| Some scholars, however, suggest that the name Jiganemaru, or Teganemaru, refers not to a sword from Miyako, but rather to a sword also known as '''Tsukushi-chara'', from [[Kyushu]] (aka Tsukushi, or Chikushi). This sword is closely associated not only with the royal court at Shuri, but also with the lords of [[Ozato gusuku|Shimasoe Ôzato gusuku]] in southern Okinawa.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 99.</ref> Like another prominent royal sword, [[Chiyoganemaru]], the blade indeed appears identical in style and manufacture to those made in Japan, albeit with fittings (hilt, etc.) atypical of Japanese use. It's believed that most arms and armor used in pre-modern and early modern Ryûkyû was in fact made in Japan. None of this precludes the possibility, of course, that the Japanese-made sword passed through Nakasone's hands before making its way to Okinawa, if it is indeed the same blade as mentioned in the Nakasone legends. | | Some scholars, however, suggest that the name Jiganemaru, or Teganemaru, refers not to a sword from Miyako, but rather to a sword also known as '''Tsukushi-chara'', from [[Kyushu]] (aka Tsukushi, or Chikushi). This sword is closely associated not only with the royal court at Shuri, but also with the lords of [[Ozato gusuku|Shimasoe Ôzato gusuku]] in southern Okinawa.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 99.</ref> Like another prominent royal sword, [[Chiyoganemaru]], the blade indeed appears identical in style and manufacture to those made in Japan, albeit with fittings (hilt, etc.) atypical of Japanese use. It's believed that most arms and armor used in pre-modern and early modern Ryûkyû was in fact made in Japan. None of this precludes the possibility, of course, that the Japanese-made sword passed through Nakasone's hands before making its way to Okinawa, if it is indeed the same blade as mentioned in the Nakasone legends. |
| + | The sword was formally appraised (''kantei'') in [[1909]]; from records associated with this appraisal, it is clear that the sword was already held in the collections of the Shô family's Tokyo residence by that time.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明, "Shôke no takaramono ni tsuite" 「尚家の宝物について」, ''RYUKYU'' exhibition catalog, Tokyo National Museum (2022), 437-438.</ref> |