The Hōki Lineage, One Generation On
This tachi carries a longer signature than most: Hōki Ōhara Sanemori. It names both the province, Hōki in the west of present-day Tottori Prefecture, and the smith, Sanemori of Ōhara, who worked in the early Kamakura period of the thirteenth century. Tradition holds that he stood in the direct line of Yasutsuna, the founder of the Hōki tradition, and the two names are often spoken together as the twin pillars of early western swordmaking.
The blade runs to about 75.1 centimetres along the edge, with a curve of roughly 2.6 centimetres. Its temper line is a small irregular pattern mixed with clove-shaped chōji outlines, livelier than the quiet straight temper of the oldest Hōki work. A linked groove is cut into the lower part of the blade on the front side, while the reverse carries a Sanskrit bonji character, a Buddhist invocation incised into the steel.
The sword belongs to Kishū Tōshōgū in Wakayama City and is kept on deposit at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.
Why It Matters
Hōki province produced some of the earliest signed Japanese swords, and surviving in-period blades from this school are scarce. A signed Sanemori of clear date and condition is a document of how the western tradition developed after Yasutsuna, carrying forward the slender early form while moving toward the more active temper patterns that the Kamakura age would prize.
The blade was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1913, on the same day as the shrine's Yasutsuna. Together the two trace a single regional lineage across two generations, both gathered into the Tokugawa shrine at Wakanoura. The Sanskrit character on the reverse adds a devotional layer: a sword that was also, in a sense, a prayer.
Its attached mounting differs from the hollyhock-crested scabbards of the other Kishū Tōshōgū blades. The fittings are plain polished shakudō and the scabbard a gold pear-skin lacquer left without crest, a quieter dress that lets the blade speak for itself.
What to Look For
The sword is shown to the public mainly through special exhibitions at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum, which assembled the Kishū Tōshōgū blades in 2024 and returns to them in later displays.
When you can see it, set it beside the shrine's Yasutsuna in your mind. The family resemblance is real, yet the differences repay attention: a slightly more animated temper, the clove outlines flickering along the edge, and the carved Sanskrit character glinting on the reverse near the base. Hold the silhouette in view, then move close to read the steel.
The shrine that owns the blade rewards a visit in its own right. Kishū Tōshōgū crowns a hill above Wakanoura, reached by the 108 steps of the Samurai Slope, its painted and gilded halls of 1621 giving it the name the Nikkō of the West. Pair the climb with the neighbouring Wakaura Tenmangū and Tamatsushima shrines for a half day along this celebrated stretch of coast.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Wakayama
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Q&A
- Is this the same smith as Yasutsuna?
- No. Sanemori was a separate smith of the same Hōki tradition, working a generation or so later. Tradition links the two as master and successor.
- What is the carving on the reverse?
- A Sanskrit bonji character, a Buddhist seed-syllable incised into the blade. Such carvings combined practical groove-work with devotional meaning.
- Why does its mounting lack the Tokugawa crest?
- Its attached mounting uses plain polished fittings and an uncrested lacquered scabbard, unlike the hollyhock-decorated mounts of the shrine's other blades.
- Where can I see it?
- It is held on deposit at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum and appears in special exhibitions there rather than at the shrine.
Basic Information
| Name | Tachi, signed Hōki Ōhara Sanemori |
|---|---|
| Category | Craft (sword) |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (designated 14 April 1913) |
| Period | Kamakura period, 13th century |
| Smith | Ōhara Sanemori of Hōki |
| Dimensions | Edge length approx. 75.1 cm; curve approx. 2.6 cm |
| Count | 1 blade (with an attached itomaki no tachi mounting) |
| Owner | Kishū Tōshōgū, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Access | On deposit at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum; shown in special exhibitions |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/6305
- Special Exhibition: Treasured Swords of Kishū Tōshōgū (Wakayama Prefectural Museum)
- https://hakubutu.wakayama.jp/exhibit/toushougu-houtou2024/
- Kishū Tōshōgū (Wikipedia, Japanese)
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/紀州東照宮
Last verified: 2026.06.23