Sword of Totsuka

The Sword of Totsuka, also known as the, is a variant of the Sword of Kusanagi. It is sheathed in a sake jar; the blade is unlike any other ones. Instead of a physical, metallic form, the blade is actually the liquid inside the gourd that is released and shaped, rather than a conventional sword.

It is an ethereal weapon with an enchanted blade capable of sealing anything it pierces. Those who are stabbed by the sword are drawn into the jar and trapped in a genjutsu-like "world of drunken dreams" for all eternity; by extension, Itachi also managed to remove the Cursed Seal of Heaven from Sasuke by stabbing and removing Orochimaru from Sasuke's body. It can also cut through objects like a normal blade, thereby giving the wielder great versatility in his attacks. Being a variant of the Sword of Kusanagi, this sword can cut through almost anything, as seen when Itachi easily decapitated seven of Orochimaru's eight-headed snakes. Orochimaru sought the sword for all his life and Zetsu commented that he could never find it.

Along with the Yata Mirror, the Sword of Totsuka is a weapon wielded by Itachi's Susanoo, with the gourd being held by a third hand growing from its right forearm, while the actual blade is wielded by its right hand. Together, they were said to have made Itachi essentially invincible.

Influence

 * The is the sword used by Izanagi to kill his newborn son, Kagu-Tsuchi, after his birth burned his mother, Izanami, to death. From the blood of Kagu-Tsuchi, eight new Shinto gods were born.
 * The Totsuka Sword is the sword used by the god Susanoo to slay the eight-headed and eight-tailed snake, Yamata no Orochi, just like it was used by Itachi's Susanoo to defeat Orochimaru's.

Trivia

 * The sword has been popularly mistranslated as a "perfect counter to the Kusanagi".
 * In the manga, the sword appears as an ethereal blade composed of liquid, but in the anime, it has a fiery appearance.
 * Itachi's Susanoo carries the Sword of Totsuka in a gourd. An ethereal weapon inside a gourd could be a reference to the hyōtan-kozō, a gourd spirit from Japanese folklore. This may also be a reference to how Susanoo used sake to get the Yamata-no-Orochi drunk before killing it with the Totsuka no Tsurugi.
 * In the anime, the final form of Sasuke's Susanoo was erroneously depicted with a gourd in its secondary right hand.
 * Itachi's complete Susanoo was shown wielding a dagger in the manga, while in the anime it looked like the Sword of Totsuka complete with the gourd.
 * In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, the Sword of Totsuka is Itachi's ultimate technique, in which he manifests Susanoo and delivers a great slash with it.