(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. However, as Ishida was defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu 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, where they took refuge in Fukui City.

Early history

Nagasone Okisato (長曽祢興里) was born in Nagasone-mura, Ōmi Province. 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, the commander of the late Edo-era patrol force called Shinsengumi. 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 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,

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 series, such as Vagabond, Rurouni Kenshin, One Piece 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