Seven-Branched Sword

The  is a famous sword used in ceremonies that was probably a gift from the king of Paekche to a Yamato ruler. The _Nihon Shoki_ talks about it in the chapter on Empress Jingū. 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  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.

## Description in Nihon Shoki

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."

## Writing on the sword

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

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.
- _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**.

## Related pages

- History of Japan

## Infobox (chinese)

- **title**: Seven-Branched Sword
- **pic**: Chiljido.jpg
- **piccap**: Replica of the Seven-Branched Sword at the  in Seoul, South Korea.
- **kanji**: 七支刀 or 七枝刀
- **hepburn**: shichishitō _or_ nanatsusaya no tachi
- **hangul**: 칠지도
- **hanja**: 七支刀
- **rr**: chiljido
- **mr**: ch'ilchido