andryn

Thanks for that additional info and especially the picture. Do you have any additional information on where the sword is currently? I feel like I would have noticed if it was in the Sendai Museum, but its more than possible I walked right past it. If anyone does end up in the Sendai area in the future, they recently redid the exhibition relating to Hasekura and its very well done. The Pope's gold-flaked letter to Date is especially interesting. Also of note is the sword museum at Shiogama-jinja. While most of the museum is devoted to the process of making salt and whaling, the bottom floor has some very nice blades.

Zuihoden is beautiful since the reconstruction. Date loved the high Momoyama style and the only nicer tomb I ever saw in Japan was the Toshogu in Nikko. Here's the Zuihoden site which briefly outlines what they found in the tomb. http://www.zuihoden.com/shiryo/ihin.html

Thanks a bunch! This helps a lot. I'll take a look at those sources if I can hunt them down.

Hello Everyone, I've been trolling these forums for a little while and was hoping someone might be able to provide some information or guide me towards some. I'm looking for anything regarding the sword or swords used by Date Masamune. Other than a brief forum post which names one of his swords both 'Kuronbugiri' and 'Saddle-cutter'. I've also seen the rusted remains of a few swords that were found in Masamune's grave when it was restored, but as my Japanese was lacking, wasn't able to discern if they were named or simply funerary weapons. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Here's what little information I have, gleaned from that forum post: