Honjou Masamune

by CT Snow (WikiCommons)

Origin

A katana forged by the priest and legendary swordsmith Gorou Nyuudou Masamune. It was likely created in the early 1300s and is considered one of his masterpieces.
At that time, swordsmiths used high temperatures to rid the steel of impurities, but this left the metal brittle. To solve this problem, Masamune folded softer metals in with the steel and applied clay before cooling the blade, which created the signature wavy pattern on his blades.
His swords were so well made that it's said the layers of folded steel were only a single atom thick, and thus explained their incredibly sharp blades.

by Utagawa Hiroshige © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Honjou Masamune's History

The first part of the blade's name comes from Honjou Shigenaga, who's helmet was split by the sword during battle in 1561. Honjou then defeated the owner of the sword and took the fine blade for himself. Eventually, he sold the sword to Toyotomi, the shogun and head of a powerful family in western Japan. The Toyotomi clan was one of the two major forces in the historic Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. When the Toyotomi clan lost the battle, Tokugawa Iyesu became shogun and acquired the sword. The Honjou Masamune was handed down generation to generation in the Tokugawa clan.
Magical Properties

Masamune is said to have used religious rituals in his bladesmithing. But did not pass that knowledge on to his students.
The Honjou Masamune was said to be so sharp that it could cut light, and thus the blade once unsheathed became invisible. This is close to the truth.
Remember that all things have a spirit, this one happens to be mythical. In actuality, the blade mystically appears from the spirit realm, where it dwells, when a small amount of ki is drawn from the wielder. This summons the blade to the location it's needed. The katana blade's appearance is ghostly--glowing with tendrils of mist flowing from it.

Whereabouts a Mystery

Honjou Masamune disappeared after WWII when Japanese citizens were required to surrender any weapons (including ancestral swords). It was surrendered to the Americans by Tokugawa Iemasu to a US Calvary Sergeant listed as Coldy Bimore. Efforts to find it proved unfruitful.
Though other Masamune blades have been recovered. In 2014 the blade Shimazu Masamune was anonymously turned over to a museum in Kyoto. More recently, in 2017 another of Masamune's blades, a tanto belonging to Yoshida Shouin was returned to Japan, after being discovered by a Japanese filmmaker who visited the home of an American of Japanese descent.
Rumors say that the Honjou Masamune is hiding somewhere in a private American collection, waiting for when it's needed again.
** Based on the real sword **

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Rarity

One of a kind

Weight

2.2 lbs / 1 kg

Dimensions

* 1 m / 39 inches (blade extended/materialized)
* 32 cm / 12 inches (blade not materialized)

Base Price

National Treasure, priceless

Related Myths

• Ring of the Rising Sun