EXAMINING THE ORIGINS OF SŌSHŪ-DEN by Adrian Schlemmer

New Information about the Birth of the Kamakura Schools

Introduction

Only only a few sword connoisseurs know the hidden and secret truth of the origins of the
Kamakura Sōshū-den. This article will outline how recent archaeological evidence combining
with little known old book information and stylistic evidence is shedding new light on the
origin of Sōshū-den.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Ōshū Emishi to Fushū

To understand the development of the Ōshū 奥州 schools and how they moved and
developed with time, we need to look at the history of the region

The barbarians or disobeying people of the Ōshū district in the Northern third on Honshu
were called the Emishi 蝦夷. The Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 mentions the Emishi who Jimmu
and his armed forces (the Yamato) defeated before he was enthroned as the Emperor of
Japan. The Nihon Shoki, also states that Takenouchi no Sukune in the era of Emperor Keiko
proposed that they should subjugate the Emishi of Hitakami no Kuni 日高見国 in eastern
Japan.   

The Emishi were composed of two main populations, the Jōmon Ainoid who were the
majority and a smaller group the Kofun, united by a common Ainoid language distinct from
the Yamato. These two populations were not distinguished by contemporaries, but rather by
present-day physical anthropologists. Historically, their contemporaries the Yamato saw them
as one group consisting mainly those who were descendants of the natives (the Jōmon) who
also had in their population those of mixed ethnicity, most likely descendants of early
colonists from the mainland (the Kofun). In addition, the contemporary Yamato for their part
looked upon the Emishi as foreigners and barbarians whose lands they desired to conquer and
incorporate into the Japanese state. 1   

The first major attempts to subjugate the Emishi in the 8th century were largely unsuccessful.
The imperial armies, which were modelled after the Mainland Chinese armies, were no match
for the guerrilla tactics of the Emishi. The Yamato changed tactics to match the Emishi on
horseback and archery. By the mid-9th century, most of the Emishi land in Honshū was
conquered, and they ceased to be independent. The Emishi of the late 9th century were
represented by different tribes, some of who became allies of the Yamato (fushū, ifu) and
others of who remained hostile (iteki). However, they continued to be influential in local
politics as subjugated, though powerful, Emishi Fushū families creating semi-autonomous
feudal domains in the north. The Abe 安倍 and Kiyohara 清原 Fushū families were
dominant in the region by the 11th century. Early in the 11th century Abe no Yoritoki 安倍
頼時 refused to pay taxes to the central government, led raiding parties south of the Koromo

 
 

River and generally ruled as an independent monarch. This led to the Zenkunen War 前九年
合戦 or Early Nine-Years War (1050 - 1062) in which Minamoto no Yoriyoshi 源 頼義
reinforced by Kiyohara no Takenori 清原武則 from Dewa province defeated the Abe. The
six semi-autonomous districts were then given to Kiyohara no Takenori. Corrupt
administration in the Kiyohara family led the region to war a second time. In the Gosannen
War 後三年合戦 or Latter Three Years' War (1083 - 1087) in which Minamoto no Yoshiie
源義家 subdued the Kiyohara.

Fushū Power Struggles and the Minamoto 

The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 Ōshū Fujiwara-shi) or Hiraizumi 平泉 were a noble

family that, with the support of the Imperial Court, ruled the Tohoku 東北 region
(subjugated north east part of Ōshū) of Japan from the late 11th through the 12th centuries.
They succeeded the semi-independent Emishi Fushū families. The Ōshū Fujiwara ruled over
an independent region populated by Emishi Fushū and Yamato settlers that derived its wealth
from gold mining, horse trading, and as middlemen in the trade in luxury items from the
continental Asian states and from the far northern Ezo Emishi. They were able to keep their
independence vis-à-vis Kyoto by the strength of their Emishi warrior bands.

Hiraizumi was the name given to the capital established by Fujiwara Kiyohira 藤原清衡 in
the Tamatsukuri 玉造 county (present day Miyagi prefecture). Kiyohira’s mother was from
the Abe clan so he considered himself half Emishi. By 1180, Hiraizumi was the second
largest city in Japan, only smaller than Kyoto.

Mamiya states, “There was a saying from Heian era “Tachi is Tamatsukuri”. Since the area
was the front line of Ōshū business, Tamatsukuri County must have been thriving in the Nara
era and the early Heian era. In this area goods, people, troops, traders, and craftsmen were
gathered and infrastructure was substantial. There is no doubting the possibility that a new
culture was born in such chaos.... The Tamatsukuri area must have been an important source
of sword production at that time. Still now the area has the name Meiken 名剣 (good
sword). ” 2

At about the same time 1083 in the Kanto, Minamoto Yoshiie 源義家 (great great
grandfather of Minamoto Yoritomo 源 頼朝) had established his headquarters for the Seiwa
清和 Minamoto in Kamakura. Archaeology now shows us that Kamakura was far larger than
the assumed small fishing village mentioned in some sword texts. It was a large military
stronghold with natural defences and an extensive administrative centre.

Within a few generations, rivalries in the Imperial Court brought the Taira 平 and Minamoto
into conflict. After the Heiji Rebellion 平治の乱, the Minamoto family had been devastated
by the Taira. Minamoto Yoritomo as a young boy of thirteen was banished to Izu province.
Izu being adjacent to Sagami it was under the control of the Hojo 北条. In 1179 Yoritomo
married Hojo Masako 北条 政子 and he moved back to his ancestral home in Kamakura.
Over the next two years the two clans began preparations for war against the Taira. By 1185
 
 

at the end of the Genpei War 源平合戦, Yoritomo’s combined forces had disposed of the
Taira and he turned his attention to Hiraizumi, which fell to the Minamoto forces in 1189.
The emperor Go-Toba 後鳥羽 (then just twelve years old) proclaimed Yoritomo Shogun in
1192.

THE ŌSHŪ SCHOOLS AND THE KAMAKURA MOKUSA SCHOOL

The Nara period

Fukunaga says “Mokusa Area was famous for legendary swordsmiths in the Heian Period
(AD 794-1185). They are considered as the original producers of the Japanese swords known
as Warabite-to 蕨手刀 which can date back to the sixth to eighth centuries. Warabite-to
gained its fame through the series of battles between Emishi people and the Yamato-chotei
government in the late eighth century. Using Warabite-to, the small number of Emishi
soldiers could resist against the numerous Yamato-chotei army over a Thirty-Eight Years'
War 三十八年戦争 (AD 770-811).” 3   

Kunzan states “Kanchi In Bon‘観 智院 and other swordsmith directories list many smith
names from Mutsu and Dewa Provinces between the Nara and the Kamakura Periods “ 4

The Nihonto Meikan 日本刀名鑑 shows the earliest and by far the largest group of Ōshū
smiths from the beginning of the 8th century was the Mokusa 舞草 school, listing over 100
Mokusa smiths before the beginning of the Kamakura period. Archaeological excavations of
the Ōshū Tohoku region show iron ore smelting sites dating back to the early Nara period. As
we can see from the Historical background above, the Tohoku region and indeed the whole
Ōshū district in the 8th century was controlled and populated by the Emishi. Archaeological
evidence of recovered Warabite-to show a high concentration in the burial goods of the Ōshū
and Hokkaido regions 5   

The Heian Period

By the Heian period, according to the Nihonto Meikan, the Ōshū swordsmith group consists
of the Mokusa (舞草), the Gassan (月山) and the Tamatsukuri (玉造), later to become the
Hoju (寶壽) schools. The Mokusa had their base around Ichinoseki (today’s Iwate
Prefecture) supplied the city of Hiraizumi and the Abe clan. The Gassan in Dewa supplies the
Kiyohara. A smaller group was the Tamatsukuri. Their base was around Tamatsukuri County,
Miyagi prefecture, which also supplied Hiraizumi.

An entry in the Nihonto Meikan states that in 970 a Mokusa smith Moriie 森戸 moved to
Sagami in the Kanto and established the Kamakura Mokusa school. Under the sponsorship of
the Seiwa Minamoto this school began to prosper as more Mokusa smiths moved with the
employment. By 1160 the Kamakura Mokusa School was firmly established and must have
been sizable. It was this school of swordsmiths that supplied the armies of the Hojo and
Seiwa Minamoto with armour and weaponry for the Genpei War 源平 合戦 and the
subsequent war against Hiraizumi. It would be safe to conclude that many swordsmiths

 
 

names that appear in Nihonto Miekan in the mid 12th century, and listed just as "Mokusa",
would in fact be working in this school. Who they were can't be established and many smiths
may just be unrecorded. The Ichinoseki School in turn armed Hiraizumi. The Tamatsukuri
School and the Dewa Gassan School were in decline after the defeat of the Kiyohara clan.

The Kamakura period

Mamiya states “After the fall of Hiraizumi, Kamakura General Hatakeyamauji 畠山氏
occupied the area and took some swordsmiths into Kamakura. “ 6

It seems that General Hatakeyamauji procured the co-operation of some of the Ichinoseki and
Tametsukuri Mokusa swordmiths and took them to Kamakura to join the Kamakura Mokusa
School; they probably didn't have much choice. At least this statement seems to suggest so.
What we do know is that most of Hiraizuni was destroyed and subsequently abandoned. The
Ichinoseki School was also abandoned, being far from the new ruling power in the region, the
smiths moved along with the work to other parts of Japan. During this time a winning army
viewed captured swordsmiths as an asset to procure. Swordsmiths traditionally worked as
close to their Clan leaders that the raw materials would allow. In this case the swordsmith
areas of Kamakura were just two kilometres from Yoritomo's mansion. To leave the
swordsmiths to work over 200 kms away in Ichinoseki was unthinkable for the Minamoto, as
that would leave their asset vulnerable to be acquired by a potential enemy. We know that
good quality sand iron was available in Kamakura and iron ore in nearby in Shinano what is
now Gunma prefecture. Members of the Ichinoseki Mokusa School also moved further afield,
as far as away from the Minamoto as possible. They moved to where they found work and
raw materials. The Nihonto Meikan records Ōshū swordsmiths turning up at this time in
Bizen namely Ōshū Taro Masatsune 奥州 太郎正恒 and Senjuin namely Shigemura 重村.
Other swordsmiths from the Ichinoseki Mokusa School are noted in the Nihonto Meikan as
moving far north to Namioka and Tsuaru, and far south to Hoki, Bungo and Kyushu. This
migration needs to be investigated in detail.

The wars over the Ōshū district had continued for nearly 200 years as the valuable resources
of the area, particularly gold and iron ore were highly prized by both the Yamato and the
Emishi.

GENEALOGY

The Early Schools

From late the Nara period, the Nihonto Meikan lists the founder of the Mokusa schools as
Mototoshi 元寿 701. Another 30 smiths are listed as working before the beginning of the
11th century.

In earlier time there was a list of forty-two famous swordsmiths in the Toukou Meikan 刀工
銘鑑 at Kanchiin 観智院. Eight of these swordsmiths were from Ōshū schools. Five from
Mokusa being: Onimaru 鬼丸, Yoyasu 世安, Morifusa 森房, Hatafusa 幡房 and Gaan 瓦
安, two from the Tamatsukuri being Fuju 諷誦, Houji 寶次 and one from Gassan 月山.
 
 

Additional to this list, the Nihonto Meikan list another hundred and ten swordsmiths who
were working in the Ōshū area between 1126 and 1190, most listed only as Mokusa
(probably Ichinoseki and some likely being Kamakura) with a smaller number listed as
Tamatsukuri and Dewa Gassan.

It seems that up to the fall of Hiraizumi, the Kamakura Mokusa School was still a smaller
offshoot of the main Ichinoseki Mokusa School. After 1190 the number of swordsmiths listed
in the Ōshū schools dramatically decline. It must be remembered with all the swordsmiths
working dates that they are approximate and represent the era. The actual working life of
each smith covered many years.

The Kamakura Mokusa School

As previously stated, the Nihonto Meikan lists the first Mokusa swordsmith to move to
Kamakura as Moriie 森戸 970. It further lists Mokusa smiths moving to Kamakura,
Takishiro Taiu 滝四郎 1158, another Moriie 森戸 1158 and Yukishige 行重 1184. It is
my belief that many more unrecorded were working there at the time being both descendants
of the Kamakura Mokusa and relocated from Ichinoseki by the Minamoto.

According to the Institute for Research in World Systems, by the year 1200 Kamakura was
the largest city in Japan eclipsing Kyoto7. It seems reasonable to suggest that many of the
dislocated Ichinoseki Mokusa smiths found work in the existing Kamakura Mokusa School.
It would also be reasonable to suggest that any Mokusa smiths listed in the Nihonto Meikan
as Mokusa after 1199 would be working in the only existing Mokusa school at the time,
namely in Kamakura. I make this assumption also on the basis that as stated above, the
Nihonto Meikan makes notations under the Mokusa listings of some smiths moving to Bizen,
Bungo, Hoki, Yamato, Shinano and Chikuzen between 1199 and 1260. Also many Mokusa
smiths of this time who moved to other areas of Japan are listed alternatively under their new
home schools. Between 1199 and 1264 the following twenty-two smiths are listed as
Mokusa, most of them must have been working in Kamakura. (Note: only a handful is listed
as Gassan and Tamatsujuri at this time, both schools were in decline)

Hideyasu 秀 安 1199, Mitsutsune 光恒 1199, Kimiari 王有 1211, Yoyasu 世安 1211,

Kunihiro 国平 1219, Shigenaga 重長 1224, Yasumitsu 安光 1224, Ietoku 家時 1233,
Kiyofusa 清房 1233, Kunitou 国任 1233, Fusayasu 房安 1233, Yukishige 行重 1233 (noted
as moving to Kamakura), Undou 雲同 1235 (noted as moving to Kamakura), Yoyasu 世安
1235, Ariyuki 有行 1243, Unken 雲顕 1243, Nagahisa 長久 1243, Kiyomaru 鬼王丸 1249,
Shigetaka 重高 1249, Fushimi 伏見 1249, Motohira 基平 1249, Yoyasu 世安 1261,

Nagayama Kokan says “However, it seems likely that many other swordsmiths, whose work
no longer exists, also visited Kamakura and local swordsmiths, and that their work had an
influence on the development of the Sōshū tradition” 8

After the Mongol Invasion

 
 

The Nihonto Meikan lists, at the time of that followed the Mongol Invasions, fourteen
Kamakura Mokusa and Ōshū swordsmiths. By this time it is a hundred years after the fall of
Hiraizumi, the Ichinoseki Mokusa school site has been long abandoned. Of the fourteen
remaining, eleven were (Kamakura) Mokusa; two were Gassan and one Tamatsukuri, who
were working between 1287 and 1308, after which we see no listings for any Ōshū school
swordsmiths for sixteen years.

They were

(Kamakura) Mokusa school: Mitsutsune 光恒 1287, Ietoki 家時 1288, Takamoto 高基

1288, Fushimi 伏見 1288, Yoyasu 世安 1293, Tomokiyo 友清 1293, Yorimune 頼宗
1293, Yoriyasu 頼安 1299, Tomonaga 友永 1303, Tomonaga 友長 1306, Yoshinaga 吉
長 1308

Gassan school: Gassan 月山 1287, Tomoyasu 友安 1308

Tamatsukuri school: Yukimitsu 行光 1288, said to be the 3rd generation, having moved to
Kyushu, we see no record of him showing up there

I must point out that my conclusion that all of these Mokusa swordsmiths moved to
Kamakura is unlikely to be perfect. Some would have held out for some time in Ichinoseki.

I think it is fair to say many did indeed turn up in Kamakura and many had descendants who
continued to work in Kamakura. It is at this point in history that the Kamakura Mokusa
swordsmiths disappear. It is clear they were working in Kamakura up to and past the time of
the introduction of the Sōshū School. In some way these Mokusa swordsmiths working in
and near Kamakura influence the development of the traditional Sōshū School and
Sōshū-den. It is likely that they merged or were absorbed into one school. They may have
become the nameless assistants to their more famous and illustrious peers in the Sōshū
School. It is just as possible that some are known to us by other names, having changed their
names as was tradition when changing schools and working for new master smiths.

SŌSHŪ CHARACTERISTICS ŌSHŪ SWORDS - HEIAN TO KAMAKURA JIDAI

Warabite-to are by far the most abundant examples left extant of the workmanship of the
Ōshū swordsmiths. By correlating the known earliest time periods of Iron production in the
Tohoku with the known earliest Warabite-to, it seems likely that the earliest examples were
either imported or manufactured locally from imported iron. I will examine this proposal in
depth in another article. For now I would like to present some evidence as to the
workmanship of the Ōshū and in particular the Mokusa from known extant examples that
date later than the early Nara period.

 
 

Illustration 1 Warabite-to, excavated from Kanayama site, (Miyagi Tohoku), Nara period 8th century

Description: Length 38.2cm. The description accompanying this sword is as follows.

Hirazukuri with a stylised fern bracken type nakago and press fit tsuba. The jihada is blackish
in mixed Oitame-mokume nagaru with profuse ji-nie and prominent chikei and chihan. The
hamon has choji gunome magiri with many kinsuji, sunagashi and inazuma variations. This
Warabite clearly show a Ji and Ha closely resembling that of the later Sōshū-den.

Kunzan states “Considering that there were many battles in this area, such as
‘Zen-kunen-no-eki’ and ‘Go-sannen-no-eki’ when the Imperial Court sent their armies to
Ōshū to subjugate the Ezo (Japanese aborigines) … It is quite natural that many swordsmiths
resided there and there was remarkable progress in sword forging techniques. “ 9 

I agree with Kunzan that this example shows advanced forging techniques. The Ji and Ha of
this sword is remarkable for its era and clearly shows many characteristics of Sōshū-den. It
should be noted that the koshisori of the nakago on this example is one of the earliest dated
and predates examples of chukoto tachi of the early Heian showing the same
feature.

Illustration 2 Warabite-to the Ômiya-Iwatsutsumi-jinja, (Saitama ) Nara 8th century courtesy Carlo G Tachinni

“It has a strange midareba and vehement hataraki within the ha, making it looking at a glance
like a Sōshū blade from the Nanbokucho period. It has further a deep nioiguchi, a deep boshi
whose kaeri runs back in a long manner. Towards the cutting edge, it resembles other ancient
swords, which means it is dark but has clear areas without hataraki, sunagashi-like nie
structures running through the ji, and in places spot-shaped hardening effects which are dark
in the centre .“10

 
 

The previous two swords show clear workmanship close to Sōshū-den in the Ji and Ha.

Ill. 3 Uchigatana of Nomikuchishiki type, Chūson-ji Konjiki-in, Iwate (Tohoku) Heian 11th Century

Description: Length 48cm. Hirazukuri, wide mihaba, thin kasane, torii sori. This is the
Emishi-to excavated with the grave goods of Fujiwara Kiyohira 藤原 清衡 It must be
clearly noted that the revolutionary features of the sugata of this sword predate the similar
sugata of Sōshū-den by one hundred years.

Illustration 4 More excavated Emishi-to , all exhibit similar features, app. Heian 11th century

There can be little doubt that the Kiyohira uchigatana was produced by Fushū Ōshū
swordsmiths. Similar examples of this style of Emishi-to have been excavated in the
Northern regions of Honshū and Hokkaido. Fujiwara no Kiyohira (1056 – August 10, 1128)
was a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period, who was the
founder of Hiraizumi.
 
 

In old literatures and tales of war

Ōshū swords appear in various old books of this time, for example Heiji Monogatari 平治物
語 (Tale of Heiji ), Konjaku Monogatari 今昔物語 (Anthology of tales from the past ),
Kojidan 古事談 (Japanese collection of Setsuwa 説話 ), and Gikeiki 義経記 (War tale
that focuses on the legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 and his followers). Ōshū
swordsmiths appeared in books in quite early times compared to others. Tales in these books
tell of the Emishi-to in the capital city and these swords seem to have been quite popular with
the Bushi. Maybe a badge of honour being captured weapons. For example from Mamiya 11

In “Nihongiryaku” 日本紀略 983AD:” the number of people wearing a funny looking Tachi
is increasing.”

This is a clear reference to a tachi of another style than the mainland type chukoto tachi.
There has been some contention if this passage is referring to Warabite-to, an Emishi-to or an
early Kenuki tachi. With this early date I can not accept the Kenuki tachi theory, as they seem
to have developed much later and would have to consider the passage a reference to an
Emishi-to

In “Kauyagokau” 高野御幸 1124AD :“ when emperor Shirakawa 白河法皇 visited

Kouyasan 高野山, Fujiwara Zaemon Michisue 藤原左衛門通季 was wearing a Fushū
sword “

In “Heihanki” 兵範記 1158AD there was a line that mentioned the Emperor himself had
Fushū Tachi.”

It seems that during the late Heian, the Fushū sword was gaining some popularity in Kyoto.
During this period Emishi-to were being replaced by the Kenuki tachi that were the norm in
use in the Kanto and the Kinai. Also it is clear that increasing trade with the Yamato of the
Kanto and Kyoto was having an influence of the style of swords being made by the Ōshū and
Kamakura Mokusa swordsmiths. It seems that the local Bushi were creating a demand for the
“Yamato style” tachi. It is probable that both styles were being produced into the late Heian
in Hiraizumi, merging into the early Kamakura jidai. This demand for two styles of swords in
the area created in my opinion a cross pollination of ideas and technology evident in the next
sword.

 
 

Ill. 4 Tachi signed Yoyasu (alt. Sei-an ) , Juyo Bunkuzai, Tokyo National Museum late Kamakura 13th century

Description: Mei “Yoyasu” 世安 Length 68.2cmn Mokusa School. This sword is shinogi
zukuri and is close to a ubu nakago. The jihada shows a remarkable similarity to the
previously illustrated Warabite-to being blackish in mixed Oitame nagaru and mokume with
profuse ji-nie with prominent chikei and chihan. The Hamon is sugha from in from the
hamachi for a third of the blade changing to gunome midare in thick nie with many kinsuji,
sunagashi and inazuma is abundant. The boshi is notarekomi ending in yakitsume. My
opinion is this sword is early Kamakura work of the 5th generation Yoyasu 1211, or earlier
due to the sensuki nakago and that the iroi mune is low and may have been re-shaped from
maru mune. In referring to the Nihonto Meikan it lists this sword as the work of the 6th
generation Yoyasu working in 1235. Both swordsmiths were likely working in the Kamakura
Mokusa School. As can be seen by this Yoyasu example, and comparisons to all other known
swords, the Kamakura Mokusa School were closest stylistically at this time to Sōshū-den.

Connections between the Mokusa Schools and Sōshū-den.

The history of the establishment of the Kamakura Sōshū School of swordsmiths by the Hojo
Bakufu 鎌倉幕府 is well documented in many references. Here I would like to present to
you from the historical, archaeological and stylistic evidence presented a new theory of the
beginnings of the Sōshū-den.

Commonly the features of the Kamakura Sōshū-den have been considered a hybrid of
Awataguchi and Bizen kaji styles. For the purposes of this article I will defer the stylistic
characteristics of these two schools to the research of the reader from the common texts.
However it is becoming more evident that the Kamakura Mokusa School could be the true
root of the Kamakura Sōshū-den. Mr. Mitsuharu Mamiya (the chairman of Mokusa Sword

 
 

Research Group) said “Mokusa swordsmiths and Kamakura swordsmiths were like parent
and child.” Mr. Nakabachi also from the Mokusa Sword Research Group said that Kamakura
swordsmiths’ Nie 沸 is like the Ōshū sword, and it must have been a strong influence” 11

Another striking clue from analysing the Nihonto Meikan to be considered: Is it only
co-incidental that the third generation Tamatsukuri smith is named Yukimitsu 行光 , his
working period exactly coincides with the late Kamakura period. He is the last of his school
with his only predecessor being listed 37 years before him, the Tamatsukuri School morphing
into the Hoju after his time. It could be that this swordsmith became Sōshū Yukimitu 相州行
光. The work style of Yukimitsu could be considered a fusion of the Tamatsukuri Ōshū style
and that of Shintogo Kunimitsu. If that was so, then the story of Masamune 正宗 being the
adopted son of Yukimitsu may also be a direct reference to Masamune coming from a brother
school, the Kamakura Mokusa. Of interest, we know that the kanji characters that make the
name Masamune do not appear in the genealogy of the Sōshū School prior to him.
Alternatively in the record of the Mokusa smiths we do see one kanji appear in the name of,
Yorimune 頼宗 1293, it being common practice for junior smiths to change their name
when studying with a new master. Quite an interesting and plausible hypothesis. 

Around the mid Muromachi era the Bushi started to appreciate the beauty of swords and
studied Meito. All the information about the genealogy of the Kamakura Mokusa
swordsmiths disappears at that time. The connection of the Kamakura Mokusa swordsmiths
with the birth of Sōshū-den was written out of the sword texts for political reasons and for the
ethnic pride of the Yamato people. The implications of the evidence are obvious. But there
may be more to it than just deleting the Mokusa from the sword books to cater to the egos of
the Yamato Bushi. It may well have also suited the purposes of Hideyoshi and subsequently
the Tokugawa Shogun to create the myth of the origins of Sōshū-den.

Historically, good Ōshū swords may well have been passed off as Sōshū-den in their own
right. Ōshū swords have O-itame hada and Sōshū characteristics. Kamakura swords are also
hadamono. It seems likely that to fill the demand for good Sōshū-den for gift giving, good
Ōshū swords were altered to become Kamakura Sōshū den, and the not so good swords were
left as they were. This may account for the scarcity and the generally lower quality of extant
Ōshū swords.

Some more points to consider. Kunzan describes Hoju , “Hoju forges whitish jigane and
itame-hada that combines nagare-hada and stands out, and tempers ko-midare and sugu-ha
mixed with ko-midare in accompanied by a hazy nioi-guchi in nie-deki.” 11 Generally Hoju
hamon characteristics are described as watery and weak nioiguchi, but the Hoju example at
Tokyo National Museum has a strong Yakiba and is refined.

Mamiya states “Many swords made by Sōshū Yukimitu 相州行光, Masamune 正宗 and
Sadamune 貞宗 are suriage and mumei, especially Sadamune….. Most suriage swords are
better quality than swords with Mei 銘. One of Masamune’s superb swords Jo Izumino Kami
Shoji Masamune 城和泉守所持正宗 is mumei and suriage, but from its shape you can tell
it could be an ubu tachi from the early Kamakura era, with the Mei removed “ 12
 
 

Conclusion

The Mokusa School of swordsmiths, with a five hundred year heritage had existed in the
Tohoku region right up to the time of the establishment of the Kamakura Sōshū School. They
were regarded as highly skilled swordsmiths. The Mokusa were the swordsmiths of the
Emishi, the Fushū and the Seiwa Minamoto. Stylistically they have a striking resemblance to
Sōshū-den which can clearly be seen as an ongoing evolution from at least the early Heian
period. Some Mokusa smiths definitely moved to Kamakura and established a school. After
the fall of Hiraizumi more Mokusa swordsmiths were taken to Kamakura. The exactly names
of all the smiths the Kamakura Mokusa school are unknown, but we know they were there.
When the Sōshū Kamakura School was established, the local Kamakura Mokusa
swordsmiths may have been put to work in some capacity in the Kamakura Sōshū workshops.
The Hojo Bakufu spent a lot of money preparing for a potential third Mogul Invasion. The
Hojo valued the resources of the Tohoku and Kanto areas, in particular the iron ore reserves
with a view of self-sustainability. The imported iron resources from Korea and China were
controlled by the Mongol Yuan government at this time and were cut off from export to
Japan. The Sōshū School was forced to fully utilise all the local resources and labour at hand
to meet the increased demand for arms.

Stylistically the biggest change in Sōshū-den came just after the Mongol invasions and is
attributed to Masamune. Before the time of Shintogo Kunimitsu, the swordsmiths from other
provinces, that relocated to Kamakura seem to have been content to work in the style of their
forbearers with little deviation. It may well be that the Kamakura Sōshū school gladly and
openly co-operated in joint efforts with the Kamakura Mokusa school for the common good.
Combining resources and trading technical innovation, this union was the birth of Sōshū-den.
It is also possible that the Kamakura Mokusa school, with the addition of swordsmiths
coming from other parts of the country, actually then became known as the Kamarura Sōshū
School. Then how it that the origin of the Kamakura school is is passes down with such
myths. Accepting that later it may well have served the purposes of the Honami or the
Tokugawa, the mythology seems to stem from an earlier time. The reason is possibly in the
Kamakura Mokusa swordsmiths themselves. Tales in the old books refer to the Ōshū
Swordsmiths by the derogatory term Fushū swordsmiths. Pedigree and ancestry was an
important part of samurai culture, which included swordsmiths. I assume that by this time,
the descendants of the Mokusa smiths were ashamed of their ancestry. As their ancestors
were Emishi to be called Fushū (also translated as war prisoner or slave labourer) was
socially detrimental, even bad for business. Mokusa Yoyasu had a pedigree of six
generations, yet Shintogo Kunimitsu seems to have come from nowhere. It sounded better to
claim they were descendants of Awataguchi 粟田口 or Bizen 備前 swordsmiths who were
their peers, and it certainly became a popular misconception.

It is quite probable from his innovative and manly style that Masamune was one of the local
swordsmiths from the Mokusa line as could have been Yukimitsu. From the beginning of the
Nambokucho jidai the Mokusa schools virtually disappeared and so ended the story of one of
the most innovative swordsmith schools in Japanese history.

 
 

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emishi #1.
Mr. Mitsuharu Mamiya “Kamakura Moshiokusa “ # 2 pg 23, #6 and # 12 pg 42
Dr. Suiken Fukunaga, Daihyakka Jiten , Volume 5, #3 pg 184
Dr. Honma Junji, Token Bijutsu No.588, NBTHK #4 pg 41
William Wayne Farris, Heavenly Warriors(Cambridge:Havard University,1992), #5 p.117
Institute for Research in World Systems #7 http://www.irows.ucr.edu/
Nagayama Kokan “ Connorsuers Book of Japanese Swords “ , # 8 pg 16
Dr. Honma Junji Token Bijutsu No.562, NBTHK #9 pg 10
Carlo Guiseppe Tachinni, Origin of the Nihonto , http://www.webalice.it/tsubame1/ZZZZZZ_ESSAY.htm #5 #10
Chubachi Art Museum, Miyagi http://chu-bi.chu.jp/AF03-opening011.swf #11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Kiyohira
Excepts from Nihonto Meikan (compiled as Ōshū Meikan ) http://www.geocities.jp/digi_hiro2000/mukusatou/meikan.html