北条氏綱が奉納した太刀
これら3本の刀と、その装飾を施した刀装具は祭祀用であり、戦いで使用されることはありませんでした。これらの刀は、長く続いた戦国時代に鎌倉周辺の領地を治めた戦国大名、北条氏綱（1487–1541）が鶴岡八幡宮に奉納したものです。この地方の権力基盤を固めた氏綱は、その力や信仰心に示すことを目指して、過去数十年間の戦いで大きな被害を受けた鶴岡八幡宮の再建を開始しました。
氏綱は、中世には鎌倉幕府の信仰の中心で、武家政権の象徴でもあった鶴岡八幡宮を津々浦々から職人や建材を集め改修しました。氏綱は、改修が終了する2年前の1538年に、中世の様式の太刀を3本、鍛刀させ、黒塗りの桐に金色の蒔絵を施した鞘とともこの神社に奉納しました。
Tachi Swords Donated by Hojo Ujitsuna
These three swords and their ornate mountings are entirely ceremonial and were never used in battle. The swords were donated to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu by Hojo Ujitsuna (1487–1541), a samurai leader who ruled the domains around Kamakura during a long period of civil war. Having consolidated power in the region and seeking to demonstrate that power to his rivals, Ujitsuna began to rebuild Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which had been heavily damaged in fighting during the preceding decades.
Ujitsuna brought in craftspeople and construction materials from far and wide, sparing no expense in renovating the shrine that in medieval times had been the spiritual center of the Kamakura shogunate and a symbol of samurai rule. In 1538, two years before the completion of the repairs, Ujitsuna had three medieval-style tachi longswords forged and dedicated to the shrine, along with matching black-lacquered paulownia scabbards with golden maki-e decorations.
