Ikubi Kissaki (猪首切先)

 
0-timeline - size 24 Middle Kamakura
 
The circle indicates the time we discuss in this chapter.

Through the experience of the Jokyu-no-ran war (Chapter 10), the design of the swords shifted to a wider, sturdier, and more impressive style.  The swords made around this time are called “ikubi-kissaki. “  Ikubi means a wild boar’s neck.  The kissaki area of ikubi-kissaki-style swords resembles a boar’s neck, with a somewhat stout appearance.

The middle Kamakura period was the golden age of Japanese sword-making.  Many top swordsmiths created exceptional swords during this time.  Experts agree that there are no mediocre swords among Ikubi-kissaki swords.

IkubiKissakiSword  12 Ikubi Kissaki sword style

SUGATA (shape) —————— Originally 3 feet or longer, these blades were often shortened in later years.  Wide width.  Thick kasane (thick body) with hamaguri-ha, meaning the sword’s cross-section is shaped like a clam.  The difference in width between the near yokote line and the machi is minimal.  The shinogi is high and narrow.  The cross-section of an Ikubi-kissaki sword is shown below. 

12　蛤刃と鎬

KISSAKI  ————- Ikubi-kissaki.  Ikubi means the neck of a wild boar.  It is thick, short, and stout in appearance.  Kissaki is short and wide at the yokote line.  The illustration below shows an exaggerated image of an Ikubi-kissaki.

12 Ikubi Kissak drawing

Hamon (刃文) —— Kawazuko-choji (tadpole-head shape pattern). O-choji (large clove-shape pattern), ko-choji (small clove-shape), a mixture of o-choji and ko-choji, or suguha-choji.  Suguha-choji features a straight line combined with a choji (clove-shape) pattern.  

12 Hamon Kawazuko-choji                     O-choji                          Ko-choji                  Suguha-choji     (tadpole head)                   (large clove)                (small clove)      (straight and clove)

Boshi (鋩子) ——Yakizume: the hamon ends almost at the tip of the kissaki, with no return. Sansaku Boshi: the hamon narrows at the yokote line, created by Nagamitsu (長光), Kagemitsu (景光), and Sanenaga (真長).  See below for Yakizume and Sansaku Boshi.                           

                                                                 

12 Yakizume

   Yakizume       11 Sansaku Boshi（三作Sansaku-boshi

Ikubi Kissaki Sword Smiths

Fukuoka Ichimonji Group (福岡一文字) —————Fukuoka Ichimonji Norimune (則宗) Kamakura Ichimonji Group(鎌倉一文字) ———— Kamakura Ichimonji Sukezane (助真) Soshu Bizen Kunimune Group(相州備前国宗)——– Soshu Bizen Kunimune (国宗)Bizen Osafune Group(長船)——————Bizen Osafune Mitutada(長船光忠) Nagamitsu(長光)   Ugai Group————————————————————————- Ugai Unji (鵜飼雲次)

     Osafune Nagamitsu(長船長光)    From Sano Museum Catalogue (permission granted)   

     Osafune Mitsutada(長船光忠)                          Osafune Mitsutada(長船光忠)                   

 Once my family sword.  My father did the calligraphy and took these pictures for himself. 

Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 11| Jokyu-no-ran

10| Jokyu-no-ran 1221 (承久の乱)

0-timeline - size 24 jyokyuu no ran
 
 The circle indicates the time we discuss in this section.

Jyokyu-no-Ran (承久の乱)

After Minamoto-no-Yoritomo (源頼朝) died, his son, Yoriie (頼家), became shogun.  His mother, Hojo Masako (北条政子), Yoritomo‘s wife, thought her son was too incompetent.  She worried others might take over the Kamakura bakufu (Kamakura government).  To prevent this, she established a council of 13 members, including herself, her father, Hojo Tokimasa (北条時政), and her brother, Hojo Yoshitoki (北条義時). 

Shogun Yoriie’s in-laws gained power over time.  During the Heian and Kamakura periods, the wife’s family was considered very important.  To suppress her son’s in-laws, Masako and her father, Tokimasa, planned and carried out Yoriie’s assassination.

After Yoriie‘s death, Masako’s younger son, Sanetomo (実朝), became the next shogun.  Now, his grandfather, Hojo Tokimasa’s second wife, wanted her son-in-law to be the next shogun.  To please his young wife, Hojo Tokimasa attempted to kill Sanetomo but failed.  When she found out about the plot, Hojo Masako imprisoned her father, Tokimasa.  Although Sanetomo was Masako’s son, she was once again very disappointed by his incompetence.  Ultimately, Shogun Sanetomo was killed by his nephew Kugyo, the son of the previous shogun, Yoriie. 

After all these incidents, Masako’s brother, Hojo Yoshitoki, took control of the Kamakura bakufu and installed a figurehead from the Fujiwara family, a powerful aristocratic family in Kyoto.   After all the turmoil, the Hojo family eventually gained complete control of the Kamakura bakufu (government).

Meanwhile, in Kyoto, Emperor Gotoba was planning an attack on the Kamakura bakufu.  He had built up military strength.  When Sanetomo was killed, Emperor Gotoba saw an opportunity to attack Kamakura.  He ordered local feudal lords to attack the Kamakura bakufu, but few obeyed.  Instead, the Hojo family captured the emperor and exiled him to Oki Island.  This occurred in 1221 and is known as Jokyu-no-ran or Jokyu-no–hen.

Emperor Gotoba encouraged sword-making and showed respect for swordsmiths.     After the Jokyu-no-ran, the Imperial family’s power declined, and the Kamakura bakufu became a strong and stable regime.  From the time of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo‘s death until the end of the Jokyu-no-ran, the Kamakura bakufu remained unstable.  It was Hojo Masako who led the Kamakura bakufu to a stable regime.  She was called “Ama Shogun” or “Nun Shogun.”   She was a sharp, talented, yet tough, critical, and often harsh politician.

Kamakura locals, including myself, hold Hojo Masako in high regard.  Minamoto-no- Yoritomo and Hojo Masako are both buried in Kamakura City.  Minamoto-no-Yoritomo is at Shirahata Shrine (白幡神社), and Hojo Masako is at Jufukuji Temple (寿福寺). 

Kamakura is roughly an hour from Tokyo by train on the Yokosuka Line.  Both Jufuku-ji Temple and Shirahata Shrine are within walking distance of Kamakura Station.

 

Jufuku-ji (寿福寺) Temple, sourced from Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

The tomb of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo.  From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository.