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to those made before the 8th year of the period Keichô, or 1603 A.D., while all those manufactured after the same date are included under the heading of “new sword.”
Saburôdaiyu, in his preface to the “Reference as to New Swords,” gives a short sketch of the Japanese legends regarding the history of the weapon; and though his allusions, in connection with his subject, to the mythology of his country may perhaps provoke a smile, still they are worthy of note as being the words of an author who is generally held to be a high authority on the matter of which he treats. The translation of this sketch reads as follows:—
“If we search out in by-gone days the origin of the sword, we find that our country excelled barbarian localities in regard to metal. In the olden times of the Divine period, when Izanagi and Izanami no Mikoto, standing upon the floating bridge of Heaven, thrust down their glittering blade and probed the blue ocean, the drops from its point congealed and hardened and became an island, after which the deities created several other islands. These eventually became a large country composed of eight islands, and amongst the many names of this country—they styled it too the Land of ‘many blades.’ In its early days, there existed the Divine Swords Tô-nigiri and Ya-nigiri. Then, too, when Sosanoö no Mikoto smote the eight-clawed Great Dragon, and struck him on the tail, the sword of the deity became slightly nicked, and from the inside of the tail he drew out a single blade. ‘This,’ said he, ‘is a marvellous sword,’ and he caused it to be presented to Tenshô Daijin. This was styled the ‘Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven,’ and also the ‘Grass-mowing Sword.’ Should not this be said to be the commencement of fixing the dates of swords? That ‘Sword of the Clustering Clouds’ was made one of the ‘Three Divine precious things,’ (i.e. the Seal, Sword and Mirror held by the Mikados),—“it has had no equal in this country, and, being the gigantic weapon that watches over it, is a thing of great dread even to speak
