Appearance
The blade of the sword is 65.5 cm and the tang is 9.4 cm long. There is no hole on the tang to fasten the sword with a hilt. The sword is broken at the top of the tang. Analysis of the broken surface shows the material of the sword is forged mild steel. The sword was obviously made for a ceremonial purpose.
The sword has been stored in the Isonokami Shrine since ancient times. The inscription on the blade had been hidden by rust and was rediscovered in 1870s by Masatomo Kan, a Shinto priest at the shrine. There is a two-sided inscription on the sword which is inlaid in gold. Hoshino first indicated the sword was mentioned in the old Japanese history book ''Nihon Shoki'' in 1892. Many scholars have engaged in study to determine the interpretation of the vague inscription. Murayama published the closeup pictures taken with X-ray in 1996.
Description in Nihon shoki
The sword is mentioned in the biography of Empress Jingū, a legendary Japanese empress in the ancient era. The following is the original Chinese text;
:則獻七枝刀一口 七子鏡一面及種種重寶 仍啟曰 臣國以西有水 源出自谷那鐵山 其邈七日行之不及 當飲是水 便取是山鐵以永奉聖朝
In English;
: and presented a seven-branched sword and a seven-little-one-mirror, with various other objects of great value. they addressed the Empress, saying :-"West of thy servants' country there is a river-source which issues from Mount Cholsan in Kong-na. It is distant seven days' journey. It need not be approached, but one should drink of this water, and so having gotten the iron of this mountain, wait upon the sage Court for all ages."
Inscription on the sword
The inscription states:
In original Chinese characters:
:First Side: 泰四年十月十六日丙午正陽造百錬七支刀辟百兵宜供供候王■■■■
:Second Side: 先世以來未有此刀百濟王世奇生聖音故爲倭王旨造傳示後世
Characters in parentheses are ambiguous. Characters represented with black blocks are entirely unreadable.
In English:
:First Side: "At noon on the sixteenth day of the eleventh month, fourth year of Taiwa era, the sword was made of 100 times hardened steel. Using the sword repels 100 enemy soldiers. Appropriate for the polite duke king. Made by "
:Second Side: "Never before has there been such a blade. The crown prince of Baekje's king, who lives under august sounds, had this sword made for in the hope that it might be passed on to later generations."
Interpretation of the inscription
2nd Letter on the first side, and when the sword was made: The first four letters are generally decoded as "4th year of Taiwa ", but since the second letter is ambiguous. Taiwa 4 corresponds to year 369 CE. Kim Sok Hyong, a North Korean scholar proposed a theory that the character refers to a local era name of Baekje, the theory is challenged since no other archaeological discovery reveals the existence of Baekje's unique era name. As Baekje generally uses sexagenary cycles to record date, the date recorded in Chinese era brought argument that the sword was presumably made in China.
Middle of the first side: The letters show the sword was made of steel and can repel the enemy. The following letters are the most controversial part of the inscription. Kim Sok-hyong notes that the sword uses the term "候王" translated as "enfeoffed lord," and claimed Wa king was subservient to the Baekje ruler.
The majority of the Japanese scholars don't agree Kim's theory. They point out the meaning of the term "候王" was varied in the periods. After the Han Dynasty the term was used fluently and always just as a honorific.
End of the first side: Although four of the five last letters are undecodable, the last letter indicates that the previous letters were either the name of author or a prayer phrase such as "永年大吉祥". In both cases, the phrase should generally indicate the end of inscription, and not synchronized with the fact that inscription is continued to the other side. There is also a theory that the second side is written by different person, or at different time.
11th and 13th letter on the second side, and who presented the sword: 11th to 13th letters seem to be decodable to "王世子", and some scholars regard that it was presented from the Crown Prince of Baekje, eventually ascended as . However, as it includes ambiguous letters, it is not entirely clear whether who of Baekje did present the sword.
17th letter on the second side: The letter is regarded to be either "音" or "晉". Former decoding indicates that phrase "奇生聖音" has a Buddhism or Taoism nuance, that presenter has "lived under august sounds". Latter decoding indicates that the phrase means "born coincidentally on august Jin Dynasty".
18th to 22nd letter on the second side, and the presentee: The phrase, "爲倭王旨造", is translated in various ways through different interpretations of the 22nd letter "".
*"旨" as a personal name: Regarding the letter as a personal name. Thus translates the phrase as following. "For Shi, the King of Wa, made ".
*"旨" as "order": Translates "for the order of King of Wa, made ".
*"旨" as "deliberately": Translates "for King of Wa, deliberately made ".
*"旨" as "first": Interpreting the letter as abbreviation of "嘗". Translates "for the first time, made for King of Wa".
Taking it a personal name leads to the Baekje-centric idea that Baekje's presenter boldly writes the name of the King of Wa, and thus regards him lower. By Taking it "order" leads to the Japan-centric idea that Baekje presented the sword because the King of Wa ordered him to do so. Therefore, the interpretation tend to be controversial.
Yet another theory put forth by Kosaku Hamada of Kyushu University theorizes that the original seven-branched sword was created by Eastern Jin in 369 for a vassal lord with the first inscription. In 372, King Geunchogo of Baekje paid tribute to Eastern Jin the first time and given the title 鎭東將軍領樂浪太守. The sword was given to the king around this time. The king of Baekje ordered the creation of a replica of the sword with the second inscription and sent it to Wa for an alliance as peers under Eastern Jin. Thus no vassalage relationships are involved between Baekje and Wa. This explains the commanding tone of the first inscription and the respect paid to Jin in the second inscription.
While the inscription of the sword is controversial and is used by many nationalists to support their own agendas, the sword does prove, at the very least, that there were very close ties between the Baekje and the , and the opening of the friendship relations between two countries probably date to the year 372.
Origins
Analysis and archeology have suggested that the sword's origins lie in Korea.
The sword's peculiar design - with the tip of the blade counting as the 'seventh' branch, is indicative of contemporary Korean tree-motifs. Other examples of this motif include the and the Silla Crown. If the weapon had indeed been produced in Korea it would have represented one of the prime artistic accomplishments of Baekje swordsmithery
In Popular Culture
A seven branched sword appears in the video games Samurai Warriors, Samurai Warriors 2 and Warriors Orochi by Koei and goes by other names such as seven spirits. It is wielded by the famous Japanese warlord, Uesugi Kenshin.
A seven branched sword also appears in the third installment of the Phoenix Wright series as a major clue.
A similarly shaped weapon appears as the shikai form of Tobiume, Soul Reaper Momo Hinamori's zanpakuto.
A red seven-branched sword called "Kaleidoscope" appears in the Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur IV video games as an alternate weapon for . It appears as a whip sword, and each branch can separated from the rest conected with just a magical cord / energy.
In the game Dark Cloud for the Playstation 2, the 7 Branch Sword is an upgradable choice from the Dusack sword.
In the manga and anime series Angel Sanctuary, the main character Setsuna attains a magical diamond pendant which he can transform into a Seven-Branched sword at will.
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