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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
The word katana was used in ancient Japan and is still used today, whereas the old usage of the word nihontō is found in the poem [2] the Song of Nihontō, by the Song dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu. The word nihontō became more common in Japan in the late Tokugawa shogunate.
Tamahagane (玉鋼) is a type of steel made in the Japanese tradition. The word tama means 'precious', and the word hagane means 'steel'. [ 1 ] Tamahagane is used to make Japanese swords , daggers , knives , and other kinds of tools.
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]
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.
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.
The etymology of the word daishō becomes apparent when the terms daitō, meaning long sword, and shōtō, meaning short sword, are used; daitō + shōtō = daishō. [2] A daishō is typically depicted as a katana and wakizashi (or a tantō) mounted in matching koshirae, but originally the daishō was the wearing of any long and short katana ...
Wazamono (Japanese: 業 （ わざ ） 物 （ もの ）) is a Japanese term that, in a literal sense, refers to an instrument that plays as it should; in the context of Japanese swords and sword collecting, wazamono denotes any sword with a sharp edge that has been tested to cut well, usually by professional sword appraisers via the art of tameshigiri (test cutting).