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, also known as , is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as tachi and tantō respectively, in the ''Soshu'' tradition. No exact dates are known for Masamune's life and he has reached an almost legendary status. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, 1288–1328. Some stories list his family name as Okazaki, but some experts believe this is a fabrication to enhance the standing of the Tokugawa family. Masamune is believed to have worked in Sagami Province during the last part of the Kamakura Period (1288–1328), and it is thought that he was trained by swordsmiths from Bizen and Yamashiro provinces, such as Saburo Kunimune, Awataguchi Kunitsuna and Shintōgo Kunimitsu. He was father by blood or adoption〔(Masamune Info )〕 of Hikoshiro Sadamune, considered by many to be an almost as famous Sōshū master. An award for swordsmiths called the Masamune prize is awarded at the ''Japanese Sword Making Competition''. Although not awarded every year, it is presented to a swordsmith who has created an exceptional work.〔(Japanese Sword Making Competition ) (THE MIYAIRI SCHOOL )〕 == Style == The swords of Masamune have a reputation for superior beauty and quality, remarkable in a period where the steel necessary for swords was often impure. He is considered to have brought to perfection the art of . Masamune studied under Shintōgo Kunimitsu and made blades in suguha (straight temper line) but he made magnificent notare hamon, where the finish on the leading edge of blade slowly undulates where it was quenched. There are also some blades with ko-midare (small irregularities), a style which appears to have been copied from the Old Bizen and Hoki Province styles. His works are well-characterized by striking chikei (dark lines following the grain pattern in the steel above the hamon), kinsuji (lightning shaped lines of nie) and nie (crystals of martensite embedded in a pearlite matrix). Swords created by Masamune often are referred to with the smith's name (as with other pieces of artwork), often with a name for the individual sword as well. The "Honjo Masamune", a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate and passed down from shogun to shogun, is perhaps the best known Masamune sword. Signed works of Masamune are rare. The examples "Fudo Masamune", "Kyogoku Masamune", and "Daikoku Masamune" are accepted as his genuine works. Judging from his style, he was active from the late Kamakura period to the Nanboku-chō period. His swords are the most frequently cited among those listed in the Kyôho Meibutsu Cho,〔http://internal.tbi.net/~max/ff9ref2.htm History of Masamune by Jim Kurrasch〕 a catalogue of excellent swords in the collections of daimyo edited during the Kyōhō era by the Hon'ami family of sword appraisers and polishers. The catalogue was created on the orders of the Tokugawa Yoshimune of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1714 and consists of three books. The first book known as the Nihon Sansaku is a list of the three greatest swordsmiths in the eyes of Toyotomi Hideyoshi including Etchu Matsukura Go Umanosuke Yoshihiro, Awataguchi Toshiro Yoshimitsu, and lists 41 blades by Goro Nyudo Masamune. The three books together list 61 blades by Masamune. There are far more blades listed for Masamune than the next two swordsmiths combined. It is known that Hideyoshi had a passion for Soshu swordsmiths which may explain this. A third of all swords listed are Soshu blades by many of the greatest Soshu masters including Masamune's students. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Masamune」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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