The Honjo Masamune is so important because it represented the Shogunate during the Edo period of Japan. The sword was passed down from one Shogun to another for generations. In 1939 the weapon was named a national treasure in Japan, but remained in the Kii branch of the Tokugawa family.
Masamune (Goro Irido Masamune, Priest Gorō Masamune, c.1264–1343),[2] was a medieval Japanese blacksmith who is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as tachi and tantō respectively, in the Sōshū school. However, many of his forged tachi were made into katana by cutting the tang (nakago) in later times. For this reason, his only existing works are katana and tantō.[3] No exact dates are known for Masamune's life. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords between 1288 and 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.[4]
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