Was the long lost Atakiri Muramasa sword found in a rummage sale?

(Aya Kira, Kuwana Tribune, July 4)   

Blade by Legendary Smith Back in Japan

A wakizashi found at a rummage sale in a small Canadian town has returned to Japan, and now resides in the Kuwana Museum in Mie Prefecture after the buyer contacted the Japanese consulate.   After appraisal, he was shocked to find that one of the most famous Japanese blade smiths, Muramasa, had forged it. The inscription on the tang of this wakizashi closely matches one in the records regarding the listing of Muramasa blades. The sword was x-rayed and they discovered the makers' mark had been filled in. Once removed, it revealed Muramasa's signature. So, the consulate contacted the Kuwana Museum which houses the largest collection of Muramasa blades. Then the museum reached out to the buyer and offered him a trip to see the legendary sword safely back to its country of origin.    

Is the blade the famous Atakiri Muramasa?

Rumor said it was the favorite short sword carried by Kirino Toshiaki, one of the Four Hitokiri. Kirino was also a commander of the pro-Emperor forces at the Battle of Toba Fushimi  Muramasa blades were popular weapons among the anti-Shogunate troops, because the Shogun had reportedly banned them after an assassin killed his grandfather with one, his son used one at a ritual suicide, and the Shogun had been cut by one. Legend says that Muramasa blades would cause the wielder to go into such a violent berserker rage, that blood must be shed before it could be re-sheathed. When there's a ban on a weapon, people hoard and hide them. Many owners of the blades supposedly had the maker's mark hidden or filed off, because the blades were known to be excellent weapons.   So, Kirino sought one. Before he obtained the wakizashi, he was a master swordsman. But he felt truly was unstoppable after obtaining Atakiri Muramasa, and carried it into every battle.   The blade disappeared from Kirino's tent, just before his death at the battle at Shiroyama. No one knew of its whereabouts after that. Some blamed Kirino's death on the loss of the weapon.    

Now that the sword has returned to Japan, will more evidence surface?

An anonymous source says they know without a doubt this wakizashi is the legendary Atakiri Muramasa, but they are waiting until the right time to reveal their proof.  
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Related
Sengo Muramasa

Appears In:


Liminal Chronicles Series bookcover art by Odette.A.Bach and text by Amy Winters-Voss. Short story bookcovers by Amy Winters-Voss


Cover image: Blade and Mounting for a Dagger (Tantō) by Met Museum

Comments

Author's Notes

This story started with finding a quirky and amazing article from a small town, then blending fact with fiction. The irony of the woman writing the real article that inspired this myth working at the Morning Star, made me smile. My brain went immediately to a weapon, not a news site.   I brought in tidbits from the news article, history, and legends about Muramasa swords for this brief story. Muramasa blades were reputed to carry the curse of making their owner have a strong blood-lust, and favored by the anti-Shogunate forces for the reasons mentioned in the story. Kirino was an actual person. But I don’t know if Kirino had a Muramasa blade. The article needed to be about a myth, so I had to write a bit of my own!   I had fun naming this fictional blade based on the names of real ones and tying it into the news story and historic accounts. Famous Japanese blades reappearing are a blast to read about, because so many of swords and daggers were destroyed or removed from Japanese soil after WWII.    The image of the dagger is a Muramasa blade, but not the one in the rummage sale. Please visit the news article to see the one actually from that story.


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Jul 6, 2020 18:11 by Stormbril

Woah, neat! Vernon is just a couple hours away from my hometown, and I have friends living in the nearby city of Kelowna. Small world!   I'm a sucker for swords, and this was a really interesting read. I love the mixing of reality and fiction, it's really well done!

Jul 13, 2020 00:13 by Amy Winters-Voss

Aww, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Author of the Liminal Chronicles urban fantasy series | Author Website
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