Honjo Masamune is a Spirit Sword crafted by the original Masamune. It is currently wielded by Masamune, a descendant of the original Masamune.
Summary[]
Honjo Masamune is one of the most powerful Spirit Swords crafted by Gorō Nyūdō Masamune who was hailed as Japan's greatest swordsmith, being among the finest Japanese blades ever made. The samurai Honjō Shigenaga gained the sword after a battle in 1561 when he was attacked by Umanosuke who struck him with the Honjō Masamune which split his helmet, but he survived and took the sword as a prize. It was kept by Shigenaga until he was sent to Fushimi Castle around 1592.
Shigenaga was later forced to sell the sword to Toyotomi Hidetsugu, it then went to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Shimazu Yoshihiro, again to Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Yorinobu, and finally Tokugawa Ietsuna. It remained in the Kii (紀伊) branch of the Tokugawa family as a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period and was passed down from one shōgun to another. This ownership continued after the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1868). The last known owner was Tokugawa Iemasa at the end of World War II. Honjo Masamune went missing after Iemasa gave the sword to a police station at Mejiro. Masamune's grandfather managed to find the sword through Shinto divination and the help of Inari Okami, the Shinto God of Foxes and Blacksmithing. He decided to keep Honjo Masamune as a family treasure, replacing the sheath, hilt and tsuba with his own creations to prevent the Japanese government from finding and claiming it as a National treasure.
Appearance[]
Honjo Masamune is a Kamakura period Tachi. Honjo's original saya sheath, tsuka hilt and tsuba sword guard were replaced by Masamune's grandfather with only the blade masterfully crafted by the original Masamune being the only thing left of Masamune's great masterpiece. Currently it has a round