I am Kasen Kanesada. I was crafted by the second generation, hailed as the greatest even amongst the successive generations of the Kanesada clan, also known as Nosada. The origin of my name comes from the 36 Immortals of Poetry. Elegant, don’t you agree? …Though, my former master also happened to kill 36 of his vassals with his bare hands, which is to say, it seems now that everyone is not quite sure how to react around me.
僕は歌仙兼定。歴代兼定でも随一と呼ばれる二代目、通称之定の作さ。 名前の由来は三十六歌仙から。風流だろう？ ……まあ、元主が手打ちにした人数が36人だったから、と言うと、みんなどういう顔をしていいかわからなくなるようだけれど
僕は歌仙兼定。風流を愛する文系名刀さ。どうぞよろしく。
I am Kasen Kanesada. I am a famous sword of the arts who loves elegance. Pleased to meet you.
Kasen Kanesada is crafted by Izumi no Kami Kanesada (not to be confused with the Izumi no Kami Kanesada in Touken Ranbu) in 1505 CE with a 60cm long blade. The smith Kanesada, is the 2nd generation of Izumi no Kami Kanesada, also known as Nosada (之定). Kanesada was ordered by Hosokawa Tadaoki (細川忠興), a daimyou and also a warrior, to make this nihontou*.
During the Muromachi period, the Mino province was very prolific with sword smithing, including the Kanesada and Kanemoto family (you’ll notice some of the other swords also carry those names, including Hijikata’s sword, Izumi no Kami Kanesada; they were all works of the Kanesada family smiths). Kasen Kanesada was forged by the second generation of the Kanesada smiths, which was during the Muromachi period, whose skills as smiths helped establish the reputation of Mino swords. The Kanesada family continued to create sword all the way up to the Edo period, but it is generally agreed that the Sue-Seki smiths that succeeded them weren’t as good.
Hosokawa Tadaoki was famous not only for his skills in swordsmanship but also as a person of culture. He was a genius in arts especially when it comes to the art of tea ceremony. Although it seems like he’s a well-mannered person due to his love for art, he has a pretty horrible and merciless character.
One day he wanted to show his son what it’s like to be a true ruler, so he called up 36 retainers and executed them in front of his son using an uchigatana. The execution of those 36 people reminded him of Sanjuu-Rokkasen (三十六歌仙, 36 Immortal Poets), a group of 36 Japanese poets from the Heian, Nara, and Asuka period selected by Fujiwara no Kinto as examples of the best of Japanese poets. So from this incident, he decided to name that Uchigatana, Kasen 歌仙, with Kanesada 兼定 taken from the maker’s name.
The nihontou itself is famous for it’s beautiful sheath. It’s said to be of Higo-Koshirae style (肥後拵). This style came from the Higo province and it is influenced by the tea culture and a dash of Hosokawa Tadaoki’s sense for art. In the case of Kasen Kanesada, the Koshirae is so beautiful to the extent that it even has it’s own name, Kasen-Koshirae (歌仙拵).
In his Front Lines dialogues he says: “You’re right. I may say I am of the arts, but I am also of Nosada.”, this refer to Nosada (之定) which is the alias of Kasen Kanesada’s smith, as he signed the lower part of the character ‘Sada’ (定) like the character for ‘No’ (之). Nosada once published a sutra called Kannon Sutra, the 25th chapter of Lotus Sutra**.
In Touken Ranbu, influenced by the wielder Hosokawa Tadaoki, Kasen Kanesada loves anything elegant and beautiful, but he can be brutal in battle. In fact when he fight we can hear him say 「首を差し出せ！(Kubi o sashi dase!」which means “Present your neck!”
When Kasen Kanesada is wounded in battle, you can see he has a wound on the right side of his cheek. In the past, Hosokawa Tadaoki was struck by catapult soldiers on his first attempt to conquer a castle. This caused him to earn a scar at that exact spot. It was said that Oda Nobunaga praised that scar as it shows a sign of bravery.
Besides that, Kasen Kanesada also has a wound on his nose. Hosokawa Tadaoki assassinated Isshiki Yoshiari (一色義有, his younger sister’s husband) to save her. However his sister, Hosokawa Iya (細川伊也) instead, pulled out a dagger and attempted to kill Hosokawa Tadaoki. Quick with his reflexes Hosokawa Tadaoki managed to avoid death but still suffered a wound on his nose. He doesn’t like it when people talk about that scar on his nose because not only it brings about bad memories, it also reminded him that his deed of saving his sister was met with his sister’s revenge.
In the Citadel Kasen says: “My specialty is in Japanese poetry, tea ceremony, and I am also an connoisseur of the art. Such things come naturally to a sword of the arts, no?”, the type of Japanese poetry Kasen is referring to is “waka” (和歌), of which is a type of classical Japanese literature. Written as a short poem, the waka was used to express and capture the emotions of the writer.
He talks about poetry a lot, he quotes Nosada and when he’s destroyed he says: “Ahh… So this is the afterlife? I must write a poem… My brush… Someone, bring me my brush…” because in Feudal Japan, it was considered a cultural norm to write poetry near or during times of death. The style of this poem would either be in the form of kanshi or waka.
For the New Year’s Greeting (2016) he says: “Hm….What should my first poem of the New Year be?” and for Touken Ranbu’s First Year Anniversary (2016) he says: “I see, so it’s our First Year Anniversary. This would be a good topic for a poem.”
Also on his removed line (Feb.18, 2015): “… Ah, pardon me. I was too deep thinking of a poem, I didn’t even notice.”
Kasen Kanesada and Sayo Samonji were closely related as the wielder for the latter was Hosokawa Yuusai (細川幽斎), Hosokawa Tadaoki’s father. As such, Kasen and Sayo lived under the same family for a while, before Sayo was eventually sold off by Tadaoki.
Currently Kasen Kanesada is kept at Eisei Bunko Museum it was previously never put out for display, but was put on display on July 9- October 2, 2015, further dates may be announced.
*A Japanese sword (日本刀 nihontō) is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Swords have been made from Kofun period and generally Japanese swords are the ones after the Heian period having curves, and there are many types of Japanese swords that differ by size, shape, field of application and method of manufacture. Some of the more commonly known types of Japanese swords are the katana, wakizashi, and tachi. Before then the ninjatō (忍者刀), ninjaken (忍者剣), or shinobigatana (忍刀) were allegedly the preferred weapon that the Shinobi of feudal Japan carried. (Which is literally a straight katana)
**The Lotus Sūtra (Sanskrit: Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, literally Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma) is one of the most popular and influential Mahayana sutras and the basis on which the Tiantai, Tendai, Cheontae, and Nichiren schools of Buddhism were established. For many East Asian Buddhists, the Lotus Sūtra contains the ultimate and complete teaching of the Buddha and the reciting of the text is believed to be very auspicious.
Starter Sword - Uchigatana - 🌸🌸 Medium Rarity - #89
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