''For Masamune in the vanilla IVAN, see [[E-numa sa-am]].''  The ''ancient katana named Masamune '' is a unique [[List of items (CLIVAN)#Weapons|katana ]] with an [[illithium ]] blade and [[sapphire ]] hilt.<br>It has a moderate chance to deliver massive damage upon striking an enemy, prompting the message :  "Your Masamune's slash cuts the ''[<monster]>'' so deep you thought it was cut in half for a moment." 

Masamune is an ancient sword named after [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masamune Masamune] a legendary swordsmith widely considered to be the best in Japanese history. Masamune's blades had a reputation of superior beauty and quality not commonly found in an era where quality steel was a rarity. Legend tells of a competition between [[Muramasa]] and his master, Masamune to see who could produce the finest sword. <br> Variations of the tale exist but the general story remains the same - Muramasa and Masamune produce their masterpieces and test them by placing them in a river. Muramasa's sword slices anything it touches cleanly in half - including fish, leaves, and even the air blowing past it. Masamune's sword leaves everything in the river untouched, and fish even approach it out of curiosity - in some versions of the tale it even sews Muramasa's victims back together.<br> Depending on the tale, a third party intervenes to judge, ruling that Muramasa's sword - while of unquestionable quality - is evil and bloodthirsty, whereas Masamune's sword is holy and just for not causing unnecessary harm. However, Muramasa lived a full 300 years before Masamune, so it is impossible this encounter ever happened.