Today we will look at the last sword from the Tenga Goken, which is named Ōdenta Mitsuyo (大典太光世). Like the other swords in this prestigious category, it has its own fair share of claims and stories that elevate it to a level of excellency, with plenty of auspicious beliefs behind it. To start, let’s examine its details.
- Status: national treasure
- Maker: Mitsuyo
- Signature: Mitsuyo-saku (crafted by Mitsuyo)
- Blade length: 66 cm
- Blade curve: 2.7 cm
- Base of the blade: 3.5 cm
- Blade tip: 2.5 cm
The Ōdenta is deemed as a national treasure of Japan. Through an acculmination of stories attached to it, this sword has qualities similar to the other swords of the Tenga Goken. For example, at an early time its worth was understood, and was in the possession of elite individuals. On top of this, it fell into the safekeep of one prestigious family exclusively for many centuries, whom valued it on the level of a lucky charm. This attention to its worth is based on certain factors over the course of history. Unlike the others, the Ōdenta Mitsuyo was actually crafted as a pair to another sword, which makes it unique in the Tenga Goken. These and more will be explored throughout this article.
To this day, the Ōdenta Mitsuyo is part of the remaining collection of the Maeda family, who have held onto this sword the longest.
MITSUYO THE MIIKE SWORDSMITH
Ōdenta Mitsuyo, or Ōdenta for short from here on forward, was crafted by a swordsmith known as Mitsuyo. Living around late Heian period, Mitsuyo resided in Miike, Chikugo Country. Based on his geography, he was part of the Miike smith group, who were respected sword makers during the Heian period. Mitsuyo was known under other titles, including the nickname “Denta”¹, and a Buddhist name generally pronounced as “Genshin” (元真). Speaking of which, this Denta nickname was one that was passed down in Mitsuyo’s family line, but each iteration used different kanji. For example Mitsuyo is recorded to be 1st generation, and used the kanji “典太”. Other use cases includes “傳太”,The 2nd generation used “伝多”, the 3rd generation used “伝田”. Due to this, it is not unusual to see Ōdenta written with any of those versions of those kanji both in documents and online.
Regarding his works, Mitsuyo is recognized as crafting about 3 swords that are in existence today. This doesn’t mean these are all that he made, but they are the ones in which historians can give direct credit to. Interestingly, 2 of those swords were paired as “sibling” swords. The longest of the 2 is called “Ōdenta” (大典太), and the shorter one is called “Kodenta” (小典太)². The meaning of both names are very simple, as Ōdenta can be read as “Big Denta”, while kodenta can be read as “Little Denta”. Why were they named as so? There are some speculations, such as the Ōdenta having a larger curve than the Kodenta, as well as following the same naming convention of adding “Ō” (大) at the front like other swords at that time such as Ōkanehira (大包平).
If you haven’t guessed, the names Ōdenta and Kodenta were inspired from Mitsuyo’s nickname. While popularly known as “Ōdenta”, the other name used to identify this sword is “Miike Ōdenta Mitsuyo” (三池典太光世).
IN THE HANDS OF POWERFUL FIGURES
Like with most swords that were valued as exquite treasures, the Ashikaga family gained possession of Ōdenta³. There is no specific details as to when and how they acquired it, except for a rumor (more on this in another section below). Later, the 15th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭) presented it, along with 2 other swords, Onimaru Kunitsuna and Futatsumei Norimune, to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was awarded many things from elite individuals, but not necessarily did he keep them. As mentioned in a previous article, the Onimaru was one of such items he didn’t keep close by within his possession due to negative superstition. However, in the case of the Ōdenta, Hideyoshi kept it within his family line, even past his own death. While it did stay in the possession of the Toyotomi family until their defeat to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Eastern force, eventually it was given to Maeda Toshiie (前田利家) of the prestigious Maeda family of Kaga Domain. This parting wasn’t a mere distribution in the form of a gift, but more of cementing an ongoing association between the Ōdenta and Toshiie, for there were several incidents between the two, with the following being the first.
One day, a sickly Toyotomi Hideyoshi conversed with a few of his loyal retainers who had gathered at Ōsaka Castle, including Maeda Toshiie. He told them a spooky tale that took place late night in the castle, while walking through the hallway of the Senjojiki (千畳敷, a large structure with many rooms famed for having around 1000 tatatmi mats). Hideyoshi heard someone was in front of him, but couldn’t see who it was. He motioned to draw his sword as he shouted for that person to reveal themself, but after a few moments, he quickly withdrew, worried that there was something haunting the hallway.
After hearing this tale, Toshiie refuted it, saying that such a thing was silly. In fact, he was bold enough to say he was willing to go and see if there was truly something down there. To test his conviction, he was instructed to retrieve a gunsen (軍扇), or a commander’s war fan, that was placed further down in the passageway. In a move to ensure his vassal’s safety, Hideyoshi handed the Ōdenta to Toshiie as an aid in his task. With this legendary sword hanging on his waist, he traveled down into the passageway, and fulfilled his task with nothing out of the ordinary happening.
After this incident, it seemed like Toshiie took a liking to the Ōdenta. There would be 3 more interactions with this great sword before he acquired full ownership. Taking its existence seriously, Toshiie kept it within his family’s own personal collection. In fact, he regarded it as a special treasure within the Maeda family line out of the many items they’ve collected, alongside two other acquired weapons crafted by Sanjō Munechika, which are a shorter sword and the acclaimed naginata of Shizuka Gozen⁴.
KEEPSAKE OF THE MAEDA FAMILY
Before going on, it’s worth mentioning that much of the Ōdenta’s story comes from the Maeda family. Out of all its owners, the Maeda have the most interaction with it. Other sources include “Kyōhō Meibutsucho” (享保名物帳), along with more modern publications such as “Tōkendan” (刀剣談) and “Karakizuihitsu” (嘉良喜隨筆).
It is said that Toshiie held high value of the Ōdenta. After his death a year later in 1599, it remained in the Maeda family as a memento to him. Years later, in 1669, a representative of the Maeda family made a request to the reputable sword evaluator Honami Kōho (本阿弥光甫) to have new fittings made for the Ōdenta to uplift its appearance. The style of fittings requested was the Onimaru-koshirae (鬼丸拵), which consisted of brownish color hide wrapped entwined with golden color thread wrappings, and a swordguard painted black. Kōho took on the request and did just so. Along with this, he changed the signia on the swords’ habaki and menuki from the kirimon (桐紋)⁵ motif to the Maeda family’s umebachimon (梅鉢紋) motif.
An interesting practice of the Maeda family was using the Ōdenta as a mamorigatana (守刀), or guardian sword in English. Introduced by Toshiie himself, there are several cases where he placed the sword next to family members as a way to heal or bestow good fortune on them. This is primarily due to the belief that this very sword had some form of divine power. As an example, Maeda Tsunanori had the Ōdenta designated as a guardian sword for his 3rd son named Hisamaru, born in 1689. This child was the product between him and his conbuine, Mirui (美類), or popularly known as Horinin (法林院). Unfortunately, Hisamaru died later within the same year.
As a whole, the Maeda family fully trusted in the spiritual powers of the Ōdenta. It should be mentioned that this practice wasn’t unusual in Japan, considering how superstition played a significant role culturaly. Also, this special level of trust wasn’t solely reserved for Ōdenta; the Maeda family had other treasures they believed to have strong spiritual powers as well, and utilized them in the same fashion⁶.
TIME’S CHANGED, BUT CLASSIC SWORD REMAINS
Over the generations, the Maeda family had amassed a great number of swords. The count was about 36. This was following a tradition of sword-collecting, which was started by Maeda Toshiie. However, it just so happened that the 15th head, Maeda Toshinari (前田利為), had no interest in this tradition. Being the early 1900s, the old ways of samurai and swords were a thing of the past, while society was moving progressively towards business and commerce. Instead, Toshinari was more interested in establishing a literature foundation. To acquire funding for this, he had 33 swords from their collection sold. Surprisingly, only 3 swords were kept, which were the Tomitagyo (富田郷), Tarōsaku Masamune (太郎作正宗), and Ōdenta.
Japan was rapidly modernizing, yet some old rules still held. The Maeda family continued to hold on to their high status earned centuries ago since Toshiie was a daimyo, and still had a level of influence. July 8th of 1910, the Meiji Emperor took a royal visit to the Maeda’s former mansion, Marquis of Maeda (前田侯爵邸, Maeda Kōshakutei ) in Tokyo. During this royal visit, several of their aniquated treasures were presented for their visitor’s delight. This included the Ōdenta, amongst other swords. The Emperor took great pleasure in seeing this famous sword, for despite the change in times, there was still an appreciation in classical swords.
Its value would finally get its recognition on a national level, for the Ōdenta was appointed as an important cultural asset in June 28th of 1956. On February 19th of the following year, it was then deemed as a national treasure. While it has been elevated to such a prestigious level of worth, the Ōdenta remains in the safe keeping of the Maeda family, as it is kept in the Maeda Kutokukai Foundation (前田育徳会, Maeda Kutokukai).
WONDERS OF ŌDENTA
The following are accounts regarding the Ōdenta. While the main source can be considered documentations from the Maeda family, there are others that kept detailed records on this acclaimed sword. This includes the Toyotomi family, and the Honami family.
#1 PROPERTY OF KUSUNOKI
It is claimed by the Maeda family that Ōdenta was once owned by Kusunoki Masashige, one of Japan’s legendary warriors and highly decorated military strategist. Active during the early 1300s in the Nanbokucho period, Masanari took part in warfare as a large supporter of Emperor Godaigo, assisting in successful battles including those against the opposing Ashikaga shogunate. Unfortunately, he met his defeat at the battle of Minatogawa by the Ashikaga and their allies in 1336. Outmatched, he was killed within the same year.
Apparently, Masashige had Ōdenta in his possession, although it is not explained if it was with him during his last battle, or if it was in his castle. It is thought that from his death is when the Ashikaga were able to obtain the sword. There appears to be no other source other than what is documented by the Maeda family on this, making it hard to validate this as truth.
#2: TAMESHIGIRI
On August 19th of 1792, a tameshigiri event took place at Kozukahara prison in Senju, Edo (present day Arakawa Ward, Tōkyō)⁷. The tameshigiri was conducted on criminals sentenced to death, which was used as an opportunity to also pressure test specific swords’ sharpness and durability. Ōdenta was one of these swords⁸, which was tasked to the well-versed sword tester by the name of Yamada Asaemon⁹. Having a good number of dead criminals’ bodies, Asaemon swung Ōdenta in 4 different cutting scenarios, with the last one testing its cutting strength on 3 bodies.
It is reported that the Ōdenta did fairly well in the first 3 cutting tests, which included cutting through a torso, stomach, and chest. The 4th test didn’t go as expected, for against 3 bodies piled on the ground, the Ōdenta was only able to cut through the top 2, but got stuck on the 3rd body’s pelvis bone.
#3 THE 3 “BORROWS”
Previously, it was stated that 3 other incidents took place before Toshiie received Ōdenta from Hideyoshi. While the first interaction for Toshiie was from having it lent to him, these next three were from him and his family requesting to borrow the sword for the sake of saving certain relatives. In these 3 cases, the Ōdenta wasn’t used to physically cut down would-be assailants, but to ward off “illnesses” that haunted members of the Maeda family at different times.
・Gōhime’s unknonw illness
In 1574, Maeda Toshiie’s 4th daughter, Gōhime, was taken in as Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s adopted daughter. With her status, she was able to marry Ukita Hideie, a young lord of a prominent family from Bizen Country (present day southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture).
At one point during her period of giving child birth, Gōhime’s health deteriorated to the point where she became sickly. After evaluating her condition, Hideie was informed that she was being cursed by an evil fox spirit. The help of priests from an Inari Shrine, where fox spirits are worshipped, was seeked to exorcise this evil fox spirit, but were not able to remove this ailment.
News of her condition reached Toyotomi all the way in Osaka. Infuriated, Toyotomi made a decree that all foxes in Japan must be hunted and eliminated if there was no means to rid this evil fox spirit. He also had a message written and sent to these Inari Shrines.
It is rumored that to resolve Gōhime’s ordeal, Toshiie borrowed Ōdenta and had it delivered to her residence in Bizen Country¹⁰. It was kept in a room next to where she was bedridden. After a few days, she miraculously recovered from her poor condition.
・Maahime’s grave illness
The second case where Toshiie borrowed the Ōdenta was when his 3rd daughter, Maahime¹¹, was ill. At the time, Maahime was bewedded to a court noble named Madenokouji Atsufusa (万里小路 充房). It is said that Toshiie received permission to borrow the Ōdenta and had it delivered to his sick daughter, where it was placed beside her pillow with hopes that it would heal her in the same way Gōhime was saved.
Unfortunately, the Ōdenta didn’t demonstrate the same miraculous power, for Maahime didn’t get better and passed away. Having failed, Toshiie returned the sword back to the Toyotomi family¹².
・ Treating the Shogun’s daughter’s illness
The 3rd case involved Toshitsune, the 3rd successor of the Maeda family. Toshitsune’s wife, Tamahime, was diagnosed as having an unusual illness, which, to some, was caused by a vile aura. Around this time, the Ōdenta was property of the Tokugawa shogunate, due to Tokugawa Ieyasu’s success in defeating the Toyotomi family and confiscating their possessions. It also so happened that Tamahime was the daughter of the 2nd generation Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada. With this connection, Toshitsune was able to get permission to borrow the Ōdenta and cleanse Tamahime of this bad aura by keeping it by her bedside. In record time, she was cured.
After this case, the Maeda family were allowed to keep the Ōdenta due to their frequent requests to borrow it.
#4: SCARING THE CROWS AWAY
There’s another story of the Ōdenta’s acclaimed spiritual properties. In 1583, Toshiie was given the responsibility of managing Hideyoshi’s recently acquired Kanazawa castle in Kaga Country. At some point over the years, this castle had a reputation of attracting crows, which would perch on rooftops. What attracted these crows was not known, nor was a viable solution to drive them away discovered.
In around 1601, Maeda Toshitsune was allowed to bring the Ōdenta into safekeeping within Kanazawa Castle’s storage vault known as Takigi no Maru (薪の丸). In the same year, he also acquired Shizuka Gozen’s naginata through marraige with Tokugawa Hidetada’s daughter, Tamahime. Viewed as an equally valuable piece, this naginata was also kept within the same storage vault. After both treasured weapons were placed there, the crows suddenly stopped perching on top of the castle. It is thought that the Ōdenta (and in some circles of critics, Shizuka Gozen’s naginata) had some special power within it to drive the crows away. Through this episode, Kanazawa castle gained the nickname:
“烏とまらずの蔵”
Which translates to “vault where no crows land on”¹³.
Is this just a case of coincidence? No one can say for sure.
ENDING
Here we come to an end with the history and stories about the Odenta. While there isn’t any real concrete info on it being used on the battlefield, it is amazing to see how individuals like the Maeda family placed great fate in a sword to provide luck, grant safety and cure any illnesses. Whether the newest generation have the same fate or not, it doesn’t seem like they will be parting from the Odenta any time soon. This also closes out the series on the Tenga Goken.
1) It can also pronounced as “Tenta”. This includes all other versions of this nickname, as well as the paired swords (Ōtenta and Kotenta)…although popular way is with the “d” sound.
2) In this case, they are not daisho (大小, long sword and short sword), as both swords are considered long swords.
3) What ever happened to the Kodenta? how did it get separated from its bigger sibling? Did it truly exist? There is one rumor that the Maeda family are in possession of it, possibly acquiring it at a later date. However, this has yet to be proven, as it is not in their records of swords they’ve collected over the centuries.
4) This is claimed by the Maeda family, but not necessarily proven. Also, there are others that claim to have the naginata used by Shizuka Gozen as well.
5) While the kirimon was used by the Imperial family, Take note that there were other versions of it, which were used by other powerful families such as the Ashikaga and the Toyotomi. While not specific, it’s possible that the version of this kirimon belonged to either the Ashikaga or the Toyotomi.
6) An example of this involves Shizuka Gozen’s naginata, which was kept in women’s chambers of the Maeda’s home in Kaga Domain. The belief here is that it would bestow luck and protection due to its association with a famous female warrior.
7) Around this time, Kozukahara prison became part of Senjushuku, which was an execution ground controlled by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
8) The term for this is “gotameshi goyō” (御様御用). This also means “executioner”, which was also his appointed profession at the prison.
9) In the actual records of tameshigiri accounts, it didn’t mention this sword by the usual “Ōdenta” title. Instead, there was “Miike Gotō” (三池御刀, the renown sword from Miike) written there. This was possibly a shorthand, as it’s also addressed with “Miike” in its title.
10) There is another version written by Honami Kōzan. In it is stated that Shizuka Gozen’s naginata was used to heal Gōhime, for Toshiie was not able to get permission from Hideyoshi to borrow the Ōdenta.
11) Another commonly used formal title by her in her teens onward was “Kaga-dono”, which translates to something like “Madame Kaga”. However, we can consider this nickname passed down to other women within the Maeda family over the gnerations, for Maahime wasn’t the only one recorded to have used it. This may have been her distinguished title from around her mid-late teens.
12) It seems that there is a discrepency with the recording of this event, raising questions as to whether this even happened while Toyotomi Hideyoshi was still alive, and if Maeda Toshiie truly requested to borrow Ōdenta directly from him. In the end, it appears that Maahime died in 1605, which is over a decade after the passing of Hideyoshi. From a surviving document, it’s recorded that Ōdenta was still in the possession of the Toyotomi family even after Hideyoshi’s death, so it is thought that Toshiie got permission from some member of the Toyotomi household.
13) There has been a bit of back & forth in regards to how to properly read this. It has to do with whether the 1st kanji in the nickname is “鳥” (bird) or “烏” (crow). The difference between the 2 is there is one extra horizontal line in the bird kanji. Some researchers who reviewed the original documentation thought that the kanji in question had that one extra line, thus it was supposed to be read as “bird”. However, there are those researchers who believe that it’s actually the crow kanji , reasoning that it fits better the narration, and that there may have been a deviation in how it was written, causing an error. It is not unusual for such errors to appear in old documents, making this speculation feasible. For the most part, there is more of a lean towards the idea that this statement uses the crow kanji.