21 February, 2017
“Honjo Masamune….The Sword of the Dragon!!”
Today started off as it usually does. I had my morning “commute conversation” with Tanuja. During that talk, she asked if I was going to write today, and I said that if I do I might write about “Honjo Masamune”. It’s the name that’s been given to a legendary famous Japanese sword crafted by Priest Goro Masamune who is widely recognized to this day, as Japan’s greatest swordsmith!! He did most of his work in the late 13th to early 14th century….yeah, we’re talking about a long time ago!! (smile)
Without turning this installment into a lesson on Japanese history, I will tell you that the story of this sword is quite literally, the stuff of myth and legend. The sword was declared a Japanese National Treasure in 1939!! Masamune made a number of swords, and they were given to the very powerful Shoguns of the time. The sword would then come to bear Masamune’s last name in combination with the first name of that Shogun, thus there would be the “Fudo Masamune”, “Kyogoku Masamune”, and “Daikoku Masamune” to name a few.
General “Honjo” Shigenaga (in the 16th century) shall we say “acquired” the sword from an opponent during a battle, and kept it as a cherished prize. Possession being nine tenths of the law, the sword came to be known by the name it maintains up to this very day….and so you have “Honjo Masamune”. The more detailed story is absolutely fascinating, and tells of how the sword was passed from owner to owner for centuries.
Being the fan of the history of “Feudal Japan” that I am, the tales of Shoguns, Samurai, and Ninjas are like Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Norse Mythology to me!! (ha,ha,ha) Turns out that historians are able to trace the sword all the way up to the end of WWII in 1945. Collected Japanese weapons from the war were turned in to police stations throughout the country.
The end of this particular story has a mysterious man, a Sgt. Coldy Bimore, walking into a police station in Mejiro, Japan and being given a collection of 15 swords, one of which (reputedly) was the “Honjo Masamune”. No one knows why they were turned over to him (or even if Bimore was his real name), but to this day both he and the famous sword have never been seen again!!
If I remember correctly, I was on Amazon doing my usual browsing for crystal when I came upon this glass sword with its nice display stand and etched Dragon on the shaft!! I knew I wanted to own this piece because I had seen the story of the “Honjo” on the History channel and was totally intrigued by it. (smile)
Reading more about the item, I learned that it is a foot long from tip of blade to end of handle, and it really would be such a unique piece to add to my collection. Not to mention that it would be a beautiful representation of my appreciation of historic Japanese folklore!! I also thought that my brother-in-law Michael might like to have something like this.
I gave him an actual set of Samurai swords, a three tiered set including Dagger, Small sword and the longer Full sized sword for his birthday a number of years ago. They’re decorated in Red, Black and Gold, and absolutely beautiful!! (ha,ha,ha) This crystal version would make a cool little accent to his current display. So-o-o-o, being the good, unselfish brother-in-law that I am (smile), I ordered two of these.
As I think about it now for the record, Michael and I have a few pieces in common. We both have crystal Chess Sets, crystal replicas of Dale Earnhart Jr’s NASCAR (actually my friend Annie has one of those too!!), crystal Footballs (my brother Rob has one of those too), and a few other pieces. Anyway, back to the current subject….
I already had two little Dragon sculptures for quite some time, and figured that with the etched Dragon featured on the sword, it would be perfect to pair them with my newly acquired item. Thus my diorama was completed, and “Honjo Masamune”….The Sword of the Dragon came to rest on one of my shelves….forever able to take me on a fascinating journey to the land of the Shogun!!
The Crystal Chronicles 