Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A katana (刀, かたな, lit. 'one-sided blade') is a Japanese sabre characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.
Japanese swordsmithing is the labour-intensive bladesmithing process developed in Japan beginning in the sixth century for forging traditionally made bladed weapons [1] [2] including katana, wakizashi, tantō, yari, naginata, nagamaki, tachi, nodachi, ōdachi, kodachi, and ya.
Diagram showing the parts of a nihontō blade in transliterated Japanese. This is the glossary of Japanese swords, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on Japanese swords. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
However, to maintain the quality of Japanese swords, the Japanese government limits the number of Japanese swords a swordsmith can make in a year to 24 (up to 2 swords per month). Therefore, many of the swords called "Japanese sword" distributed around the world today are made in China, and the manufacturing process and quality are not authorized.
Katana, length 66.4 cm, curvature 1.5 cm, bottom width 2.8 cm, shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, and chū-kissaki nobi [4] (see also Glossary of Japanese swords). The front side contains a sign of Muramasa and a mantra sign myōhō renge kyō (妙法蓮華経) (a mantra from Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō or the Lotus Sutra of Nichiren Buddhism). [4]
The development of Japanese swordsmanship as a component system of classical bujutsu created by and for professional warriors , begins only with the invention and widespread use of the Japanese sword, the curved, single-cutting-edged long sword. In its curved form, the sword is known to the Japanese as tachi in the eighth century.
A diagram of a katana and koshirae with components identified. Fuchi (縁): The fuchi is a hilt collar between the tsuka and the tsuba.; Habaki (鎺): The habaki is a wedge-shaped metal collar used to keep the sword from falling out of the saya and to support the fittings below; fitted at the ha-machi and mune-machi which precede the nakago.
Many of his forged tachi were later made into katana by cutting the tang (nakago). For this reason, his only existing works are katana, tantō, and wakizashi. [3] [4] Thus, cutting the tang of an old tachi and making it into a katana according to the popularity of the katana was called suriage, which was common in Japanese history. [14]