Every high quality blade we know in one piece

Meito, alternatively known as Legendary Swords, Famed Blades and similar monikers, are, as each name suggests, specially made blades of superior renown. Blade connoisseurs will be able to recognize them instantly and they tend to command high prices as well as superior individuals. Meito are given individual “grades” based on their strength and quality.

High Grade Blades are the second highest grade blades, resting just below the 12 Supreme Blades. There are only 21 of these Meitos in existence. The five currently known to the public hail from the Land of Wano, known for its superior craftsmen, and are currently in the possession of those with ties to the area. This list will document every currently known high grade blade.

6 Wado Ichimonji

One of Zoro's Blades

• Current Owner: Roronoa Zoro
• Creator: Shimotsuki Kouzaburou

Wado Ichimonji is a katana that has been owned by Zoro since his efforts to become the strongest swordsman in the world. It was previously wielded by his friend and training partner, Shimotsuki Kuina. Wado Ichimonji was created by her grandfather, Kouzaburou, who brought it with him from Wano. Settling in East Blue, he helped found the eponymous village of Shimotsuki. Kouzaburou's legacy would later be used by both his son, Koushirou, and his niece, Kuina.

Kuina and Zoro were Koushirou's best students, developing a close friendship and rivalry as a result. In a serious fight, Kuina used Wado Ichimonji and defeated Zoro with it. However, she celebrated little as Koushirou's sexist beliefs that women could not be as skilled with the sword concerned her, especially as she was approaching puberty. Zoro assured her that skill and determination were the only things that really mattered, and the two friends swore to each other that one of them would become the strongest swordsman in the world.

After her sudden death at the age of eleven, Zoro asked for the sword so he could fulfill his promise to Kuina. Koushirou allowed this and stayed with the swordsman ever since. In a way, it is still technically a Shimotsuki heritage, as Zoro's paternal grandmother, Furiko, was also a Shimotsuki. Wado Ichimonji is remarkable enough that Tashigi was offended that a mere pirate claimed ownership of it.

5 I have no Habakiri

One of Oden's Blades

• Current owner: Kozuki Momonosuke (provisionally)
• Creator: Kozuki Sukiyaki

The Ame no Habakiri was one of Kozuki Oden's signature swords, used in his own variation of the two-sword style. The blade has a heavenly color scheme of white and gold. It shares its name with the legendary Japanese katana used by the Shinto god Susanoo to slay the eight-headed serpent, Yamata No Orochi. This distinction is likely because it was previously one of only a few weapons that affected Kaido in his dragon form.

This sword was especially forged by Kozuki Sukiyaki, Oden's father, who is a master craftsman. After his son's death, Sukiyaki somehow managed to retrieve Ame no Habakiri. Although Sukiyaki wants Momonosuke to wield his legacy, he still does not consider himself worthy to wield his father's sword.

4 Enem

A demonic Meito

• Current Owner: Roronoa Zoro
• Creator: Shimotsuki Kouzaburou

The Enma was Oden's other signature sword, being somewhat of a demonic counterpart to the more celestial Ame no Habakiri, with a dark purple and red color scheme. Like Wado Ichimonji, it was previously created by Kouzaburou, and is currently owned by his distant relative Zoro. Kouzaburou believed that Enma was superior to even Wado Ichimonji.

While he inherited Ame no Habakiri, supposedly Momonosuke's birthright, Enma belonged to his younger sister, Hiyori. However, Hiyori traded Zoro's blade for Shusui's.

As, Ame no Habakiri, Enma was one of the two blades that scarred Kaido many years ago, resulting in the distinctive “x” shaped scar seen on his chest. The blade can unleash its wielder's Arament Haki, leading to it gaining a fearsome reputation. Zoro's arm was weak by the time he established blade control and it seems like it would weaken the entire body of a lesser swordsman. Zoro not only injured Kaido once again with Enma, but also used it to defeat King, which is especially notable considering he is part of the hardy Lunarian species.

Sukiyaki claims that if Zoro can turn Enma into a permanent Black Blade, it can increase in rank, potentially becoming a Supreme Grade sword. A strange detail about Enma is that his size seems to change to accommodate the more normal sized Zoro and the larger Oden. This inconsistency is also shared with Ame no Habakiri, but is more notable with Enma, as it is specifically seen being wielded by the two swordsmen of different sizes and in proportion to either of them.

3 Nidai Kitetsu

A cursed sword

• Current owner: Kozuki Sukiyaki
• Creator: Kotetsu

The Nidai Kitetsu is a supposedly cursed katana from the Kitetsu school, said to bring horrible deaths to their owners. It was created by Kotetsu, an ancestor of the Kozuki clan. His descendant, Kozuki Sukiyaki, is the current owner of the blade. Sandai Kitetsu, one of the other Kitetsu Meito, is currently possessed by Zoro, who discovered it in Lougetown and chose to test his luck against the blade. Notably, the Sandai Kitetsu is Zoro's only currently used sword that is below the Great rank, being only a rank blade (the lowest rank of Meito, of which there are an undetermined number.)

Kitetsu Meito apparently decreased in grade the more recently they were made. Nidai Kitetsu is a lower grade than Shodai Kitetsu, a blade made before Kotetsu's creation, but it is a higher grade than Sandai Kitetsu, which was created by Sukiyaki, who is still alive. Sukiyaki lent the blade to Luffy, whose treatment of the weapon was heavily criticized by Zoro. Notably, Luffy threw the sword away rather than duel people directly with it. It later returned to Sukiyaki's possession as it was rediscovered in Udon by Kikunojo.

2 Shusui

A black blade

• Current Owner: Amibigu, rests in Shimotsuki Ryuma's grave
• Creator: Unknown

Shusui was the signature sword of Shimotsuki Ryuma, a legendary samurai known as the “Sword God”, who was an ancestor of Roronoa Zoro, who resembled his descendant. Ryuma transformed the sword into a Black Blade, one permanently infused with Ryuma's Arament Haki, which significantly increased its durability. Ryuma was buried with his sword, but it was confiscated alongside his corpse when Gecko Moria robbed the grave.

It later appeared alongside its owner's reanimated body in Thriller Bark. Zoro dueled against his zombified ancestor, who eventually offered the blade to Zoro himself. Zoro thought his other blades would break from her if the duel continued. Zoro became particularly well versed in the blade once he was trained by Dracule Mihawk, himself the owner of Yoru, another Black Blade.

Shusui has a particularly strong connection to the Land of Wano. Zoro has had his weapon repeatedly stolen or otherwise asked to return it by the villagers. Onimaru stole the blade from Zoro and returned it to Ryuma's grave. It is so highly regarded that Hiyori traded Enma, her own blade, which was formerly her father's, with Zoro to secure Shusui's place in the country.

1 The other sixteen high grade blades

Unclear at present

The status of these Meito, as well as whether they will factor into the story, remains to be seen. Unlike the five currently known high-grade blades, there is at least a possibility that the other Meito of this grade came from outside of Wano Country. That said, these, along with all other details, are just speculation at this point. What is worth noting is that there are a number of identified Meito of unclear grade, meaning that there is a possibility that other extant high-grade blades have been seen but are not currently identified as such.