Muromachi period – Study of Japanese Sword

July 22, 2019May 25, 2021 Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 61| Part 2 of --- 25|Sengoku Period Tanto (1467 - 1596), Uncategorized

58|Part 2 of — 24 Sengoku Period Tanto (戦国時代短刀)

Chapter 58 is a Continued part of chapter 24|Sengoku Period Tanto (戦国時代). Please read chapter 24|Sengoku Period Tanto (戦国時代) before reading this section.

0-timeline - size 24 Sengoku Period

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

Muramasa (村正)

The discussion of this chapter is about the famous Muramasa (村正). Usually, many well-known swordsmiths were from one of the Goka Den (五家伝: The primary five schools: Yamashiro Den, Bizen Den, Soshu Den, Yamato Den, and Mino Den). However, Muramasa was not from the Goka Den but Ise Province. The first generation Muramasa was known as a student of He’ian-jo Nagayoshi (平安城長吉) of Yamashiro Den. The Muramasa family lived through the mid-Muromachi period. They had three generations from the mid-Muromachi period to the Sengoku period.

61 Ise map

Here is one of Muramasa’s Tanto that was made during the Sengoku period. Since this is the Sengoku period Tanto, the blade shows the Sengoku period sword style. It shows Mino Den characteristics, with the Soshu Den Characteristics added.

61 Muramasa photo 61 Muramasa illustration Muramasa (村正) from Sano Museum Catalogue (permission granted)

Characteristics on this Tanto

Muramasa’s Tantos are often 10 inches ± half inches or so. Hirazukuri (平作り). Thin blade with a sharp look. Nioi base with small Nie and Sunagashi (brushed sand-like patterns, the illustration below) appears. Boshi (the top part of Hamon) is Jizo (a side view of a human’s head). The tempered line has wide areas and narrow areas. Some areas are so narrow, close to the edge of the blade, while others are broad. Hako midare (box-like shape) and Gunome (lined-up beads pattern) appear. O-notare (large gentle waviness) is a Muramasa’s signature characteristic. The pointed tempered line is a typical Mino Den characteristic (Sanbon-sugi). Refer to 23| Sengoku Period Sword(戦国時代刀）and 24| Sengoku Period Tanto (戦国時代短刀).

61 Sunagashi 2

Sunagashi (Brushed sand-like trace. My drawing is exaggerated)

June 25, 2019May 25, 2021 Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 58｜Part 2 of ----- 22| Muromachi Period Sword (室町時代), Uncategorized

55 |Part 2 of —–21 Muromachi Period Sword (室町時代刀)

Chapter 55 is the detailed part of chapter 21|Muromachi Period Sword. Please read Chapter 21 before reading this section.

57 Muromach-timeline size 22

The circle above indicates the time we discuss in this section

After the Muromachi period, swords changed to Katana(刀) from Tachi (太刀), as described in chapter 21 Muromachi Period Sword. Refer to 21| Muromachi Period Sword (室町時代刀) . By the end of the Nanboku-cho period, the swords’ length became shorter to approximately 2 feet ± a few inches. The 3-to-5 feet long swords seen in the Nanboku-cho period were no longer created. The reason was that, during the Nanboku-cho period, warriors fought mostly riding horses, but after the Muromachi time, infantry fighting became more common.

Oei Bizen (応永備前) The pronunciation of Oei is“O as Oh” and “ei as A of ABC.” The Muromachi period was the declining time in sword making. The swords made during the early Muromachi period in the Bizen area were called Oei Bizen. Osafune Morimitsu (長船盛光), Osafune Yasumitsu (長船康光), Osafune Moromitsu (長船師光) were the main Oei Bizen swordsmiths. Soshu Hiromasa (相州広正)、Yamashiro Nobukuni (山城信國) were also similar to the Oei Bizen style. Please refer to 21| Muromachi Period Sword (室町時代刀) for Muromachi sword shape, Hamon, Boshi, and Ji-hada.

57 Moromitsu photo (必要分　 57 Moromitus Oshigata

Bishu Osafune Moromitsu (備州長船師光) from Sano Museum Catalogue ((permission granted)

The above Osafune Moromitsu sword is 2 feet 5 inches long with medium Kissaki. The Hamon has a small wave-like pattern with continuous Gunome (a lined half-circles). The Boshi area shows irregular waviness with a slightly pointed tip. Very faint Bo-utsuri (soft shadow shaped like a strip of wood) shows on Ji-hada. Bo-utsuri is a distinctive characteristic among all of the Oei Bizen.

Before the Muromachi period, there had been many swordsmith groups in the Bizen area, but by the Muromachi time began, Osafune (長船) was the only remaining active group.

Osafune (長船) is the name of a region, but it became the last name of the swordsmiths during the Muromachi time. Two other well-known swordsmiths among the Oei Bizen were Osafune Morimitsu (盛光) and Osafune Yasumitsu (康光). The Hamon by Morimitsu and Yasumitsu shows more work than that of the sword in the photo above. Chapter 21| Muromachi Period Sword (室町時代刀) shows the Hamon by Morimitsu and Yasumitsu, also describes typical characteristics of the swords in the Muromachi period.

Hirazukuri Ko-Wakizashi Tanto

58 Hirazukuri Ko-Wakizashi Tanto

Hirazukuri Ko-Wakizashi Tanto Shape

Hirazukuri Ko-wakizashi Tanto was the trendy style during the early Muromachi time. Swordsmiths in different areas created the Tantos like the one above. But majorities of this types were made by Oei Bizen swordsmiths.

The characteristic of the Hirazukuri ko-wakizashi Tanto ——— Usually 1 foot and 1 or 2 inches long. No Yokote line, no Shinogi, and no Sori (no curvature, straight back). Average thickness. Narrow width. Gyo-no-mune (refer 12| The Middle Kamakura Period Tanto）

13 Mune drawing

Hirazukuri Ko-wakizashi Tanto often shows many engravings. Hi with Soe-hi (parallel double line, wide and narrow side by side ), Tokko-tsuki-ken, Tsume-tsuki-ken, Bonji, etc.

9 Hi, Suken, Bonji 20 Tokko, tume Ken 58 tsumetukiken and Hi

*drawings from “Nihonto no Okite to Tokucho” by Honami Koson

June 17, 2019June 11, 2021 Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 57| Muromachi Period History (室町時代), Uncategorized

54|Part 2 of — 20|Muromachi Period History (室町時代歴史)

This is a detailed part of the 20 | Muromachi Period History. Please read chapter 20 before reading this section.

0-timeline - size 24 Nuromach & Sengoku

The red circleabove indicate the time we discuss in this chapter

Until the Muromachi (室町) period, the political history and the sword history are parallel in our study. The above timelines show: the middle line is for the sword history, and the bottom line is for the political history.

The styles of swords were distinctively different between those in the Muromachi period and the Sengoku period (戦国時代). Therefore, for sword study, the Muromachi period and the Sengoku period have to be separated. Japanese history textbooks define that the Muromachi period is from 1393 (the end of Nanboku-cho) until 1573 when Oda Nobunaga (織田信長) removed Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭) from Kyoto (the fall of the Muromachi Bakufu). In those textbooks, the Sengoku period is described as a part of the Muromachi period. However, we need to divide the Muromachi period and the Sengoku period for the sword study’s purpose.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満)

The best time during the Muromachi period was when Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満, Grandson of Ashikaga Takauji) was in power. He moved the Bakufu to Muromachi (室町) in Kyoto; therefore, it is called the Muromachi period. By the time most of the South Dynasty Samurai went under the North Dynasty, the South Dynasty accepted the Shogun Yoshimitsu’s offer to end the fight against the North Dynasty. This acceptance established the power of the Ashikaga family in the Muromachi Bakufu.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu created a tremendous amount of profit from trades with China (Ming). He built a famous beautiful resort villa in Kyoko, the Golden Pavillion (Kinkaku-Ji Temple 金閣寺*). It is said that he created the Golden Pavillion to display his power and wealth. The beautiful culture called the Kitayama Bunka (Kitayama culture 北山文化) was created around this time.

*Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-Ji Tempe金閣寺) —– The official name is Rokuon-ji Temple (鹿苑寺). Saionji Kintsune (西園寺公経) built it first as his resort house in the Kamakura period. Shogun Yoshimitsu acquired it in 1397, and he rebuilt it as his villa. He also used it as an official guesthouse.

After Shogun Yoshimitsu’s death, the villa was converted to Rokuon-ji Temple. It is a part of Rinzaishu Sokoku-ji Temple, which is the head temple of a denomination of the Zen sect, Rinzaishu Sokoku-ji group(臨済宗相国寺派). Kinkaku-ji is a reliquary hall containing relics of Buddha. Kinkaku-ji Temple represents the glorious Kitayama Bunka (Kitayama culture). In 1994, it was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site. https://www.shokoku-ji.jp/kinkakuji/

57 Kinkakuji trip 2019 My photo May 2019,

Ashikaga Yoshimasa (足利義政)

After Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) died, the Muromachi Bakufu became less financially prosperous, and the military power decreased. As a result, Daimyos (feudal lords) gained more control. A few generations after Shogun Yoshimitsu, Ashikaga Yohimasa became the 8th Shogun). His wife was the famous Hino Tomiko (refer Hino tomiko Chapter 20|Muromachi Period History (室町時代歴史) .

It is said that Shogun Yoshimasa was not interested in his job as a Shogun, but he was much more interested in art and culture. He created the foundation of today’s Japanese art and culture, such as the Japanese garden, Shoin-zukuri (書院造)* interior design, tea ceremony, flower arrangements, painting, and other art forms. His cultural attribute is called Higashiyama Bunka (Higashiyama culture (東山文化).

As described in 20|Muromachi Period History (室町時代歴史) , Shogun Yoshimasa did not have a child. His brother Yoshimi (義視) was supposed to be the next Shogun. But his wife, Hino Tomiko, gave birth to a son, Yoshihisa (義尚). Hino Tomiko asked Yamana Sozen (山名宗全; powerful family) to back up her son. At the same time, brother, Yoshimi, tied up with Hosokawa Katsumoto (another powerful family 細川勝元). The problem was that Shogun Yoshimasa was paying too much attention to all his cultural hobbies, and did not pay attention to the problem he created by not being clear who should be the next Shogun. He did not yield the Shogunate to either one.

In 1467, on top of the successor problem, because of other conflicts of interests of other powerful Daimyo, a civil war, “Onin-no-Run (応仁の乱 )” broke out. All Daimyo were divided and sided either the Hosokawa group or the Yamana group. Eventually, the war spread to the rest of Japan and lasted over ten years. Finally, in 1477, after both Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sozen died, Shogun Yoshimasa decided to transfer the Shogunate to his son Yoshihisa. Because of this war, Kyoto was devastated. The power of the Muromachi Bakufu declined significantly.

While all this was happening, and people were suffering, Yoshimasa was still spending money to build the Ginkaku-ji Temple (The Silver Pavillion: 銀閣寺). He died without seeing the completion of the Ginkaku-ji Temple. The Onin-no-Run would lead to the next Sengoku period, the 100-year-long Warring States Period).

*Shoin-zukuri (書院造)———- A traditional Japanese residential interior style with Tatami mats, a nook, and a Shoji screen, sliding door. This style is the base of the interior of the Japanese house today.

Shoin Zukuri style Japanese room

57 Shoin zukuri

Public Domain GFDL,cc-by-sa-2.5,2.0,1.0 file: Takagike CC BY-SA 3.0view terms File: Takagike Kashihara JPN 001.jpg

My Japanese room

April 28, 2018June 6, 2021 Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 23 | Sengoku Period, Uncategorized

22| Sengoku Period History (戦国時代歴史)

0-timeline - size 24 Sengoku Period 0

The red circle above indicate the time we discuss in this section

The above timeline shows two red circles. In political history, the Sengoku period (戦国時代) is a part of the Muromachi (室町) period, which is the second circle. However, in the sword history, we separate the Muromachi period and the Sengoku period (Warring States period), the top circle. In sword history, we divide the time this way because, in those two periods, the sword style changed, and the environment of sword making also changed.

After the Onin-no-Ran (応仁の乱) had started (discussed in 20|Muromachi Period History (室町時代歴史) ), the beautiful capital city, Kyoto (京都 ) was in a devastating condition. The Shogun’s (将軍) power reached only to the very limited small area. The rest of the country was divided into 30 or so small independent states. The heads of those independent states were called Shugo Daimyo (守護大名). They were initially government officials who had been appointed and sent there by the central government.

Also, powerful local Samurai often became the head of those states. They fought against each other to take over the other’s land. During the Sengoku period, vassals would kill his master and stole his domain, or farmers would revolt against their lords. A state like this is called “Gekoku-jo (lower class Samurai overthrow the superior).”　

This is the time of the Warring States called the Sengoku period. The head of a state was called Sengoku Daimyo (戦国大名: War-lord). The Sengoku period lasts about 100 years. Little by little, powerful states defeated less powerful ones after long hard battles and gained more territory. Thirty or so small countries became 20, then ten and so on. Eventually, a few dominant Sengoku Daimyo (War-lord) were left. Each Daimyo of those states tried to fight his way up to Kyoto and tried to be the country’s top. The first one who almost succeeded was Oda Nobunaga (織田信長). However, he was killed by his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀), but shortly after, Akechi was killed by his colleague, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) 　　

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide and his troop and a few more significant war-lords, he almost completed uniting Japan. Yet, Hideyoshi had one more rival to deal with to complete his job. That was Tokugawa Iyeyasu (徳川家康). Now, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were the last contenders for the top position. Both knew that their opponents were smart and able. Any wrong move on either part would be a fatal mistake. So, they decided to keep an amicable co-existing relationship on the surface for a while. Though Toyotomi Hideyoshi tried to make Tokugawa Ieyasu his vassal, Tokugawa Ieyasu somehow maneuvered to avoid that. In the mind of Tokugawa Iyeyasu, since he was younger than Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he knew that he could just wait until Hideyoshi‘s natural death. And that happened eventually.

After Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa Ieyasu fought Hideyoshi’s vassals and won at the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い) in 1600. Then, in 1615, at the battle of the Osaka Natsu-no-Jin (Osaka Summer Campaign: 大阪夏の陣), Tokugawa won against Hideyoshi’s son, Hideyori’s army. After this, the Toyotomi clan ceased to exist entirely, then the Edo (江戸) period started. The time is called the Edo period because Tokugawa Ieyasu lived in Edo, current Tokyo (東京).

*The Sengoku period is often depicted in TV dramas and movies. People who lived through the Sengoku period had a tough time, but it was the most exciting time for TV shows and movies. The life of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and, Tokugawa Ieyasu are the most favorite story in Japan. Especially the story of Toyotomi Hideyoshi is one of the most popular ones. His background was a poor farmer, but he eventually became the top ruler of Japan. That is one fascinating success story.

23 Toyotomi_hideyoshi

Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) by Kano Mitsunobu, owned by Kodai-Ji Temple From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repositon.

April 7, 2018June 6, 2021 Yurie Endo 遠藤由利江 21 |Muromachi Period, Uncategorized

20|Muromachi Period History (室町時代歴史) 　　　

　 The red circle iabove ndicate the time we discuss in this section

The Muromachi period began after Ashikaga Takauji (足利尊氏) and several other prominent leaders ended the Nanboku-cho period. (discussed in 17|Nanboku-cho Period History (1333-1393).

The grandson of Ashikaga Takauji, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満：often called Shogun Yoshimitsu), built a new beautiful palace at Muromachi (室町) area in Kyoto. The palace became the center of the government called the Muromachi Bakufu (室町幕府: Muromachi Government). This is the beginning of the Muromachi period. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built the famous “Kinkaku-ji Temple* (Golden Pavilion)” in Kyoto as his second house.

Kinkaku-ji Temple* (金閣寺: Golden Pavillion) ————- Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) built Kinkaku-Ji Temple in 1397. Later, it became Rinzai-shu (臨済宗) school Buddhist temple, but it was initially built as the second house for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as well as a state guesthouse. Today, it is designated as a world heritage site. This temple was burnt down by an arsonist in 1950 but was rebuilt in 1955. The novelist Mishima Yukio wrote the novel “Kinkaku-ji” related to the Golden Pavillion and the arsonist. The famous quote in the book is, “The Ho-oh (A mythic golden bird, a Chinese version phoenix) on the roof of the Kinkaku-ji Temple is stationary, but it flies through the time eternally.”

In the Muromachi period, the emperor’s power became declined. The Shogun (将軍) held all the political power. Little by little, several groups of Samurai who were officially appointed as a Shugo Daimyo (守護大名: high-ranking officials) started to gain political and economic power by holding the critical positions in the Muromachi Bakufu. They also owned a large land. A couple of powerful Shugo Daimyo were the Hosokawa (細川) family and the Yamana (山名) family.

The Ashikaga family made a great effort to make the Muromachi Bakufu sound and powerful through politics. The beginning of the Muromachi period was peaceful and prosperous. Yet by the time Ashikaga Yoshimasa (足利義政) became the 8^th Shogun, the Muromachi Bakufu was corrupted very severely. Shogun Yoshimasa did not pay much attention to his job, governing the country as a shogun. Instead, he was chasing women (his mother had to scold him for that), spent a large amount of money on building the Silver Pavilion called “Ginkaku-ji Temple (銀閣寺),“ and retreated himself there. Shogun Yoshimasa did not have an heir. Therefore, his brother, Yoshimi (義視), was named to the next Shogun.

However, later, Yoshimasa’s wife Hino Tomiko (日野富子)* had a son, Yoshihisa (義尚). Now, brother Yoshimi (義視) allied with a family of a high-ranking official, the Hosokawa’s (細川) while the son, Yoshihisa, tied with another powerful family, the Yamana’s (山名), and several other smaller groups of Samurai allied with either side and the war broke out. This war is called Onin-no-Ran (応仁の乱) in 1467. It spread out all over the country and continued for 11years.

Hino Tomiko (日野富子)*——————The wife of Shogun Yoshimasa. She took advantage of her political privileges to make a large amount of money by investing in the rice commodity market to control rice prices and sold with a high profit. Then she loans the money to the high ranking officials at a high-interest. The corruption reached an uncontrollable level.

As a result of Onin-no-Ran, beautiful Kyoto was burnt down to ashes. The authority of the Muromachi Bakufu only reached the vicinity of the small surrounding area of Kyoto. Onin-no-Ran caused the next period called the Sengoku period (戦国時代), that is the Warring States period. During the Sengoku period, Japan was divided into 30 or so small independent countries and fought each other until Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Iyeyasu united Japan as one country.

57 Kinkakuji trip 2019

The photo was taken in May 2019, a family trip to Kyoto

March 3, 2018May 21, 2021 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 with a dominant power during the Kamakura period, also began to have financial difficulty and started to lose control over the regional lords. One of the reasons was the cost incurred by the Mongol invasion. The Kamakura Bakufu (government) could not reward well to the Samurai who worked hard during the war. As a result, they were very dissatisfied with the Bakufu. Seeing this as a chance, Emperor Go-Daigo attempted to attack the Kamakura Bakufu two times but failed both times. He was exiled to Oki island. Meantime, Ashikaga Takauji (足利尊氏) and several groups of anti-Kamakura Samurai gathered arm forces and succeeded in destroying the Kamakura Bakufu (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 called Kenmu-no-Chuko (or Kenmu-no-Shinsei, 建武の中興). His reform, however, failed to satisfy most of the ruling class. Taking advantage of this situation, Ashikaga Takauji attacked the Imperial Court in Kyoto, deposed Emperor Go-daigo, and placed a member from the other branch of the Imperial family on the throne.

Emperor Go-daigo, however, insisted upon his legitimacy, moved to Yoshino in the South of Kyoto, and established another Imperial court. Thus began the Northern and the Southern Dynasties. With much strife between these rival courts and their problems within each court, more Samurai groups began moving to the Northern Dynasty. About 60 years later, the Southern Dynasty was compelled to accept the Northern Dynasty’s proposal. Consequently, the Northern Dynasty became the legitimate imperial court. These 60 years are called Nanboku-cho or Yoshino-cho period.

During the Nanboku-cho period, Samurai demanded larger and showy yet practical swords. Soshu Den was the height of its prominence. However, the Soshu group was not the only group that made the Soshu Den style swords. Other schools and provinces of the different areas also made Soshu Den style swords.

Late Kamakura Period Swordsmiths (Early Soshu-Den time)