Date Masamune Samurai 12-Inch Figure    $134  Expedited Shipping Available! E-mail service@strongblade.com or call 866-7SWORDS    Please select the model that you would like to purchase, Then click on the Add to Cart button. Hand-Made Date Masamune Samurai Figure   Model# SBD-DATEMASAMUNE  $134       Out of Stock   So, you think you’re pretty tough, do you? Well, try this one on for size: Date Masamune, as a child, contracted smallpox which infected his eye. So infected and agitated was the eye, that Masamune plucked it out of his own head. He reportedly killed his own brother in a power struggle and , When he grew older, he had thousands of his enemies – men and boys – slaughtered for what he saw as their treason. Even the most powerful man in Japan feared Date Masamune, who was known for the crescent-moon helmet crest that he wore in battle. Still think you’re tough? Masamune, who went by the name Tojirou, was feared for his military brilliance and his ruthless demeanor. Friends and foes called him dokuganryû, which means “One eyed-dragon” (which, incidentally, was the nickname most sorority girls had for me in high school, but for an entirely different reason). The name Date was the name of the region where Masamune’s family lived and his father Date Terumune ruled over. Masamune became one of the most powerful Daimyos in Japan during the 16th century, playing a pivotal role in one of the most famous battles in Japanese history, Sekigahara. But it didn’t start all rosy for ol’ dokuganryû. As mentioned, he developed smallpox as a child, which led to the loss of his eye (by his own hand no less). His status as a “one-eyed” child didn’t sit well with his mother. She didn’t even try to hide her disdain for him and constantly tormented him with the nickname “Popeye.” (Okay, I made the Popeye thing up). His mother reportedly favored her younger son to inherit her husband’s rule over Date, and Tojirou reportedly killed his brother to eliminate the threat. Masamune’s reputation was given a jump start when one of his family’s retainers, a man named Ouchi Sadatsuna, defected to another family. Masamune was furious over the insult and was rumored to have said “When I find that man, He’s truly going to be saying “Ouchi.” (that quote is disputed by all known Japanese historians, but I’m sticking to it). The Date clan went to war against the Ouchi for the insult, and eventually surrounded the Ouchi fortress of Otemori. When the Ouchi’s surrendered, Masamune punished them for their insolence by killing nearly 1,000 of the Ouchis and their supporters, young and old. The story of Masamune and his further exploits is one of the most colorful in Japanese history. It’s worth picking up a book or watching one of the many movies made about this heroic and brutal figure in the crescent helmet.

When Strongblade refers to a "Battle Sword," we are referring to most European medieval swords with blades longer than 35” or so. These type of swords included hand-and-a-half swords (sometimes refered to as Bastard Swords) and the big two-handed swords. Real battle swords had blades well in excess of this, and, in fact, a 35" sword was considered a bit skimpy for fighting skirmishes. But for home use and light sparring, a 36" blade is fairly long.