tosho Masamune's Tomb (?)

[Keichodo]

Hi Tom....

 

Thanks for bringing this to the attention of others ...... I didn't want to post it myself.....in the budo spirit of humility..... even though it would serve as powerful advertising...

 

Many, many hours go into the preparatory and planning stages....then a day in on-site planning for story continuity... and then the big day filming which lasted from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.   There were many retakes due to outside noise interference of general traffic and tourism in Kamakura.  Actually, we shot around two hours of content that was whittled down to fifteen minutes.  Lots of historical overview and some mistakes were edited out......and most of my humorous quips got a quick cutting test....... The final stage is the tedious editing done professionally by a talented professional in Kamakura, Mr. Oe who deserves credit for both his camera work and his editing skill.

 

I hope NMB folks enjoy this.... It took a lot of work....  Can we move it so it starts an original thread as the Soshu tradition it might get overlooked attached to the bottom of Guido's ego....I mean thread....?

 

Best,

 

Robert

[Greg F]

Thanks for sharing this Guido.

What a place to visit.

That Japanese maple is amazing in the second pic BTW.

[Jo92]

This is, indeed, the family Temple for Masamune and all his lineage since then.  This is my family, we have a direct line through the Yamamura family of swordmakers back to Masamune.

 

The photo shows Takeshi Yamamura Swordsmith 24th generation since Masamune.  He is the current swordmaker in Kamakura.  He showed us all the tombs of the entire family - all marked with the family mon of a round circle with two lines.  This depicts the full moon with two strands of cloud.

 

100% correct information about Masamune at Hongaku-ji Temple, Kamakura.

 

 

[Gakusee]

1 hour ago, Jo92 said:

This is, indeed, the family Temple for Masamune and all his lineage since then.  This is my family, we have a direct line through the Yamamura family of swordmakers back to Masamune.

 

The photo shows Takeshi Yamamura Swordsmith 24th generation since Masamune.  He is the current swordmaker in Kamakura.  He showed us all the tombs of the entire family - all marked with the family mon of a round circle with two lines.  This depicts the full moon with two strands of cloud.

 

100% correct information about Masamune at Hongaku-ji Temple, Kamakura.

 

 

Thank you, Jo. 

[Bazza]

It was a joy to re-read this thread.  Brian, how about a 'sticky' "In memory of a celebration" - or should that be "cerebration"!!

 

BaZZa.

[Toryu2020]

Jo

Are you part of the branch of the family established after the Great British Exhibition?

 

-t

[Jo92]

Yes, my grandfather was part of the The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 held in White City, London.  He is also buried with the family at Hongaku-ji Temple.

He is seen in the print below with his elder brother, they were demonstrating sword-making at the Japan-British Exhibition.

 

 

[Toryu2020]

Heard the story when I lived in Kamakura - very happy to know you all have reconnected with your cousins - very happy to see Yamamura Sensei hasn't changed...

 

-tch

[Jo92]

On 4/30/2021 at 10:33 AM, Guido said:

Today I drove down to Kamakura to visit my friend Robert Hughes (well, being one of those jaded, elitist nihontō pricks, I don’t have any real friends, but Bob is the next best thing). After some hearty lunch next to a beautifully maintained Japanese garden

 

 

we strolled to the Hongakuji Temple (本覚寺) of the Nichiren sect (日蓮宗).

 

 

Ashikaga Mochiuji (足利持氏) built, and then donated, this temple to the priest Nisshutsu (日出) on the site where Nichiren stayed at after returning from his exile to Sado (佐渡島); the temple houses some of the ashes of Nichiren.

 

A stone monument stands near the main temple in honor of Okazaki Gorō Masamune (岡崎五郎正宗). The story goes that when Okazaki Gorō, still a boy, came to Kamakura, Nichiren had already taken up residence in the Ebisudō (夷堂) Hall. Gorō 's father brought him to Nichiren to learn his teachings, and in return Nichiren gave the boy a new name, Masamune - which implies the rightness of the teachings of Nichiren himself.

 

 

Nearby is a prayer column dedicated to Masamune, dating from the Muromachi period

 

 

and finally there are the gravestones of Masamune and his son Sadamune; they date from the Nambokuchō period, and all inscriptions are eroded.

 

 

To be fair, there are (yet) no hard facts or documents to support all this, only circumstantial evidence. Further research is needed to corroborate all of this.

 

***

 

See, Bob, you censuring me for taking photos while you explained all this to me was totally uncalled for – I actually *can* multitask! Oh, and if I got something wrong, it’s only because you didn’t explain it correctly.

You are standing at the graves of all my Yamamura ancestors, including my grandfather.

 

[eternal_newbie]

@Jo92 Unfortunately, the person you are responding to is no longer with us (may he—along with your ancestors—rest in peace).

[Jo92]

Oh, that's sad.

Thanks for letting me know. 

[Toryu2020]

If you’re in Kamakura be sure to visit the Masamune forge…

 

https://www.sword-masamune.com/en/

[Keichodo]

Greetings everyone!

 

Please see the attachments for a sword I have that was made in 1993 by sword smith Yamamura Takeshi (Soushu Tsunahiro: 24th generation Masamune). 

 

Sadly, Yamamura Tsunahiro passed away on Dec. 9 in 2023 at the age of 80.

 

Best Regards,

Robert