The Sword of the 'World-Reforming Great Deity' Used in the Stabbing Incident of Junior Councilor Tanuma Okitomo

When it comes to stabbing incidents that occurred within Edo Castle,
the most famous is the one in the Pine Corridor where Asano Takumi-no-Kami of Chushingura fame slashed at Kira Kozuke-no-Suke.
However, in reality, stabbing incidents occurred quite frequently beyond that one.
I was once consulted about a sword that was used in one of those incidents.

The sword that slashed Junior Councilor Tanuma Okitomo

It was over a decade ago.
I was consulted by someone I met through work (let's call him Mr. A),"This is a private matter, but..."with that preamble.

Mr. A apparently has a sword in his home that has been passed down from his ancestors. I heard that it was not something that had been there for a long time, but rather something he was entrusted with that had been at his wife's parents' home or a relative's house.

"Actually, someone died by this sword."

After saying that, Mr. A abruptly asked,"Do you know of Tanuma Okitomo?"I replied, "Of course, I am familiar with the name."

In the mid-Edo period,Shogunate Senior Councilor Tanuma Okitsuguis a famous figure who even appears in high school textbooks.

Under the 10th Tokugawa Shogun Ieharu, he worked on the shogunate's fiscal reconstruction, adopted mercantilist policies to revitalize the economy, and because of those results, there is even a term called the"Tanuma Era."

On the other hand,because bribery was rampant,criticism of Tanuma grew. That Tanuma's son is Okitomo. He was promoted at a young age toJunior Councilor(a high-ranking position second only to Senior Councilor) and supported his father, the Senior Councilor Okitsugu, as a high-ranking shogunate official.

Then, on March 24, 1784 (the 4th year of Tenmei), Okitomo was suddenlyslashed with a short sword by the hatamoto Sano Masakotoinside Edo Castle, and died eight days later. He was 36 years old. With his son's stabbing incident as a turning point, the power of his father, Tanuma Okitsugu, also began to wane.

When I asked, "Then, that sword is...", Mr. A replied,"Yes, it is Sano Masakoto's sword."

"You should remember this": What was Masakoto's anger?

Sano Zen-zaemon Masakotowas a hereditary hatamoto since the Mikawa era, with a 500-koku stipend. His residence was in Sanbancho, Chiyoda Ward, where Otsuma Women's University stands today. Masakoto was 28 years old at the time.

There are several theories regarding his motive for slashing Okitomo, such as that Okitomoborrowed the Sano family genealogyto falsify the Tanuma family's ancestry but did not try to return it, that a Tanuma retainerusurped a shrine within the Sano family's territory and arbitrarily changed its name to Tanuma Daimyojin,or that he wasinstigated by Matsudaira Sadanobu,who was a rival of Tanuma Okitsugu.

In my personal impression, the first and second theories are weak as motives for a stabbing, and it feels more persuasive that the seasoned Matsudaira Sadanobu was behind it.

If you draw a sword in the palace (inside Edo Castle), you must be prepared forseppuku and the forfeiture of your family's status.It means that Masakoto could not help but strike Okitomo even at the cost of such sacrifices.

It is said that when Masakoto slashed at Okitomo, he shouted"You should remember this"three times, so he must have been harboring considerable anger and resentment. For Sano, there might have been some event that made him feel his honor had been tarnished.

In any case, it is believed that Masakoto's stabbing arose from private anger toward Okitomo. The shogunate deemed Masakoto insane and ordered his seppuku and the forfeiture of the Sano family's status.

However, the public did not see it that way; they cheered for him having slashed Tanuma, who allowed bribery to run rampant, and praised Masakoto as the"World-Reforming Great Deity."The fact that the price of rice, which had been soaring, fell immediately after this incident was also said to be thanks to Masakoto.

Incidentally, besides Sano Masakoto's stabbing incident, including Asano Takumi-no-Kami's Pine Corridor incident, stabbing incidents within Edo Castle have occurred a total of nine times.

Could I have someone look after this somewhere?

According to Matsura Seizan's 'Kasshi Yawa' (Evening Tales of the Year of the Rat), the sword of Masakoto is described as 'a wakizashi measuring two shaku and one sun, by Awataguchi Ikkanshi Tadatsuna.' it says.

Ikkanshi Tadatsuna was a swordsmith from Settsu (modern-day Osaka Prefecture) during the Genroku era of the Edo period. His father went by the name Omi no Kami Tadatsuna, and Ikkanshi was the second-generation Omi no Kami Tadatsuna.

Although it was an expensive sword even during the Edo period, it is said that the popularity of Ikkanshi's wakizashi increased after the Sano Masakoto incident. Furthermore, there are existing examples that have been designated as Important Cultural Properties or other cultural assets.

Now, let's return to A's story.

For A, there was a resistance to keeping a sword that had killed a person close at hand, and the question was whether it could be entrusted to someone somewhere.

First, I suggested that if one considers keeping the sword safely, depositing it in a museum is the best option. If it were the sword from the historically famous Sano Masakoto incident, there would surely be many museums willing to accept it.

However, since A's expression was not quite convinced, I also made another suggestion.

'Another way is to entrust it to a temple, such as a family temple, as a form of memorial service.'

Honestly, this is a matter of personal feeling. Since there are people who collect swords and spears used in actual combat, whether or not one should hold a memorial service for a sword that has tasted human blood depends on the owner's own way of thinking.

However, in my mother's family, they entrust the military sword used by my great-uncle to a temple.

That military sword had also killed a person. And when it was kept in the alcove of the house, bad things happened frequently, so they had a temple take care of it. Having heard such stories from my mother, I suggested it to A.

After that, I did not hear what A did with Sano Masakoto's sword. Also, I never got to confirm whether that sword was truly an Awataguchi Ikkanshi Tadatsuna.

If it had been an Ikkanshi Tadatsuna, I think now that I would have liked to see the real thing at least once.

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