The Three Great Spears of Japan are three individual spears (

yari is the term for a traditionally-made Japanese blade (日本刀; nihontō) in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. The martial art of wielding the is called . History The forerunner of the is thought to be a ...

) that were made and crafted by the greatest historical blacksmiths of Japan:Kōkan Nagayama, ''The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords'', p. 31
/ref> #

Tonbokiri The is one of three legendary Japanese spears created by the famed swordsmith Fujiwara Masazane, said to be wielded by the ''daimyō'' Honda Tadakatsu, a leading general of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The spear derives its name from the myth that a dragon ...

(蜻蛉切): This spear once wielded by

Honda Tadakatsu , also called Honda Heihachirō (本多平八郎) was a Japanese samurai, general and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings along with Ii N ...

, one of the great generals of

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 ...

. It was forged by Masazane, a disciple of

Muramasa , commonly known as , was a famous swordsmith who founded the Muramasa school and lived during the Muromachi period (14th to 16th centuries) in Kuwana, Ise Province, Japan (current Kuwana, Mie).Fukunaga, 1993. vol. 5, pp. 166–167. In spite of ...

. It is now owned by a private individual and lent to the

Sano Art Museum The is a private art museum, located in the Nakata neighborhood of the city of Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. The museum was founded in 1966 by Mishima-born Sano Ryūichi, founder of the chemical company Tekkōsha and recipient of th ...

for its collection. The type of blade shape is ''sasaho yari''.Three Great Spears of Japan.
The Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum “Nagoya Touken World” #

Nihongo is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic languages, Japonic or Japanese-Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyu ...

, or Nippongo (日本号): A famous spear that was once used in the Imperial Palace. Nihongo later found its way into the possession of

Fukushima Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears ...

, and then Tahei Mori. It is now at

Fukuoka City Museum opened in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1990. The permanent exhibition, which tells the history of Fukuoka, is arranged in eleven sections, including those focussing upon the King of Na gold seal (National Treasure), the Kuroda clan, and the Hakata Gion Y ...

. The type of blade shape is ''omi yari''. # Otegine (御手杵): It was a spear that

Yuki Harutomo Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

, a daimyo, ordered Shimada Gisuke, a swordsmith, to make. It was lost in the

Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing ...

in 1945. The type of blade shape was ''omi yari''.

References

Japanese culture Spears of Japan Individual weapons {{Polearm-stub

See also

References