is an ''

ōdachi The (large/great sword) or ''nodachi'' (野太刀, field sword) is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (日本刀, nihontō) used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The Chinese equivalent of this type of sword in terms of weight a ...

'' ( Japanese huge greatsword) forged by the swordsmith and an

Important Cultural Property of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs ( Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to b ...

History

The name came from a legend that one night flaws on the blade were repaired by fireflies. The is also known as since it was kept as a treasure of the

Aso Shrine is a Shinto Shrine in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p. 477; Kotodamaya.com"Aso Jinja" retrieved 2012-10-29. Aso is one of the oldest shrines in Japan. This shrine holds sever ...

. The was designated an

(then-National Treasure) on December 14, 1931.昭和6年12月14日文部省告示第332号（See：国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション��3コマ目） Since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, however, it has been missing. In 2015, ''

Touken Ranbu is a free-to-play collectible card browser video game developed by Nitroplus and DMM Games. The game was launched in Japan in January 2015, and worldwide in April 2021. The franchise has inspired and been adapted as three anime productions, a t ...

'' fans raised through crowdfunding to construct a replica of the Hotarumaru. During the reconstruction, the Aso Shrine was destroyed from an earthquake in April 2016. A ceremony for the completion of the replica was held on August 27, 2016, and it is now displayed at the Aso Shrine.

References

Bibliography

* Individual_Japanese_swords Important Cultural Properties of Japan Aso shrines {{Japan-hist-stub