I recently finished reading a book about the history of the samurai period in Japan. One interesting story from the period was of swords supposedly cursed. These Muramasa blades were said to thirst for blood. The madness of their maker’s mind had been passed on to the soul of the sword. If the blade was unsheathed, it would not allow itself to be sheathed again without tasting blood, sometimes influencing the wielder to commit murder or suicide with the blade in order to satisfy its bloodlust.
A master swordsmith of the 16th century founded the Muramasa school of swordsmiths, which created a number of fine blades. These Muramasa swords were of excellent quality, and were thus popular among the high ranking samurai of the Tokugawa clan around the time of Ieyasu (1543 – 1616). Coincidentally, a number of relatives of Ieyasu were killed or injured by Muramasa swords. His grandfather was killed by one in battle, his father was stabbed by one, and his first son was beheaded by a Muramasa blade as a mercy stroke after he had committed seppuku.
The legend of the curse seems not to have started with Ieyasu himself, who owned two Muramasa swords. The legend appears in the 18th century. The swords became associated with ill fortune for the Tokugawa clan in particular, and thus became desirable items for enemies of the shogunate. Many kabuki plays stressed the madness and bloodlust that the swords would cause to their wielder.
Some people may not believe in the curse. They may say, “It is just a coincidence that one type of sword killed several members of one family. There is no need of a supernatural explanation.”
But I am
not so sure. I have seen cursed items
before. I have a cursed wine glass, for
example. Once taken out of the cupboard
it will not let itself be put back until its thirst for the red liquid has been
quenched. And people say it drives the
person who holds it to madness…
Vocabulary:
to be cursed
– to have a magical power which brings harm rather than good to the user
[eg., That
cursed ring brought bad luck to all those who wore it.]
to
unsheathe a blade – to take a blade such as a sword out of its protective
covering, ready for use
[eg.,
Samurai were forbidden to unsheathe their blades inside Edo Castle.]
the wielder
(of a sword) – especially of a weapon, the person who holds it
[eg., King
Arthur was the wielder of the sword named Excalibur.]
bloodlust –
an uncontrollable desire to kill or seriously injure
[eg., Upon
seeing his enemy, the warrior’s bloodlust rose, and he charged to attack.]
to quench
(a thirst) – to satisfy one’s thirst by drinking
[eg., On a
hot day, he stopped at a vending machine to quench his thirst with a bottle of
water.]
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