Types of Swords in One Piece: A Guide to Meito, Sword Grades, Black Blades, and Cursed Swords

 

In One Piece, swords are much more than ordinary weapons. Some blades are famous for their craftsmanship, others have legendary histories, and a few are known for mysterious curses or their ability to become Black Blades.

The most important classification is the Meito sword-ranking system. These famous blades are divided into several grades, with the 12 Supreme Grade Blades at the very top.

What Is a Meito?

Meito (名刀) can be translated as a famous or renowned blade. In the One Piece world, famous blades can have different levels of quality, with the best-known ranking system consisting of four grades.

From highest to lowest, they are:

Rank	Japanese Name	Number
Supreme Grade	Saijō Ō Wazamono	12
Great Grade	Ō Wazamono	21
Skillful Grade	Ryō Wazamono	50
Grade	Wazamono	Unknown

Below these are ordinary, ungraded weapons that do not belong to the famous-blade ranking system.

1. Supreme Grade Swords

The Supreme Grade is the highest known rank for blades in One Piece. There are 12 of them, making this category extremely rare.

Several Supreme Grade weapons have been revealed, including:

• Yoru — Dracule Mihawk
• Shodai Kitetsu — Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro
• Murakumogiri — Edward Newgate (Whitebeard)
• Ace — Gol D. Roger
• Yakuza Kasen — Issho (Fujitora)

Interestingly, not every Supreme Grade weapon is technically a conventional sword. Murakumogiri, for example, is a massive naginata, while Fujitora's Yakuza Kasen is a shikomizue, or cane sword.

Yoru

Yoru is Mihawk's enormous black sword and one of the most famous weapons in the series. It is both a Supreme Grade Blade and a confirmed Black Blade.

Mihawk's status as the world's strongest swordsman makes Yoru one of the most iconic swords in One Piece.

2. Great Grade Swords

The second-highest rank is Great Grade (Ō Wazamono). There are 21 blades in this category.

Some famous examples include:

• Wado Ichimonji — Roronoa Zoro
• Enma — Roronoa Zoro
• Shusui — Ryuma
• Nidai Kitetsu — Tenguyama Hitetsu
• Ame no Habakiri — formerly Kozuki Oden

Enma

Enma is particularly famous because it was once wielded by Kozuki Oden and later passed to Zoro.

It is a Great Grade blade and is considered extremely difficult to control because it draws out an unusually large amount of Haki from its wielder.

Shusui

Shusui was the legendary Black Blade wielded by Ryuma and was considered a national treasure of Wano.

Although it is a Great Grade blade rather than a Supreme Grade blade, its status as a permanent Black Blade gives it extraordinary prestige.

3. Skillful Grade Swords

The third category is Skillful Grade (Ryō Wazamono).

There are 50 blades assigned to this rank. They are exceptionally high-quality weapons, although they rank below the Great and Supreme categories.

One famous example is Sandai Kitetsu, one of Zoro's current swords.

Other known Skillful Grade blades include:

• Yubashiri
• Kashu
• Yamaoroshi

Yubashiri is particularly memorable because it was eventually destroyed during the Enies Lobby storyline.

4. Grade Swords

The fourth and lowest category of famous graded blades is simply called Grade (Wazamono).

Unlike the other three categories, the total number of Wazamono blades is unknown. They are still high-quality weapons, but they rank below the Skillful, Great, and Supreme classes.

Sandai Kitetsu is a notable example.

Despite its lower rank, the sword is highly dangerous because it belongs to the mysterious Kitetsu family of cursed blades.

Cursed Swords: The Mysterious Kitetsu Family

Some One Piece swords are famous not because of their grade, but because they are considered cursed swords.

The best-known example is the Kitetsu family:

Shodai Kitetsu — Supreme Grade
Nidai Kitetsu — Great Grade
Sandai Kitetsu — Grade

The Kitetsu swords are said to carry a curse that brings death to their wielders. Zoro, however, famously challenged the curse of Sandai Kitetsu and survived.

The three generations also demonstrate an interesting pattern: the older Kitetsu blades have higher grades than their successors.

Black Blades: Kokuto

Another special category is the Black Blade, or Kokutō.

A Black Blade is not simply a sword that has been painted black. In the One Piece story, a blade can permanently become black after countless battles, with Haki apparently playing an important role in the process. The exact requirements for permanently forging a Black Blade remain a mystery.

So far, two confirmed permanent Black Blades are:

Yoru — Supreme Grade
Shusui — Great Grade

The Wano arc also strongly suggests that Enma could potentially become a Black Blade in Zoro's hands, although the exact process remains unrevealed.

Not Every Famous Sword Has a Confirmed Grade

One important detail is that One Piece has several famous weapons whose official grades remain unknown.

A good example is Gryphon, the saber carried by Shanks.

Gryphon has clashed with enormously powerful weapons such as Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, but its official grade has not been confirmed.

This means fans should be careful when ranking swords based only on the strength of their owners.

A sword's grade is not necessarily a direct ranking of its user's power.

Why Sword Grade Matters

Sword grade represents the quality and prestige of the weapon, but the wielder remains extremely important.

Zoro is a perfect example. He uses three different blades of different grades, yet his fighting ability comes from his own swordsmanship, Haki, physical strength, and ability to control his weapons.

The same principle applies to legendary swords such as Yoru, Ace, and Murakumogiri. Their extraordinary reputation is amplified by the powerful warriors who wielded them.

Final Thoughts

The sword system in One Piece adds another layer to the series' enormous world-building. The hierarchy starts with ordinary weapons and rises through Wazamono, Ryō Wazamono, Ō Wazamono, and finally Saijō Ō Wazamono.

Beyond their grades, some blades have additional characteristics that make them special, such as the cursed Kitetsu swords or permanent Black Blades like Yoru and Shusui.

For fans, this makes every famous sword worth watching. A seemingly simple blade may turn out to be one of the world's legendary weapons.

And with swords such as Yoru, Enma, Wado Ichimonji, Shusui, Ace, and the Kitetsu series, the One Piece universe has created one of the most interesting weapon systems in anime and manga.

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