Sword “Heshikiri-Hasebe”(National Treasure) Jan. 5, 2020 (Sun)~ Feb. 2, 2020(Sun)

Sword “Heshikiri-Hasebe”(National Treasure)

Oda Nobunaga, a daimyo feudal lord, bestowed this sword on Kuroda Kanbei (Yoshitaka) as a reward.
Kuroda Kanbei (then Yoshitaka) had been a renowned war strategist even when he was serving as a vassal of Kodera Masamoto.  It was in the year 1575 when Oda Nobunaga hastily and enthusiastically extended his military influence westward, agitated by the move of his rival Mouri Terumoto. Seeing this situation, Yoshitaka advised his lord Masamoto to take a back of Nobunaga.   
When his proposal was approved, Yoshitaka delivered the message to Nobunaga on his own. This was when Yoshitaka convinced Nobunaga that it was the optimum time to conquer the central region of Japan. Nobunaga found this advice reasonable, and gave this sword, Heshikiri Hasebe, to Yoshitaka.

The sword Heshikiri, (which means “to cut off by adding pressure”), was named after an anecdote.
Oda Nobunaga used this sword to kill his male servant who was hiding under a shelf. Since there was not enough room to swing the sword under the shelf, Nobunaga killed the servant by adding pressure to the braid.
Hasebe is the name of the sword smith who forged the sword. 


The Great Spear “Nihon-gou”

The term “大身槍” defines a spear which has a long braid of more than 30.3cm long. This spear, “Nihon-gou” however, has a knife edge of more than 79.2cm long, far exceeding the standard. Engraved on the braid surface is an image of a dragon, winding itself around a legendary sword and swallowing it from its keen edge. The entire image is called Kurikara crest representing a divine Fudoumyo-ou, or Acalathe God of Fire.
Its decorative grip is inlaid with “raden”, Japanese traditional seashell art.
This spear is also known as a “Nomitori no yari” means a spear gained by drinking a lot of sake. It derives from a story of Tahei Mori, one of the Twenty-Four Knights of KURODA.
He was a renowned heavy drinker. When he was sent to Lord Fukushima Masanori, one of the best samurai warriors of the Period, as a messenger, he was invited to have a drink. Tahei humbly declined this offer saying that he was on a mission. However, lord Fukushima challenged Tahei saying, if he could drink a huge vessel of sake, he could have anything in the room. Tahei took this challenge and drank the sake to gain the spear as the reward. There is a famous Japanese folk song called “KURODA bushi”, depicting this episode.

Sword “Heshikiri-Hasebe”(National Treasure) 
Jan. 5, 2020 (Sun)~ Feb. 2, 2020(Sun)
The Great Spear “Nihon-gou”
 Permanently exhibited at Feature exhibition room2

9:30-17:30(Last Entrance 17:00)
Closed on Mondays (If Monday falls on a national holiday, the next day.
<<Admission>>
Adults:¥200, high school/university students: ¥150, Junior High school or younger: free