(born Nagasone Okisato) was a Japanese swordmaker of the early

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

period. His father was an armorer who served

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...

, the lord of

Sawayama ''Sawayama'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama, released on 17 April 2020 by the independent record label Dirty Hit. A follow up to her self-released debut EP '' Rina'' (2017), ...

. However, as Ishida was defeated by

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, the Nagasone family and some other craftsmen from Sawayama went to

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

, where they took refuge in

Fukui City is the capital city of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,217, and a population density of 69.2 persons per km2, in 102,935 households. Its total area is . Most of the population lives in a small central area; ...

Early history

Nagasone Okisato (長曽祢興里) was born in Nagasone-mura,

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...

. The Nagasone family were blacksmiths and produced armor. Kotetsu would continue the family's tradition by becoming an armorer, but moved to

to pursue a career in swordmaking around the age of 50. Kotetsu's swords were known for their great strength and their ability to cut through helmets. However, Kotetsu's swords were often faked, and they were so well faked that even Kotetsu himself is said to have not been able to tell the difference. When presented with a fake on one occasion, he is reported to have said "The blade is mine but the signature is not." Records exist which state that Nagasone Kotetsu only forged thirty one swords bearing the name. There are however other records which directly dispute this, with the Nihontô Meikan showing 50 different mei or signatures for Nagasone Kotetsu. Additionally there are Honomi records of sword polishers and master appraisers receiving Mumei or unsigned blades from Nagasone Kotetsu, and adding signature to them later after having completely substantiated the maker and provenance of the sword in question, increasing this count even further. This can also easily explain Kotetsu's comment above where he said - "The blade is mine, but the signature is not." However the fact remains that Kotetsu has been often faked over the past 350+ years, and so both the signatures as well as the style and quality of the blade should be judged closely to determine accuracy.

Fake sword

Perhaps one of the most famed Kotetsu blades was a fake: that of

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagaw ...

, the commander of the late Edo-era patrol force called

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. However, this sword was not a Kotetsu, but instead a sword made by the foremost smith of that era (known in Japanese swordmaking history as the shinshin-to era), Minamoto Kiyomaro, and bearing a forged Kotetsu signature made by master signature-faker Hosoda Heijirō.

Name change

Nagasone Okisato took the name Kotetsu upon taking the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

tonsure in

, at Kan'eiji Temple, in the Ueno district. He was active in the Kantō Region for some time, as well as in Edo itself, passing away in 1678. Two of his most prominent students and successors were Nagasone Okinao and Nagasone Okihisa.

Popular uses

"Kotetsu" is used as a name for swords in various

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

series, such as

Vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work ...

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

and

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

. The '' Kōtetsu'' (formerly the Confederate warship CSS ''Stonewall'') was a Japanese navy ironclad in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

Kotetsu II

Nagasone Okimasa, the adopted or biological son of Nagasone Okisato, is often called ''Kotetsu II''. He is also rated as the ''Saijo Ō Wazamono''.Nagasone Okimasa.
Touken World

References

Bibliography

*Yasu Kizu, ''Swordsmith Nagasone Kotetsu Okisato'', Hollywood: W.M. Hawley Publications, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nagasone, Kotetsu 1590s births 1678 deaths Japanese swordsmiths Japanese Buddhist clergy