The Mugenjin (
Design[]
Mugenjin's hidden properties revealed
Made for the goal of creating a new kind of blade that staves off the inevitable coming of wear and tear, the Mugenjin has several unique properties to allow it to kill without losing its edge or otherwise stagnating. Its self-sharpening edge is berthed to it by having a sizable portion of the blade chipped away in a regular, serrated pattern, which allows it to lose none of its feel regardless of the number of men it slays. In addition, while most swords would rust and dull from continued exposure to human blood and oils, the Mugenjin appears to suffer none of these consequences, and instead the fat it has absorbed during the many years it was used allowed it to ignite itself and catch fire when friction was applied (Whether Shakku meant for this sword to have such properties is unknown). This gave Shishio the ability to use fire-oriented techniques such as the Homura Dama and Kaguzuchi, as well as use gunpowder to incapacitate his enemies at point-blank by lighting his gloves on fire.
As with Shakku's later blades, it is extremely durable despite its thinness, being able to withstand a direct hit from the first strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki when Shishio blocked it.
History[]
After the sword was created, Shishio manages to obtain it. Shishio had used Mugenjin through the years and manages to create three techniques with the sword. When Shishio was defeated by Kenshin, Mugenjin was grabbed by Ashitaro (who burried it after he got to Tokyo).
In the Hokkaidō Arc, the sword is now in the possession of Hasegawa Ashitarō, a former errand boy of the Juppongatana and currently a student of the Kamiya dojo. Ashitaro had used the sword to defend himself while he was attacked by Sako at Akabeko. Ashitaro had used one of Shishio's moves against Kenshin, when Kenshin tries to stop him. Days later, Ashitaro used Mugenjin to cause multiple explosion at the Kenkaku Heiki's Otaru base.
In Shin Kyoto Hen, the sword finds its way jammed into Kenshin's right shoulder, and extracted by Arai Seikū to be the new holy sword of the Hakusan Shrine.
User[]
Trivia[]
- This sword most likely symbolizes Shishio's belief of the weak being food for the strong as the sword gets stronger with each human it kills.
- Much like the Sakabato, a real life version of the Mugenjin was created, made by Fujiwara Kanefusa in 2023 for a Rurouni Kenshin swordmaking exhibit in Seki, Gifu Province, near Kyoto. The blade itself is created to specifications of a shinto katana, and much like its successor, uses rare specifications and features that are not normally made as to its era; the blade is serrated as to canon, sparkles vibrantly with nie and nioi on its surface, which indicates greater cutting ability of the sword, bears a billowing toranba hamon that caps with a kaen boshi, made to capture the blade's affinity with flames and fire, while its kissaki or tip is elongated to an o-kissaki size, which while is said to be both dangerous to its user as drawing the blade with such a tip demands greater memory on its wielder to not underscore the draw and accidentally cut their sheathes and fingers and the elongated tip makes it more fragile to cut against hard objects such as armor, such size is also said to be much more vicious against bare skin and clothes, highlighting Shishio's menacing, deathdefying and dominant personality.