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Visual glossary of Japanese sword terms. 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.
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.
Although Japanese sword making was an abandoned practice, it was revived in the 4th Imperial exhibition in 1934. The Nihonto Tanren Renshu Jo (lit. ' Japanese swordsmithing training center ') led by Kurihara Hikosaburō discovered 82 swordsmiths from the local area and supported them. [4]
According to the record of June 1, 1430 in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, a Korean swordsmith who went to Japan and mastered the method of making Japanese swords presented a Japanese sword to the King of Korea and was rewarded for the excellent work which was no different from the swords made by the Japanese. [27] [28]
It is one of the best known of the swords created by Masamune and is believed to be among the finest Japanese swords ever made. It was made a Japanese National Treasure (Kokuhō) in 1939. [15] [16] The name Honjō probably came about by the sword's connection to General Honjō Shigenaga (1540–1614) who gained the sword after a battle in 1561 ...
Tatara (鑪) is a traditional Japanese method of processing iron into steel, which was typically use for making Japanese swords. [2] The process and name first appear in the ancient Kojiki and Nihon Shoki texts from the Nara period.
Once the sword took the shape the swordsmith wanted, the swordsmith would clay the spine of the sword, called tsuchioki, and heat it once more. Once the sword was red hot the swordsmith took the newly formed sword and quenched it in water, hardening the blade. Then he would pass it on to a polisher and finisher.
The Odachi Masayoshi forged by bladesmith Sanke Masayoshi, dated 1844. The blade length is 225.43 cm (88.75 in) and the tang is 92.41 cm (36.38 in). An ōdachi (大太刀, large/great sword) or nodachi (野太刀, field sword) [4] [5] [6] is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (日本刀, nihontō) [7] [8] used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.