Hey guys, thanks for watching Beyond Science, it's Mike Chen.
Swords are the objects of many mystical heroic
and even tragic legends.
Fueled by tales of bloodshed and conquest,
stories about various sources throughout history
have grown to fantastical proportions
combining fact and fiction until the two are sometimes indistinguishable.
In ancient Japan,
the sword is dubbed as the soul of the samurai
and is considered as the way of the samurai emblem of power and prowess.
To the samurai,
the possession of this dangerous instrument
instills a feeling and air of self respect and responsibility.
Carrying the sword as a symbol
of what the samurai carries in his mind and heart
loyalty and honor.
And because these weapons were placed in such high regard,
sword or swordsmith that forced them
The esteem placed on Japan's ancient swordsmiths
was so tremendous that some of them at one point one another
became as widely acclaimed if not more
as the samurai that wielded the weapons they created.
And among the greatest and most legendary
of Japan's swordsmiths was Muramasa Sengo.
Here's a little bit background,
Muramasa Sengo lived and pursued his sword making craft
during the Muromachi period
between the 14th and 15th century AD in feudal Japan.
And it was Ise province in a town called Kuwana,
he founded the Muramasa school
and passed out his art and style of sword making to his students
and won active legacy which continued for the next two centuries.
Both Muramasa and his school of sword-making
were renowned for the extraordinary quality
as well as the sharpness of their blades
which made the weapons greatly priced and highly sought after
by warriors and generals even in the early 1500s.
Now Muramasa was by all accounts an incredible swordsmith
to the point that he became well regarded
as one of the finest swordsmith to have ever lived.
However, though he was said to have amazing talents
he was also known to have a troubled mind.
Aside from the quality and sharpness of his sword,
he also gained notoriety for his rather volatile nature
as well as the dark curse and the evil
that were believed to have been instilled in his weapons.
And that brings us to the curse of the Muramasa blades.
The rumors regarding the supposed curse of the Muramasa blades mainly originated
from the abrasive and venomous personality of Muramasa himself.
Aside from his brilliance as a swordsmith,
he was also believed to be rather insane
and proned to bursting into sudden fits of violent rage
during which he would indiscriminately lash out
at anyone unfortunate enough to be near him.
This unbalanced mind that bordered complete madness
along with his relentless strive for perfection
and his violence passion for crafting deadly swords, created weapons
which became the product of his genius intense determination bloodlust and insanity.
And these qualities were said to be mystically passed on
to the swords that he forged.
Muramasa swords were said to have a life of their own,
there are tales
claiming that the swordsmith had made a deal with the devil
to make the deadliest and most powerful weapons.
Aside from that,
Muramasa allegedly had a habit
of whispering a prayer to the gods
that his swords would become the greatest destroyers.
The swords created by Muramasa were believed capable of possessing their wielders
and pushing them beyond the brink of murderous rage.
There are also stories
that the swords can grant a superior swordsmanship
and bestow upon their owners temporary superhuman strength
and resistance to pain and damage.
The cursed Muramasa swords were also believed
to have a taste and thirst for blood.
If they were not satisfied by the spilled blood of an enemy
the swords would turn on their owners
and force them to commit suicide for their appeasement.
If a Muramasa blade was drawn
that sword would ruthlessly demand blood
before it could be placed back into his scabbard,
which meant almost certain doom for its wielder
if no one else was around for the weapon to unleashes its bloodlust upon.
There are also claims
that even if a cursed Muramasa sword is not drawn
it would occasionally call out to be unleashed
and would even try to compel their owners to commit murder.
Although the Muramasa swords were irrefutably effective weapons
that were proven reliable in battle.
The dark curse surrounding them allegedly made these weapons
just as dangerous for its wielders and those around them.
The swords were believed to hardly discriminate against friend in foe,
using their owners only as mere instruments
to help them kill people,
even if they were the wielders dear friends, allies and even family members.
It was also quite common
to hear about owners of Muramasa swords
going insane with their minds bent to
or destroyed by the demonic will of their weapons.
Sometimes these warriors ended up killing themself to escape the curse
and the madness that come with the swords.
Now you might think that
people would stay away from these crazy sociopathic swords.
But even with the evil reputation of the blaze,
the swords remained popular in Japan
with Muramasa Sango school of swordmaking enduring
for the next two centuries.
And it was only during the reign of Togugawa Ieyasu,
the first shogun of the late feudal government in Japan
that Muramasa's blades falled out of favor.
The shogun believed that
the Muramasa swords were cursed and blamed them
for the demise of many of his allies, friends and relatives.
The shogun's father Matsudaira Hirotada
as well as his grandfather Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
were apparently both cut down by their retainers
who were in a murderous trance
while wielding such swords.
Tokugawa even claimed that
he was also cut by a Muramasa katana
that was carried by one of his samurai guards
while he inspected his [yari].
His own wife and adopted son were also allegedly executed
using a Muramasa sword.
These if you want to believe coincidences,
gave rise to the legend that Muramasa's blaze possessed the curse
or power to kill members of the Tokugawa family.
As a result of this,
the Shogun decided to ban the ownership of Muramasa blaze.
Many of them were melted it down.
But some were also hidden away,
the Shogun took the ban so seriously
that those who were caught in possession or keeping Muramasa blades
were severely punished.
One notable case was that of Takanak Ume, the Magistrate of Nagasaki.
In 1634,
the magistrate was found to have hoarded as many as 24 Muramasa blades
And because of this,
he was ordered to commit 'seppuku'
a ritual suicide by disembowelment.
Despite the harsh punishment imposed upon
those who were caught to be in possession of Muramasa swords,
there were those who insisted on keeping their blades
even going as far as to change the markings on these blades
to avoid detection from authorities.
And because these swords were thought to have a special affinity
for killing members of the Tokugawa family,
there was also a heightened demand
for the Muramasa blaze among the Shogun's enemies.
Thus numerous forgeries has been made by lesser swords for profits
And because of the large number of forgeries crafted during this era,
it has become incredibly difficult today to reliably determine
if a purported Muramasa blade is indeed authentic or not.
So given the violent tales surrounding these swords,
were Muramasa blades really cursed
Or the stories about these weapons supposed evil thirst
for blood and hunger to commit murder
simply a consequence of their extreme popularity at the time?
I mean, quality Muramasa blade had been produced
for decades upon decades back then not just by one man
but in entire school of swordsmith he founded.
And because of their prevalence during that time,
they were used often by Japan's warrior class
and were wielded in many killings related to the shogun.
While this may indicate a very strong coincidence,
Muramasa's blades, even in modern times
continue to serve as a symbol of the superiors sword-making skills of the Japanese
to the point that they have been incorporated
in today's pop culture.
Magical and powerful weapons based on these legendary swords
can be found at various media's
from video games to Japanese anime
and even in the Marvel Universe.
So do I believe that these swords were cursed?
Absofreakinlutely!
Like I mentioned in past videos,
I do believe that the spirits of the 'creator'
can be passed on to the things that they create
or have a strong bond with.
That's why we have cursed dolls.
Especially something like a sword
that has such a connection with their creators.
And also it's an instrument of killing
So, not only is it connected to his creators,
it's also connected to its victims.
And I also think,
if the Battousai had a Muramasa blade, (bộ anime Himura Kenshin)
He would have been the 'Super Saiyan' Battousai .
But let me know what you guys think,
do you think this is just merely a blade,
there is nothing more.
Or do you think there is something to this curse.
Thank y'all so much for watching this video.
If you liked it, please hit that subscribe button
and also check out my previous video about the third eye.
If you haven't seen it, definitely give it a look,
I would really appreciate that.
Thank you guys again so much for watching.
I'll see you later.
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