Seven-Branched Sword

The Seven-Branched Sword (Japanese: 七支刀, Hepburn: Shichishitō) is a famous sword used in ceremonies that was probably a gift from the king of Paekche to a Yamato ruler.^[1] The Nihon Shoki talks about it in the chapter on Empress Jingū.^[2][3] It is 74.9 cm (29.5 in) long. It is made of Iron. It has six branch-like protrusions along the central blade. The original sword has been kept in Isonokami Jingū in Nara Prefecture for over a thousand years, Japan and is not on public display. Writing on the side of the blade is an important source for understanding the relationships between kingdoms of the Korean peninsula and Japan in that period.

The sword is mentioned in the biography of Empress Jingū in the Nihon Shoki. The following is the original Classical Chinese text;

則獻七枝刀一口 七子鏡一面及種種重寶 仍啟曰 臣國以西有水 源出自谷那鐵山 其邈七日行之不及 當飲是水 便取是山鐵以永奉聖朝^[3]

In English;

:(52nd year, Autumn, 9th month 10th day. Kutyo and others came along with Chikuma Nagahiko) and presented a seven-branched sword and a seven-little-one-mirror, with various other objects of great value. They addressed the Empress, saying :-"West of thy servants' country there is a river-source which issues from Mount Cholsan in Gong-na. It is distant seven days' journey. It need not be approached, but one should drink of this water, and so having gotten the iron of this mountain, wait upon the sage Court for all ages."^[3]

This is the writing on the sword

First Side: 泰■四年十(一)月十六日丙午正陽造百錬(銕)七支刀(出)辟百兵宜供供候王■■■■ (作 or 祥) Second Side: 先世以來未有此刀百濟王世(子)奇生聖音故爲倭王旨造傳示後世

Characters in brackets are ambiguous. Characters represented with black blocks are entirely unreadable. In English:

First Side: "At noon on the sixteenth day of the eleventh [fifth] month, fourth year of Tai■, the sword was made of 100 times hardened steel. Using the sword repels 100 enemy soldiers [Appropriate for the polite duke lord] It is given [bestowed] to the duke lord. (Manufactured by or good fortune to...) [ ]" Second Side: "Never before has there been such a blade. The crown prince of the king of Paekche, who lives under august sounds, had this sword made for King of Wa in the hope that it might be passed on to later generations."

In popular media, the seven-branched sword has appeared in:

• Demon Sword, the protagonist eventually wields an unnamed sword that resembles the seven-branched sword.^[4]
• SaGa Frontier, the final boss of Blue's story is depicted as wielding a Seven Branched Sword in its humanoid form.
• Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, the final villain Lord Mei-Oh wields the Shichishito, a seven-branched sword.
• Soul Eater, in chapter 108 of Soul Eater manga, Black Star's 3 sworded Oni attack resembles to Seven-Branched Sword.
• Kirby. Meta Knight has a sword with seven branches. This sword is named Galaxia.
• Fire Emblem series:
  • In Fire Emblem Awakening, a sword named Amatsu found in the game resembles the Seven-Branched Sword.
  • In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, a Heroes' Relic weapon called Thunderbrand is wielded by the character Catherine. The Sword strongly resembles The Seven-Branched Sword.
• Ninja Gaiden (2004 reboot), whose plot revolves around the theft of the Dark Dragon Blade, a stylised version of the seven-branched sword.
• Bleach as Hinamori Momo's Zanpakutō, Tobiume, has taken the form of the double-edged blade with three of these prongs.
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as a handheld wooden heirloom used by Tanjiro when dancing the Kamado family's traditional Hinokami Kagura dance.
• Ōkami as one of the glaives wielded by Amaterasu, the Seven Strike sword. The Ninetails also has the Ninestrike sword similarly based on the seven-branched sword but with nine prongs.
• Final Fantasy where it has appeared in several games as the Nanatsuyanotachi.
• Samurai Warriors as the type of weapon wielded by Kenshin Uesugi.
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as the sword wielded by the Divine Dragon.
• Elden Ring as a spear greatly resembling the Seven-Branced Sword called the Death Ritual Spear.
• Monster Hunter series as a Greatsword crafted from electric monster Kirin, King Thundersword.
• Magi as the Rampaging Unicorn horn wielded by Hinahoho. It is not a sword and being double-ended has two additional prongs on the handle end.
• Nioh 2 as a magic-imbued sword named Sohayamaru passed down across generations. The sword is central to the narrative and is used to slay Yokai, particularly Kashin Koji / Ōtakemaru, one of the 3 Great Demons of Japan. Later used as a conduit for time travel, to which the player is momentarily transported to the Heian Era, to meet previous holders of the blade.
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations features a sword named Shichishito, which is presented as evidence in a murder case.
• Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko has depicted the god Susano-o wielding the seven-branched sword in multiple games.
• Persona 5, while not the same shape, Yusuke Kitagawa's Persona, Kamu Susano-o, wields a sword of the same name.
• Higurashi When They Cry, the sword appears as Onigari-no-Ryuou in Matsuribayashi-hen, though the number of branches is inconsistent.
• Record of Ragnarok, Buddha wields the Great Nirvana Sword - Zero that greatly resembles the seven-branched sword, gained from the power of a god he was formerly fighting.
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, appears as a present called Seven Sword.
• Guild Wars 2, in Super Adventure Box Tribulation Mode, it is wielded by the Tribulation Cloud. A version done in the game's visual style was also added as a skin in the game's microtransaction store.
• Dark Cloud and its sequel Dark Chronicle, used as a weapon for Toan in Dark Cloud, and for Monica Raybrandt in Dark Chronicle.
• Magia Record, wielded by Shizuka Tokime, one of the major magical girls of Arc 2 in the main story.
• Lies of P as what is essentially a steampunk version, named the Seven-Coil Spring Sword.

• History of Japan

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