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MuramasaThe Muramasa school of sword-making at Ise province was famous for the extraordinary sharpness of their blades. Muramasa fell out of favor with the Japanese government when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun, establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate, in 1603. It is said that Ieyasu had lost many friends and relatives to Muramasa blades and had cut himself badly with one. So he forbade his samurai to wear the blades. This contributed even more to the Muramasa legend and led to many plays and dramas in Japanese literature featuring the blades. According to legend, a Muramasa sword could cut a leaf flowing down a stream when held in the stream in the leaf's path. It has also been told that once drawn, a Muramasa blade has to draw blood before it can be returned to its scabbard. The swords of Muramasa are often contrasted with those of Masamune, another Japanese sword-smith. The Japanese electronics maker Sharp uses the name Muramasa for a line of their notebook computers, which is an obvious allusion to their company name and probably also to the sharpness of their displays.
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