Yonezawa Tōshirō / 米沢藤四郎

Sword ID 0000-0987  
Mei Unknown
Type Tanto Tsukurikomi Hira-zukuri
Nagasa (cm) 26.36 Sori (cm)
Moto-haba (cm) Saki-haba (cm)
Moto-kasane (cm) Saki-kasane (cm)
Mekugi Nakago  

Attribution

Smith Yoshimitsu School Awataguchi
Period Kamakura (1184-1336) Year
References[?] NN-4-7-23
Links
Location
Certificate Type Certificate ID  

History

Length is 8 Sun 7 Bu according to [1]. In the old days it belonged to the collection of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Later it was owned by Lord Yonezawa Chunagon Kagekatsu (Uesugi Kagekatsu). Kagekatsu ruled in Echigo province in early Keichō era (1596), then he went to Aizu in Mutsu province. He was then sent to rule in Yonezawa in Dewa province after Sekigahara battle (1600) and since then he was known as Yonezawa Chunagon.

The blade was given by Uesugi Kagekatsu to Tokugawa Hidetada (2nd Tokugawa Shogun) who then gave it to his second son Tadanaga (also known as Suruga Dainagon). After the death of Hidetada there was friction between Tadanaga and his elder brother Iemitsu who became the 3rd Shogun. As a result Tadanaga committed suicide on December 6, Kanei 12 (1635) at Takasaki in Kozuke province. It's been recorded that he used Yonezawa Tōshirō tanto.

Tokugawa Iemitsu then got hold of this blade [1].

Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō doesn't mention under which circumstances this blade was lost to fire, but other records list it as damaged during the Great Fire of Meireki (1657). Nothing else is known about this blade since then which means that the damage must have been irrecoverable.


References

  1. Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō, Yamanaka, Albert , Nihonto Newsletter, Volume I-V, (1968)