Candlestick-slasher Shokudaikiri Mitsutada and Ookurikara are famously known as the swords of Date Masamune(1567-1636), the most prominent samurai lord of the Date family during the Sengoku warring states period due to his ambitious ventures over power and territories with the two Unifiers of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Date family relocated to the fertile Sendai Domain(仙台) and developed the region as their base during Masamune’s leadership(1604), thus they are also known as the Sendai Date family. Both Mitsutada and Ookurikara talk about the other sword belonging to Masamune, Taikogane Sadamune(太鼓鐘貞宗) who has yet to be implemented in-game. Taikogane is a tantou without inscription(無銘刀) and bears the blessings of Buddhist carvings just like Ookurikara.

However, after Mitsutada’s retirement from Masamune’s service, he was given to Mito branch of the ruling Tokugawa family during the Edo shogunate. Ookurikara and Taikogane were left behind in the Date family until sometime during 1716~1736 when Tsurumaru Kuninaga came to join them after being taken away from the shrine where he used to reside. As the Meiji Emperor visited the Sendai Domain during 1901, Tsurumaru parted with them as well when the Date family presented him to the Emperor and he continued to be part of the Imperial Collection till today.



Mitsutada who stayed in the Tokugawa Mito family, however, was most likely destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantou earthquake which hit the Mito Domain(modern Ibaraki Prefecture). While both Ookurikara and Taikogane belong to private collection now.

Estimated timeline of birth-

Tsurumaru(11th century) – Mitsutada(13th century)– Taikogane and Ookurika(14th century)

