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The steel used in sword production is known as tamahagane (玉鋼:たまはがね), or "jewel steel" (tama – ball or jewel, hagane – steel). Tamahagane is produced from iron sand, a source of iron ore, and mainly used to make samurai swords, such as the katana, and some tools. Diagram of a tatara and bellows
Tamahagane is made of an iron sand (satetsu) found in Shimane, Japan. There are two main types of iron sands: akame satetsu (赤目砂鉄) and masa satetsu (真砂砂鉄). Akame is lower quality, masa is better quality. The murage decides the amount of the mixing parts. Depending on the desired result, the murage mixes one or more types of sands.
The word katana first appears in Japanese in the Nihon Shoki of 720. The term is a compound of kata ("one side, one-sided") + na ("blade"), [6] [7] [8] in contrast to the double-sided tsurugi. The katana belongs to the nihontō family of swords, and is distinguished by a blade length (nagasa) of more than 2 shaku, approximately 60 cm (24 in). [9]
In 1976, in order to secure sword-making materials that would become increasingly difficult to obtain, the Nittoho Tatara Plant was established to produce wako (Japanese steel for blades) and tamahagane (High-quality blade steel), in Okuizumo town, Shimane Prefecture. [12] In 1977, the Nittoho Tatara Plant was revived in Yokota Town, Shimane ...
Tamahagane (玉鋼) is a general term for steel, not used prior to the Meiji Era, literally meaning "precious steel". Steel is smelted at Shimane facility for Japanese swords (nihontō (日本刀), commonly known as katana (刀)) by contemporary Japanese forge masters like Kihara Akira and Gassan Sadatoshi is still smelted in a tatara.
Blades whose length is next to a different classification type are described with a prefix 'O-' (for great) or 'Ko-' (for small), e.g. a Wakizashi with a length of 59 cm is called an O-wakizashi (almost a Katana) whereas a Katana of 61 cm is called a Ko-Katana (for small Katana; but note that a small accessory blade sometimes found in the ...
The museum has a collection of about 190 items, including swords (mainly katana), tosogu (mountings), yoroi (armor) as well as documents of metal working and metalwork materials. [2] Some of the swords have been designated and certified by the national government as national treasures, important cultural properties, and important art objects.
The shogunate placed many fudai at strategic locations to guard the trade routes and the approaches to Edo. Also, many fudai daimyo took positions in the Edo shogunate, some rising to the position of rōjū. The fact that fudai daimyo could hold government positions, while tozama in general could not, was a main difference between the two.