北条氏綱が奉納した太刀
これら3本の太刀と、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、その力や信仰心を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に着手しました。氏綱は、武家政権を象徴し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、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にこの神社に奉納しました。
Tachi Swords Donated by Hojo Ujitsuna
These three tachi longswords 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 the rebuilding of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which had been heavily damaged in fighting during the preceding decades. He brought in craftspeople and construction materials from far and wide and spared no expense in renovating the shrine that symbolized samurai rule. In 1538, two years before the completion of the repairs, Ujitsuna had three swords forged and dedicated to the shrine, along with matching black-lacquered paulownia scabbards with golden maki-e decorations.
