The Masamune Katana
The preferred weapon of Immortal Connor MacLeod, the ivory-handled Masamune katana is a weapon like no other. It was forged in 593 B.C. by the legendary master sword smith, Masamune, for Immortal Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez, as a dowry for his marriage to Princess Shakiko. Using revolutionary techniques which would not become common until the 14th century A.D., Masamune folded the metal in the blade over two hundred times, creating the katana's famous razor-sharp edge. Ramírez would keep the weapon until his dying day.
After Ramírez's death, his student, Connor, claimed the weapon for his own. He exercised great care with it, leaving his own mark by etching inspirational writings upon its blade: one, in particular, preached focus on the present, using the ancient Sanskrit phrase: "I cannot cross another river," according to the novelization. In this version, Ramírez had also etched his own inscription as well: "No one lives forever" written in Japanese characters, expressing his own sense of ironic humor.
Connor nearly lost his prized weapon twice in his lifetime: the first was when he fought his old adversary, the Kurgan, aboard the H.M.S. Victory under the command of Admiral Nelson. Kurgan was able to keep Connor's sword for over a century until the gypsy woman, Stasya, stole it as he slept. Connor retrieved the weapon centuries afterward from Masamune's ruthless Immortal son, Ren, (Highlander: Way of the Sword) when the Immortal, Kane, shattered the katana's blade during a duel on holy ground, forcing Connor to consider abandoning the weapon. Connor was able to reforge the katana with the assistance of Alex Johnson.
Details and Characteristics:[]
Highlander 1986 Prop Sword.
The design of the prop from Highlander (1986) is derived from a vintage 1960's Marto Ivory Katana which is alleged to have been intended for use in the film, You Only Live Twice. The open-mouth dragon head and coiling tail was sculpted onto a modified casting of the reference Marto sword. The finished handle is 11.5 inches in length and represents a tsuka made of Ivory. The artwork consists of six panels engraved in relief. Four feature figures engraved, portraying peaceful scenes of everyday Japanese life. The borders of the handle are in the style of Japanese sword furniture, with faux semegane and kozuka separating the panels. The bottom two panels feature a paired Japanese dragon and tiger. The 9cm tsuba guard is a minimalist interpretation of a "Hidden Christian" or Kirishitan theme, with bamboo representing a cross, surrounded by wild geese elements. A brass screw located towards the neck of the dragon reinforces the sword. The blade, the metal supposedly having been folded over 200 times, is surgically sharp and contains no fuller.
Originally, Ramírez wore the katana frogged to his belt with a crimson saya with gold furniture. In Connor's apartment, and in cut scenes, he is seen keeping the sword in this same saya.
The 1986 film novelization refers to the ivory-handled katana as a very well balanced sword with a diamond hard blade; along with its mention of the Sanskrit inscription, it also describes the blade as "wakizashi-length."
Miscellaneous[]
- The ivory-handled katana used in the 1986 film was originally based off of Marto of Spain's Ivory Katana. Feeling that its overall appearance was somewhat lacking, the film's production crew refitted the sword to be much more dynamic onscreen. Here, a Chinese dragon head with a partial winding tail was sculpted to the bottom of the handle, as well as an custom designed hand guard replacing Marto's. The entire hilt was painted white to blend in together, and held together with a brass screw towards the pommel. The Marto katana's fuchi was also removed along with its hilt portion to make room for the thicker customized guard.
Highlander 2 Prop Katana
- Although the ivory-handled katana is the featured weapon of the Highlander movie series, its hilt and fittings have notable changes throughout each of the different movies. In Highlander 2 (1991), The resin prop hilt was carved down and sanded to look older in appearance. The tsuba was redesigned to reflect the aging of the material.
Highlander 3 Prop Katana
- In Highlander 3 (1991) knife maker, Jose de Braga was contracted to make the hero swords. He began with the Highlander 2 prop, and refined the head and scales. and added a simple fuchi (collar). The tsuba was reinterpreted by Jose De Braga to have a more refined look and the same basic layout as the first film, however, the prop master at Bapty's made a crude drawing of the guard in their inventory, and the film's props department moved ahead with this erroneous design before De Braga came onto the project.
Marto Connor (Endgame)
- In Highlander Endgame, the Marto retail product is used as the Masamune. The belief that the sword was given an unusual black habaki (blade collar) in "Highlander: Endgame", was actually due to the black plastic koiguchi in the sayaa coming loose as Marto sheaths are made of metal and have a rubber insert to keep the blade from rubbing against the wall of the scabbard.
Errors[]
- At the end of the 1986 film, Connor drops the katana as he receives the Kurgan's Quickening and The Prize. As the sword hits the ground, the dragon's head noticeably breaks off the hilt and skitters away.
- According to dialogue in an early episode of Highlander: The Series, Free Fall, it was implied that Duncan MacLeod's dragonhead katana was the original ivory-handled katana, having been passed on to him by Connor, however, this was later altered in the third season's, "The Samurai," and the two individual swords were seen together as separate weapons in Highlander: Endgame. In The Samurai, it was stated that Duncan's dragonhead katana was forged not by Masamune, but by Masahiro.