Modern Smiths and Touken Ranbu — A 1000-Year Lineage Rediscovered from 2015

After the War, the Sword Was Nearly Extinguished

As seen in the previous article [Shintō, Kotetsu, Shinshintō, and the Haitōrei], the 1876 sword ban, the unemployment of smiths in the Meiji and early Shōwa, and the mass GHQ confiscation of 1945 all brought Japanese swordmaking to the brink of extinction.

The key postwar systems that supported the revival:

• 1948 — Firearms Possession Prohibition, later the Firearms and Swords Law
• 1950 — Cultural Properties Protection Law, Registered Art Sword system
• 1954 — Sword-Making Certification system (annual limits)
• From the 1930s onward — Full-scale revival of the “modern smith”
• Important Intangible Cultural Property designation — Protection of technique through the Living National Treasure system

The idea that “as a work of fine art, a sword may be held if registered” rescued the sword in the postwar era.

The Certification System — No More Than 24 Blades a Year

Modern smiths must be certified by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and there are limits on how many blades they may produce annually:

• Long swords (cutting edge 2 shaku or more) — No more than 24 blades a year
• Tantō (cutting edge 1 shaku or less) — No annual limit (subject to change)

This is a system to “prevent mass production and preserve quality.” Each blade must be made carefully, one at a time, and this is a chief reason modern blades hold to a high standard.

On the other hand, smiths face difficult economic circumstances, and this system-imposed constraint on volume is itself part of the succession problem. Even smiths who spend decades training to Living National Treasure level cannot easily earn a living, since their output is fixed by the system.

Six Living National Treasures

Smiths designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property (individual designation, “Living National Treasure”) in “Japanese sword”:

Year	Smith	Origin	Specialty
1955	Takahashi Sadatsugu	Ehime	Kotō copies (Sōshū, Bizen)
1963	Miyairi Yukihira	Nagano	Sōshū tradition
1971	Gassan Sadakazu (II)	Osaka	Ayasugi-hada (Gassan school)
1981	Sumitani Masamine	Ishikawa	Bizen tradition, jūka-chōji
1997	Amata Akitsugu	Niigata	Sōshū tradition; research on Masamune and Gō
1997	Ōsumi Toshihira	Gunma	Suguha; copies of Yamashiro and Yamato

Takahashi Sadatsugu (1955)

Known for producing the copy of the “Tsubokiri no Mitsurugi” to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Akihito (now Emperor Emeritus). A symbolic figure carrying the tie between the imperial house and swordmaking into the present.

Miyairi Yukihira (1963)

Led the modern sword world after the war. Trained under Kurihara Akihide, and received multiple Masamune Awards (top prize at the Shinsaku Meitō-ten). Known for Sōshū copies. His eldest son, Miyairi Kozaemon Yukihira, has carried on the technique and is active today.

Gassan Sadakazu (II) (1971)

Carried on the Gassan school’s signature ayasugi-hada. The Gassan school traces to Mount Gassan in Dewa; Gassan Sadakazu I (Meiji-era Imperial Household Artist) begins the line. A perfect example of the thin thread from “Imperial Household Artist → second generation → Living National Treasure” being tied firmly across the decades.

Sumitani Masamine (1981)

Known for research and production in the Bizen tradition, especially for reproducing jūka-chōji. With the unusual background of a Hōsei University degree, he systematized swordmaking through a logical, scientific approach. A modern fusion of academic study and craft.

Amata Akitsugu and Ōsumi Toshihira (both 1997)

Amata for Sōshū copies, Ōsumi as a master of suguha. Their simultaneous designation at the end of the 20th century marked the height of modern swordmaking.

The All-Japan Swordsmiths’ Association

Founded in Shōwa 28 (1953), with about 180 members (2020s). Its main activities:

• Shinsaku Meitō-ten — Annual exhibition and competition
• Successor training — Support for apprentices
• Public forging demonstrations — At shrines and museums
• International exchange — With European and American blacksmithing enthusiasts

Shinsaku Meitō-ten — The Modern Sword Competition

Held annually at the Sword Museum (Ryōgoku, Tokyo). Major prizes:

• Masamune Award — Top prize, awarded only for exceptional pieces (not every year)
• Takamatsu-no-miya Memorial Award
• Kanzan Award — Named after Satō Kanzan
• Kunzan Award
• Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner Award
• Special Prize

These awards are decisive in modern smiths’ careers. Only a handful of masters ever receive the Masamune Award more than once.

The Apprenticeship System

To become a modern smith:

1. Apprentice to a smith — At least five years under a master
2. Sword-making certification examination — Pass the technical exam
3. Certification and independence — Work as an individual artist

Training covers:

• Grading and forging tamahagane
• Hizukuri — shaping
• Yakiire — creating the hamon
• Nakago work — cutting the mei

All of this is learned over five or more years. One of the few traditional crafts where the apprenticeship system is still alive.

Major Modern Smiths — Beyond the Living National Treasures

Notable smiths in the current field (partial list):

• Yoshihara Yoshindo — Tokyo, Sōshū / Bizen
• Miyairi Kozaemon Yukihira — Nagano, Miyairi Yukihira’s eldest son
• Kawachi Kunihira — Nara, Yamato tradition
• Yoshihara Sōji — Yoshihara Yoshindo’s younger brother, Tokyo
• Mikami Sadanao — Hyōgo, Bizen tradition
• Kubo Yoshihiro
• Matsuba Kunimasa

Major Smithies and International Reach

Major smithies

• Yasukuni Shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū (Kamakura) — Forging of dedicated blades
• Atsuta Jingū — Nagoya
• Personal smithies across the country

Overseas

Modern smiths give demonstrations and lectures abroad, spreading Japanese sword culture internationally. There are many Japanese sword enthusiasts in the US and Europe, and modern smiths’ work is highly regarded by overseas collectors. Technical exchanges with American blacksmiths are also increasing.

2015 — The Shock of Touken Ranbu

On January 14, 2015, Touken Ranbu-ONLINE-, jointly developed by DMM Games and Nitroplus, launched. A browser game that raises “tōken-danshi” — personifications of real Japanese swords.

Story: The year is 2205. Against the “Time Retrograde Army” attempting to alter history, players — called “saniwa” — command a company of tōken-danshi. The tōken-danshi are of the tsukumogami lineage, spirits inhabiting named blades made incarnate.

The “Sword Women” Phenomenon

The success of Touken Ranbu brought a massive influx of young women (mostly in their 20s and 30s) into Japanese sword culture — a phenomenon called “tōken-joshi” (sword women).

Behavior

• Attachment to a character in the game → wanting to see the actual sword it is based on
• “Pilgrimages” to museums, shrines, and temples
• Buying catalogs and reference books
• Attending viewing sessions and study meetings
• Collecting merchandise (plush toys, badges, acrylic keychains)

Effect on museums

• Broadening of visitor demographics — From the traditional middle-aged and older male base to young women
• Revitalization of local museums — Small facilities suddenly attracting tourists
• Lower barrier of entry — From “swords are difficult” to “swords are approachable”
• Some exhibitions (Mikazuki Munechika, Tsurumaru Kuninaga) draw queues of several hours

Major Characters and Their Real Blades

Tenka Goken

All five personified as tōken-danshi:

• Mikazuki Munechika — Elegant Heian aristocrat
• Dōjigiri Yasutsuna — Grand warrior
• Ōdenta Mitsuyo — Mystical
• Onimaru Kunitsuna — Refined youth
• Juzumaru Tsunetsugu — Composed, like a monk

Awataguchi (Tōshirō brothers of Yoshimitsu)

Atsu, Gotō, Hirano, Hakata, Namazuo, Honebami, Maeda, Midare, Gokotai, Akita, Shinano, Yagen — the tantō of Yoshimitsu appearing as boys or young men. The “Tōshirō brothers” relationship is popular in fan works.

Shinsengumi

• Izumi-no-kami Kanesada — Hijikata Toshizō
• Kashū Kiyomitsu — Okita Sōji (by tradition)
• Nagasone Kotetsu — Kondō Isami
• Horikawa Kunihiro — Hijikata Toshizō’s wakizashi

Sengoku Warlords

• Heshikiri Hasebe — Oda Nobunaga
• Sōzasamonji — Imagawa Yoshimoto → Nobunaga → Hideyoshi → Ieyasu
• Monoyoshi Sadamune — Tokugawa Ieyasu

Genji Heirlooms

• Higekiri — Watanabe no Tsuna’s demon-slayer
• Hizamaru — Minamoto no Yoshitsune
• Shishi-ō — Minamoto no Yorimasa

Media Mix

• 2.5D stage — “Musical Touken Ranbu” and “Butai Touken Ranbu,” a popular series continuing from 2015
• Anime — “Touken Ranbu Hanamaru” (2016), “Continued Touken Ranbu Hanamaru” (2018), “Katsugeki Touken Ranbu” (2017, ufotable)
• Films — “Touken Ranbu” (2019, on the Honnō-ji Incident) and “Touken Ranbu Reimei” (2023)

Economic impact is estimated in the hundreds of billions of yen — game revenue plus merchandise, stage, films, tourism, publishing, and related products.

Cultural Property Support — The Power of Crowdfunding

Cultural-property support by Touken Ranbu fans has produced tangible results:

Yamanbagiri Kunihiro Homecoming Exhibition (2017)

At Ashikaga City Museum of Art, an exhibition gathering the works of Horikawa Kunihiro including Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. Crowdfunding greatly exceeded its target, becoming a social phenomenon.

Yamatorige Ichimonji Purchase Project (2018-2020)

Setouchi City in Okayama raised over 500 million yen through hometown-tax donations and crowdfunding to purchase the National Treasure Yamatorige Ichimonji, an heirloom of the Uesugi. Donations by Touken Ranbu fans made a major contribution. A symbolic case of “a game saving a cultural property.”

Hotarumaru Reconstruction Project

A project by modern smiths to reconstruct the shrine treasure of Aso Shrine, Hotarumaru (a Nanbokuchō ōdachi lost after the war). Successful crowdfunding. An unprecedented challenge to bring a lost masterwork back to life with modern technique.

Pilgrimage — Major “Sword Sites” Across Japan

Major museums and shrines visited by Touken Ranbu fans:

• Tokyo National Museum — Mikazuki Munechika, Atsu Tōshirō, Ō-Kanehira
• Kitano Tenman-gū (Kyoto) — Higekiri
• Daikaku-ji (Kyoto) — Hizamaru
• Ashikaga City Museum of Art — Yamanbagiri Kunihiro (privately held; exhibited occasionally)
• Fukuoka City Museum — Heshikiri Hasebe, Nikkō Ichimonji
• Tokugawa Art Museum (Nagoya) — Monoyoshi Sadamune, Gotō Tōshirō, Fudō Yukimitsu
• Honkō-ji (Amagasaki, Hyōgo) — Juzumaru Tsunetsugu
• Yasukuni Shrine / Yūshūkan — Military swords and related blades
• Kyoto National Museum — Honebami Tōshirō
• Aso Shrine (Kumamoto) — Hotarumaru reconstruction
• Bizen Osafune Sword Museum (Setouchi, Okayama) — Bizen swords and Yamatorige
• Sword Museum (Ryōgoku, Tokyo) — Modern swords and the Shinsaku Meitō-ten

From the era of the “Five Sword Pilgrimage” to the “Tōken-Danshi Pilgrimage.”

Overseas Ripple

Touken Ranbu is popular across Asia, primarily in China, Korea, and Taiwan. It has been a factor in inbound tourism as overseas fans visit Japanese museums. An English version has also been released.

Modern smiths and Touken Ranbu each transmit Japanese sword culture globally along their own paths.

Overview of the 1000-Year Lineage

Just as the dj series traced a century of DJ history, the katana series has traced 1000 years of Japanese sword history:

• 9th-11th c. — From chokutō to curve; the birth of Mikazuki Munechika
• 12th-13th c. — Establishment of the Gokaden; the peak of Heian and Kamakura tachi
• 13th-14th c. — Sōshū and Masamune, the “pinnacle of the Japanese sword”
• 14th-16th c. — The 500 years of Bizen Osafune, Ōei Bizen, sue-Bizen
• 15th-16th c. — Transition to the uchigatana; Seki no Magoroku, Izumi-no-kami Kanesada
• 17th-19th c. — Shintō and shinshintō; Kotetsu, Kiyomaro
• 1876-1945 — Haitōrei, Imperial Household Artists, GHQ confiscation
• 1950-2015 — Living National Treasures, modern smiths, and the revival as fine art
• 2015- — Touken Ranbu and “sword women”; hand-off to the next generation

Every step — the raw material (tamahagane), the forging techniques, the heat treatment (yaki-ire), the polish — has been passed on for more than 1000 years exclusively through the hands of artisans and their words and their apprenticeships — the fact stated in the opening of the overview holds true today. Modern smiths still forge 24 blades a year, and young “sword women” still wait hours to see Mikazuki Munechika — the 1000-year lineage continues, quietly, into the present.

The Katana Series Concludes

With this article, the katana series is complete. Overview plus 11 articles trace 1000 years of Japanese sword history. From the straight blade of the Heian, to the birth of the curve, to the Gokaden, Masamune, Osafune, the Tenka Goken, the Sengoku, shintō, the Haitōrei, modern smiths, and Touken Ranbu. Sitting alongside haiku, waka-tanka, ukiyoe, and dj — four series already complete in three languages — the katana series now also joins them as trilingual. A single completed history of the Japanese sword closes here.