Stories tagged "legend"

Here's the story of the origins of the Masamune/Muramasa legends, paraphrased from what is laid down in Stone's excellent but sadly rare and pricy "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in all Countries and in All Times". The rivalry, hilariously, had nothing to do with the two men themselves.

The Masamune/Muramasa conflict was influenced by politics, but not the politics of the men themselves. Both men founded schools of swordcraft that were carried on by their pupils well after their deaths. Muramasa was widely believed (factually or not) to have been Masamune's greatest pupil, and also widely believed to be insane. His name is said to often be left off of official names of great swordsmiths because it was believed his school's swords were cursed and would drive the wielders to commit murder.

Now, as to how that belief got spread around... it is a matter of historical fact, insofar as anything from this period is fact, that the political grudge that influenced the Masamune/Muramasa myth has its origins in the founding days of the Tokugawa shogunate, long after both men were dead. Ieyasu Tokugawa was said to really admire Masamune swords while he had nearly been killed by Muramasa swords on multiple occasions. His enemies superstitiously tried to acquire many Muramasa swords in hopes of killing him, while Tokugawa equipped his army primarily with Masamune school swords.

Now, obviously, Tokugawa's enemies never managed to keep him from taking control of Japan. Unsurprisingly, the legends of the perfection and inherent luckiness of Masamune swords grew under the Tokugawa shogunate, while at the same time the legends of Muramasa swords being cursed, homicidal, and bloodthirsty cropped up around the same time. The political grudge enshrined this way was simply the one between Tokugawa and desposed rivals! Presumably, the situation may have been entirely reversed had Tokugawa taken a shine to Muramasa and disliked Masamune swords.

- marchdoe commented on Acting legend Paul Newman dies - Celebrities - MSNBC.com
- 13 days ago
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One of those actors that when asked "who are your favorite actors?", kind of slips the mind. However when you look at his long list on imdb, you quickly realize you forgot the one of the greats.
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- The_Plagiarist commented on Masamune vs. Muramasa: The Rivalry that never really was
- about 1 month ago
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Here's the story of the origins of the Masamune/Muramasa legends, paraphrased from what is laid down in Stone's excellent but sadly rare and pricy "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in all Countries and in All Times". The rivalry, hilariously, had nothing to do with the two men themselves.

The Masamune/Muramasa conflict was influenced by politics, but not the politics of the men themselves. Both men founded schools of swordcraft that were carried on by their pupils well after their deaths. Muramasa was widely believed (factually or not) to have been Masamune's greatest pupil, and also widely believed to be insane. His name is said to often be left off of official names of great swordsmiths because it was believed his school's swords were cursed and would drive the wielders to commit murder.

Now, as to how that belief got spread around... it is a matter of historical fact, insofar as anything from this period is fact, that the political grudge that influenced the Masamune/Muramasa myth has its origins in the founding days of the Tokugawa shogunate, long after both men were dead. Ieyasu Tokugawa was said to really admire Masamune swords while he had nearly been killed by Muramasa swords on multiple occasions. His enemies superstitiously tried to acquire many Muramasa swords in hopes of killing him, while Tokugawa equipped his army primarily with Masamune school swords.

Now, obviously, Tokugawa's enemies never managed to keep him from taking control of Japan. Unsurprisingly, the legends of the perfection and inherent luckiness of Masamune swords grew under the Tokugawa shogunate, while at the same time the legends of Muramasa swords being cursed, homicidal, and bloodthirsty cropped up around the same time. The political grudge enshrined this way was simply the one between Tokugawa and desposed rivals! Presumably, the situation may have been entirely reversed had Tokugawa taken a shine to Muramasa and disliked Masamune swords.
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- lraccajr commented on Legend of Mir 3 server "zentaur" - Free MMORPG :: Home
- 8 months ago
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awesome
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- Gaff_Lyrics commented on Humanity
- 8 months ago
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Good Stuff!
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- mortalwind commented on Star Wars, an Asian story
- 9 months ago
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Very interesting little story, The Force also feels similar to the concept of Chi energy.
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- vernacular_ninja commented on Samurai Sword Legend Musashi - Master of the Way of Martial Arts and Strategy
- 10 months ago
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Don't pee on my parade :)
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