Kantei

A museum, a list and a legend

Famous works

No work of his is designated by the State; his most accessible blade is in the Tokyo National Museum, and his fame lies in the wazamono list and in the legend of the Shinsengumi.

On this page
  1. Documented works
  2. In the lists
  3. Okita Sōji’s sword

Documented works

WorkDesignationWhere it is
Wakizashi signed 大和守安定 (Yamato no Kami Yasusada), with a 40 cm blade, donated by Robert BurawoyNo designationTokyo National Museum (F-20249)
The sword with which Yamano Kaemon Nagahisa is said to have cut five bodies at onceNot recordedNot recorded
Okita Sōji’s swordNot recordedNo blade identified

In the lists

The 懐宝剣尺 (Kaihō Kenjaku), of 1797, the cutting list of the Yamada, places him among the fifty swordsmiths of the 良業物 (yoki-wazamono) grade, the third of the four, according to the English Wikipedia; the Japanese Wikipedia specifies that he comes at the end of that grade.

Okita Sōji’s sword

The Japanese Wikipedia records that Okita Sōji, of the Shinsengumi, is said to have used a sword by Yasusada, as did Ōishi Kuwajirō and Iba Hachirō. It comes from literary sources, and no blade is known that can be identified as his.