Encyclopedia
Katana is the word for "
sword" in the
Japanese language. It is also used specifically for a type of
Japanese
backsword or
longsword in use after the 1400s: a curved, single-edged sword traditionally used by the
samurai. This article refers to both. Pronounced [kah-tah-nah] in the
kun'yomi of the
kanji ?, the
on'yomi is
to. While the word has no separate plural form in Japanese, it has been adopted as a loan word by the
English language, where it is pluralized as either "katanas" or "katana."
The katana was typically paired with the
wakizashi or shoto, a similarly made but shorter sword, both worn by the members of the warrior class. It could also be worn with the
tanto, an even smaller similarly shaped blade. The two weapons together were called the
daisho which literally means big-small, and represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai. The long blade was used for open combat, while the shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing, close combat , and
seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.
The katana was primarily used for cutting, although its curvature is generally gentle enough to allow for effective thrusting as well. Though it is intended for use with a two-handed grip, many extant historical Japanese sword arts include at least one or two single-handed techniques. It is traditionally worn edge up. While the practical arts for using the sword for its original purpose are now obsolete, kenjutsu and
iaijutsu have turned into
modern martial arts. The art of drawing the katana and attacking one's enemies is
iaido, and
kendo is an art of
fencing with a
shinai while protected by helmet and armour. Old
koryu sword schools still exist .
The sword in Japanese society
Much of Japanese culture is related to swords. Elaborate methods for carrying, cleaning, storing, sharpening , and wielding the sword evolved from era to era. For example, a samurai entering someone's house might consider how to place his sheathed sword as he knelt. Positioning his sword for an easy draw implied suspicion or aggression; thus, whether he placed it on his right or left side, and whether the blade was placed curving away or towards him, was an important point of
etiquette. At home, the samurai stored his katana above the wakizashi on a rack called a
katana-kake, curving upwards; in the manner it was worn, with the
omote side showing . The
tachi on the other hand, had a stand, the
tsuka was set in a groove at the base and the
saya pointed upwards set in a notch at the top with the cutting edge down, again in the manner it was worn.
Until the Edo period most samurai did not use their sword as a primary weapon; they used a bow first, a spear next, and then the sword, as a last resort. A proverb,
ken ore, ya mo tsuki described the spirit of fighting with every weapon.
The sword was considered the soul of the samurai. For much of Japan's history, only samurai were even allowed to carry swords, and a peasant carrying a sword was enough reason to kill the peasant and take the sword after a prohibition was issued early in the
Edo period. Impoverished
ronin would sometimes be forced to sell their swords. They would then be "soulless" in the eyes of a samurai. The 'soul of the samurai' concept has its roots in the early
Tokugawa Shogunate. While there has always been reverence for the sword, the official line of it being the 'soul' comes from a need of the Shogunate to provide high value gifts to retainers and noblemen. It became traditional that
daimyo and the
shogun, and the members of their families, would exchange gifts of swords on special occasions such as weddings and births. The ability to judge a sword for period, maker, and quality became important, as this allowed one to appraise a blade. Older swords by honored makers would then be reserved for very special gifts, in particular to the shogun and his family or from the Shogun to show special merit.
History of the Japanese sword
Early history
One of the oldest known Japanese forms of sword dates from the
Kofun era . The style, called
Kashima no Tachi , was created at the
Kashima Shrine . In the
Heian Period sword-making developed through techniques brought from Russia and
Hokkaido, territory of the
Ainu people. The Ainu used
Warabite-to swords and these influenced the katana. According to legend, the Japanese sword was invented by a smith named Amakuni in 700 AD, along with the folded steel process. In reality the folded steel process and single edge swords had been brought over from China through trade. Among other modifications, the katana became single-edged, and better suited for slashing. This is also reflected in the styles of kenjutsu created during this period. From the Kashima Shrine's
Kashima no Tachi sprang the
Kanto-nanaryu and at Mount Kurama in
Kyoto the
Kyo-hachiryu .
By the
twelfth century, civil war erupted. While many good swords were made during this period, the vast need for swords and the ferocity of the fighting caused the highly artistic techniques of the
Kamakura period to be abandoned in favor of more utilitarian and disposable weapons. The export of katana reached its height during
Muromachi period, at least 200,000 katana being shipped to the
Ming dynasty in official trade in an attempt to soak up the production of Japanese weapons and make it harder for pirates in the area to arm. As time progressed, the craft decayed, aided by the introduction of
guns as a decisive force on the battlefield.
The
Mongol invasions of Japan in the thirteenth century spurred further evolution of the Japanese Sword. Often forced to abandon traditional mounted archery for hand-to-hand combat, many samurai found that their swords were too delicate and prone to damage when used against the thick leather armor of the invaders. In response, Japanese swordsmiths started to adopt thinner and simpler temper lines due to their belief that "blades with wide temper lines reaching near to the ridge line look gorgeous, but tend to break." Japanese scholars have also highlighted that certain Japanese swordsmiths of this period began to make blades with thicker backs and bigger points as a response to the Mongol threat.
New swords
In times of peace, swordsmiths returned to the making of refined and artistic blades, and the beginning of the
Momoyama period saw the return of high quality creations. As the techniques of the ancient smiths had been lost during the previous period of war, these swords were called
shinto, literally "new swords." Older blades became known as
koto. The blades that predated the curved blades introduced around 987 AD were referred to as
jokoto or ancient swords. As the
Edo period progressed, quality declined once again; other related arts did advance, leading to beautiful engravings and decorations for weapons. The addition of these engravings known as
horimono was originally for religious reasons, and these were simple and tasteful. In the more complex work found on many
shinto, form no longer strictly follows function.
Under the isolationist
Tokugawa Shogunate, swordmaking declined along with the use of firearms, but due to the efforts of the master swordsmith Munetsugu at the turn of the 19th century, artistic merit once again returned to the craft. Munetsugu published opinions that the arts and techniques of the shinto swords were inferior to the
koto blades, and that research should be made by all swordsmiths to rediscover the lost techniques. Munetsugu travelled the land teaching what he knew to all who would listen, and swordsmiths rallied to his cause and ushered in a second renaissance in Japanese sword smithing. With the discarding of the
shinto style, and the re-introduction of old and rediscovered techniques, the swords of this time were now called
shinshinto meaning 'new-new swords.'
The arrival of Matthew Perry in 1853 and the subsequent
Convention of Kanagawa forcibly reintroduced Japan to the outside world; the rapid modernization of the Meiji Restoration soon followed.
The Haitorei edict in 1876 all but banned carrying swords and guns on streets, making samurai less distinguishable from commoners. Possession itself was not prohibited, so many katana were simply stashed away. Overnight, the market for swords died, many swordsmiths were left without a trade to pursue, and valuable skills were lost. In time, the need to arm soldiers with swords was perceived again and over the decades at the beginning of the 20th century swordsmiths again found work. These swords, known as
gunto, are often very low in quality with many being oil tempered or simply stamped out of steel and given a serial number rather than a chiseled signature.
Katana remained in use in some occupations, police sometimes using them not only to catch criminals but to defend themselves from criminals who could be armed with katana as well. At the same time, kendo was incorporated into police training so that police officers would have at least the minimal training necessary to properly use one.
The craft of making swords was kept alive through the efforts of a few individuals, and notably the Gassan line of smiths who were employed as Imperial artisans. These smiths, Gassan Sadakazu and Gassan Sadakatsu, produced fine works that stand with the best of the older blades for the Emperor and other high ranking officials. The students of Gassan Sadakatsu went on to be designated Intangible Cultural Assets, "Living National Treasures," as they embodied knowledge that was considered to be fundamentally important to the Japanese identity. In 1934 the Japanese government issued a military specification for the
shin gunto , the first version of which was the Type 94 Katana, and many machine- and handcrafted swords used in World War II conformed to this and later shin gunto specifications.
Recent history and modern use
Under the
United States occupation at the end of
World War II all armed forces were disbanded and, except under several permits issued by police and municipal government, production of katana with edges was banned. This ban would be later overturned through the personal appeal of Dr. Homma Junji to
General Douglas MacArthur. During their meeting, Dr. Homma produced blades from the various periods of Japanese history and General MacArthur was a quick student, being able to identify very quickly what blades held artistic merit and which could be considered purely weapons. As a result of this meeting, the general ban was amended so that the weapon grade
gunto would be destroyed and swords of artistic merit could be owned and preserved. Even so, many katana were sold to American soldiers at a bargain price. Some were simply stolen, while others remained stashed away.
Due to this disarmament, as of 1958 there were more Japanese swords in America than in Japan: American soldiers would return from the Orient with piles of swords, often as many as they could carry. The vast majority of these 1,000,000 or more swords were
gunto, but there were still a sizable number of
koto, shinto, and
shin-shinto.Swordsmiths had been increasingly turning to producing civilian goods after the Edo period but this disarmament and subsequent regulations almost put an end to the production of katana. A few smiths did continue their trade, and Dr. Homma went on to be a founding figure of the
Nihon Bijitsu Hozon Token Kai, the Society for the Preservation of Art Swords, who made it their mission to preserve the old techniques and blades. With the efforts of other like-minded individuals, the katana has arisen from its darkest day and many swordsmiths have continued the work begun by Munetsugu, re-discovering the old techniques and making the art swords produced by today's best smiths as good as many of the blades of old.
Some replica katana have been used in modern-day armed robberies; it is unlikely that these weapons are of the same quality as traditional katana,due to the high expense of acquiring a shinken.
Classification of Japanese swords
Classification by length
All Japanese swords are manufactured according to this method and are somewhat similar in appearance. What generally differentiates the different swords is their length. Japanese swords are measured in units of
shaku, a shaku being around 30cm or one foot).
- A blade shorter than 1 shaku is considered a tanto .
- A blade longer than 1 shaku but less than 2 is considered a shoto . The wakizashi and kodachi are in this category.
- A blade longer than 2 shaku is considered a daito, or long sword. This is the category katana fall into. However, a sword is only a katana if it is worn with cutting edge up through the obi . If it is suspended by cords from a belt, it is called a tachi ; the tachi is worn cutting edge down.
- Abnormally long blades , usually carried across the back, are called odachi or nodachi. The word odachi is also sometimes used as a synonym for katana.
A
chiisakatana is simply a shorter katana. It is longer than the wakizashi, lying between one and two shaku in length. Chiisakatana were not common weapons since usually a katana was made for a taller person or a wakizashi for a shorter person. The most common reference to a chiisakatana is a shorter katana that does not have a companion blade. They were most commonly made in the buke-zukuri mounting.
Classification by schools and provinces
Japanese swords can be traced back to one of several provinces, each of which had its own school, traditions and 'trademarks' - e.g., the swords from Mino province were "from the start famous for their sharpness". These traditions and provinces are as follows:
Classification by date of manufacture
Before 987, examples of Japanese swords are straight
chokuto or
jokoto and others with unusual shapes.
Between 987 1597, swords are
koto: these are considered the pinnacle of Japanese swordcraft. Early models had uneven curves with the deepest part of the curve at the hilt. As eras changed the center of the curve tended to move up the blade. Swords manufactured between 1597 1760 are known as
shinto, or "new swords". These are considered inferior to most koto, and generally coincide with a degradation in manufacturing skills.
Swords made in the koto style between 1761 1876 are called
shinshinto, or "new revival swords" . These are considered superior to most shinto, but worse than true koto.
After the 1876 Haito Edict, any mass-produced blade is derisively called
gunto. These often look like Western cavalry sabers rather than katana, although most are just like katana, with many mass-produced and in general slightly shorter than blades of the shinto and shinshinto periods. Military swords hand made in the traditional way are often termed as
gendaitoModern katana manufactured according to traditional methods are usually known as
shinsakuto . Alternately, they can be termed shinken when they are defined as real, as opposed to
iaito training swords and other blunt instruments.
Classification by mode of wear
Before 1500 most swords were worn suspended from cords on a belt, blade-down. This style is called
jindachi-zukuri, and all daito worn in this fashion are tachi. From 1500 1867, almost all swords were worn through a sash, paired with a smaller blade. Both blades were blade-up. This style is called
buke-zukuri, and all daito worn in this fashion are katana. Since 1867, restrictions and/or the deconstruction of the samurai class meant that most blades have been worn
jindachi-zukuri style, like Western navy officers.
Recently there has been a resurgence in the buke-zukuri style, permitted only for demonstration purposes. Swords designed specifically to be tachi are generally koto rather than shinto, so they are generally better manufactured and more elaborately decorated. However, these are still katana if worn in modern
buke-zukuri style. The signature almost always appears on the side facing away from the body when the blade is worn, so it is possible to discern the smith's intention for the blade in this manner.
Manufacturing
Katana and wakizashi were often forged with different profiles, different blade thicknesses, and varying amounts of
grind. Wakizashi were not simply scaled-down katana; they were often forged in
hira-zukuri or other such forms which were very rare on katana.
The daisho was not always forged together. If a samurai was able to afford a daisho, it was often composed of whichever two swords could be conveniently acquired, sometimes by different smiths and in different styles. Even when a daisho contained a pair of blades by the same smith, they were not always forged as a pair or mounted as one. Daisho made as a pair, mounted as a pair, and owned/worn as a pair, are therefore uncommon and considered highly valuable, especially if they still retain their original mountings .
Authentic Japanese swords are fairly uncommon today, although genuine antiques can be acquired at significant expense. Modern katana and wakizashi are only made by the few licenced practitioners that still practice making these crafted weapons today, and even the "type 98 katanas" of World War II are rare.
In Japanese, the scabbard for a katana is referred to as a
saya, and the handguard piece, often intricately designed as an individual work of art especially in later years of the
Edo period was called the
tsuba. Other aspects of the mountings , such as the
menuki ,
habaki is a piece of metal encircling the base of the blade of a Japanese bladed weapon....
,
fuchi and
kashira ,
kozuka ,
kogai ,
saya lacquer, and
tsuka-ito , received similar levels of artistry.
Composition
The composition of steel used for katana varied from smith to smith and lode to lode of iron ore. One formula from World War II shin gunto production was as follows:
The high percentage of carbon gave the blade strength while the silicon increased the flexibility of the blade as well as its ability to withstand stress.
Construction
The forging of a Japanese blade typically took hours or days, and was considered a sacred art. As with many complex endeavors, rather than a single craftsman, several artists were involved. There was a smith to forge the rough shape, often a second smith to fold the metal, a specialist polisher, and even a specialist for the edge itself. Often, there were sheath, hilt, and tsuba specialists as well.
The most famous part of the manufacturing process was the folding of the steel. Japanese swords and other edged weapons are manufactured by the Chinese method of repeatedly heating, folding and hammering the metal. This practice became popular due to the use of highly impure metals, stemming from the low temperature yielded in the smelting at that time and place. The folding did several things:
- It eliminated any bubbles in the metal.
- It homogenized the metal, spreading the elements evenly throughout - increasing the effective strength by decreasing the number of potential weak points.
- It burned off many impurities, helping to overcome the poor quality of the raw Japanese steel.
- It created layers, by continuously decarburizing the surface and bringing it into the blade's interior, which gives the swords their grain ; however, the belief that the layered structure provides enhanced mechanical properties of the steel is false, as layers act as weld points which can only serve to weaken the integrity of the blade.
Contrary to popular belief, continued folding will not create a "super-strong" blade; once impurities are burnt off and the carbon content homogenized, further folding offers little benefit and will gradually burn out the carbon, leading eventually to a softer steel less able to hold an edge. More than about a dozen folds are uncommon and swords never have more than two dozen folds. A blade folded 12 times will have more than 4,000 'layers' underneath the initial blade to begin with. Even before this point, more layers does not equal a better sword; an even and clean composition is obtained early in the folding process, and control of carbon content has a much greater effect on the blade's functionality. Thus, the best results were usually obtained at 8-10 folds.
Generally, swords were created with the grain of the blade running down the blade like the grain on a plank of wood. Straight grains were called
masame-hada, wood-like grain
itame, wood-burl grain
mokume, and concentric wavy grain
ayasugi-hada. The difference between the first three grains is that of cutting a tree along the grain, at an angle, and perpendicular to its direction of growth respectively, the angle causing the "stretched" pattern. The blades that were considered the most robust, reliable, and of highest quality were those made in the Mino tradition, especially those of Magoroku Kanemoto.
Bizen tradition, which specialized in mokume, and some schools of Yamato tradition were also considered strong warrior's weapons.
One of the core philosophies of the Japanese sword is that it has a single edge. This means that the rear of the sword can be used to reinforce the edge, and the Japanese took full advantage of this. When finished, the steel is not quenched or tempered in the conventional European fashion. Steels exact flex and strength vary dramatically with heat variation. If steel cools quickly, from a hot temperature, it becomes
martensite, which is very hard but brittle. Slower, from a lower temperature, and it becomes
pearlite, which has significantly more flex but does not hold an edge. To control the cooling, the sword is heated and painted with layers of sticky clay. A thin layer on the edge of the sword ensures quick cooling for a hard edge, with a thicker layer of mud on the rest of the blade causing slower cooling and softer, more flexible steel to give the blade the required flex. When the application is finished, the sword is quenched and hardens correctly. This process also makes the edge of the blade contract less than the back when cooling down, something that aids the smith in establishing the curvature of the blade.
Eventually the Japanese began to experiment with using different types of steel in different parts of the sword. The figure shows examples:
The vast majority of good katana and wakazashi are of
wariba-gitae type. The
makuri-gitae is made using two steels, one folded more times than the other, or of a lesser carbon content. When both sections have been folded adequately, they are bent into a 'U' shape and the softer piece is inserted into the harder piece, at which point they are hammered out into a long blade shape. By the end of the process, the two pieces of steel are fused together, but retain their differences in hardness.
More complex models allow for parrying without fear of damaging the side of the blade. To make
han-sanmai-awase-gitae or
shiho-zume-gitae, pieces of hard steel are then added to the outside of the blade in a similar fashion. The last generally accepted model, the
shiho-zume-gitae, is quite rare, but added a rear support.
Anatomy of the katana
Each blade has a unique profile, mostly dependent on the smith and the construction method. The most prominent is the middle ridge, or
shinogi. In the earlier picture, the examples were flat to the shinogi, then tapering to the blade. However, swords could narrow down to the shinogi, then narrow further to the blade, or even expand outward towards the shinogi then shrink to the blade . A flat or narrowing shinogi is called
shinogi-hikushi, whereas a fat blade is called a
shinogi-takushi.
The shinogi can be placed near the back of the blade for a longer, sharper, more fragile tip or a more moderate shinogi near the center of the blade.
The sword also has an exact tip shape, which is considered an extremely important characteristic: the tip can be long , medium , short , or even hooked backwards . In addition, whether the front edge of the tip is more curved or straight is also important.
The
kissaki is not a "chisel-like" point, nor is the Western knife interpretation of a "tanto point" found on true Japanese swords; a straight, linearly-sloped point has the advantage of being easy to grind, but it bears only a superficial similarity to traditional Japanese kissaki. Kissaki have a curved profile, and smooth three-dimensional curvature across their surface towards the edge - though they are bounded by a straight line called the
yokote and have crisp definition at all their edges.
A hole is drilled into the tang , called a
mekugi-ana. It is used to anchor the blade using a
mekugi, a small bamboo pin that is inserted into another cavity in the
tsuka and through the mekugi-ana, thus restricting the blade from slipping out. To remove the tsuka one removes the mekugi. The swordsmith's signature is placed on the nakago.
Decoration
Almost all blades are decorated, although not all blades are decorated on the visible part of the blade. Once the blade is cool, and the mud is scraped off, the blade has designs and grooves cut into it. One of the most important markings on the sword is performed here: the file markings. These are cut into the tang, or the hilt-section of the blade, where they will be covered by a hilt later. The tang is never supposed to be cleaned: doing this can cut the value of the sword in half or more. The purpose is to show how well the blade steel ages. A number of different types of file markings are used, including horizontal, slanted, and checked, known as
ichi-monji,
kosuji-chigai,
suji-chigai, o-suji-chigai,
katte-agari,
shinogi-kiri-suji-chigai,
taka-no-ha, and
gyaku-taka-no-ha. A grid of marks, from raking the file diagonally both ways across the tang, is called
higaki, whereas specialized "full dress" file marks are called
kesho-yasuri. Lastly, if the blade is very old, it may have been shaved instead of filed. This is called
sensuki. While ornamental, these file marks also serve the purpose of providing an uneven surface which bites well into the
tsuka, or the hilt which fits over it and is made from wood. It is this pressure fit for the most part that holds the
tsuka in place during the strike, while the
mekugi pin serves as a secondary method and a safety.
Some other marks on the blade are aesthetic: signatures and dedications written in kanji and engravings depicting gods, dragons, or other acceptable beings, called
horimono. Some are more practical, grooves for lightening and extra flex . Grooves come in wide , twin narrow , twin wide and narrow , short , twin short , twin long with joined tips , twin long with irregular breaks , and halberd-style .
The presence of a so-called "blood groove" or fuller does not in actuality allow blood to flow more freely from cuts made with the sword. It leads to no demonstrable difference in ease withdrawing a blade nor reduce the sucking sound that many people believe was the reason for including such a feature in commando knives in World War II. The grooves are analogous in structure to an
I beam, lessening the weight of the sword yet keeping structural integrity and strength. Nowadays, they may be included for decorative purposes or as advertising gimmicks rather than for structural reasons.
Furthermore the grooves make a whistling sound when the sword is swung . If the swordsman hears one whistle when swinging a grooved katana then that means that just one groove is making the whistle. Two whistles means that both the edge of the blade and a groove are making a whistle, and three whistles together would tell the swordsman that his blade is perfectly angled with the direction of the cut.
Because of the distinctive whistling sound of the grooves, it is said that ninja did not carry swords with grooves , because the distinctive whistling sound that comes with them would betray the ninja's presence.
Polishing
When the rough blade is completed, the swordsmith turns the blade over to a polisher called a
togishi, whose job it is to polish the steel of the blade to a glittering shine and sharpen the edge for battle. This takes hours for every inch of blade, and is painstaking work with different kinds of very fine stone. Early polishers used three types of stone, whereas a modern polisher generally uses seven. The modern high level of polish was not normally done before around 1600. It almost always takes longer than actually crafting the blade does, and a good polishing makes a blade look better, while a bad polishing makes the best of blades look like
gunto. More importantly, an unschooled polisher can permanently ruin the blade geometry or wear the steel down to its core steel, both of which effectively destroy the sword's monetary, historic, artistic, and functional value.
There are two general styles of polishing:
hadori and
sashikomi.
Hadori is modern and involves a whitened
hamon roughly following the actual
hamon, and a darkened body to make the whitened
hamon stand out.
Hadori is likened to "makeup" that enhances the beauty of a face.
Sashikomi is closer to the old styles of polish, and does not attempt to outline the
hamon. It more readily reveals details of the actual
hamon and crystalline structure compared to
hadori.One of the ways in which blades can be judged is by what this polishing reveals: the crystalline structure of the blade becomes quite visible, and the
hamon shows the unique nature of the sword. Each blade is distinct in its
hamon and the grain of its steel. The
hamon, which is determined primarily by how the clay is applied, is often used as a kind of signature of the smith, above and beyond his own signature, and each tradition of swordsmiths often has a particular style of hamon it prefers over all others.
Hamon vary from straight to wavy to shaped like crabs or zigzags, and in their wandering they reveal important facts about the blade itself. A good polishing reveals what speed the edge was cooled at, from what temperature, and what the carbon content of the steel is. It does this by displaying either predominantly
nioi, which is a mix of extremely fine martensite with troostite , or the larger martensite crystals called
nie, which look like individual dot-like mirrors.
Furnishings
From here, the blade is passed on to a hilt-maker, or
sayashi. Hilts vary in their exact nature depending on the era, but generally consist of the same general idea, with the variation being in the components used and in the wrapping style. The obvious part of the hilt consists of a metal or wooden grip called a
tsuka, which can also be used to refer to the entire hilt. The hand guard, or
tsuba, on Japanese swords is small and round, made of metal, and often very ornate.
There is a pommel at the base known as a
kashira, and there is often a decoration under the braided wrappings called a
menuki. A bamboo peg called a
mekugi is slipped through the
tsuka and through the tang of the blade, using the hole called a
mekugiana drilled in it. This anchors the blade securely into the hilt. To anchor the blade securely into the sheath it will soon have, the blade acquires a collar, or
habaki is a piece of metal encircling the base of the blade of a Japanese bladed weapon....
, which extends an inch or so past the hand guard and keeps the blade from rattling.
The sheaths themselves are not an easy task. There are two types of sheaths, both of which require exacting work to create. One is the
shirasaya, which is generally made of wood and considered the "resting" sheath, used as a storage sheath. The other sheath is the more decorative or battle-worthy sheath which is usually called either a
jindachi-zukuri, if suspended from the
obi by straps , or a
buke-zukuri sheath if thrust through the
obi . Other types of mounting include the
kyu-gunto,
shin-gunto, and
kai-gunto types for the twentieth-century military.
Use
The sword was mostly considered as a secondary weapon until the Kamakura period , used in the battlefield after the bow, or spear was no longer feasible. Then during Kamakura period the
Tachi a predecessor of the katana became the primary weapon on the battlefield, used by cavalry mounted samurai. However, during the
Edo period of
Japan, Samurai went about on foot unarmored, and with much less combat being fought on horseback in open battlefields, and the need for an effective close quarter weapon resulted in samurai being armed with daisho.
As armor and enemies changed over time, the shapes of blades changed from heavier profiles to lighter profiles, with different intentions for use in fighting. The heavier blades were fitted for heavier, slower, more powerful combat, while the lighter blades were suited for speed and accuracy.
In certain eras, the sword becomes longer and is intended for use from horseback. At the same time, footmen may accompany a horseman and be armed with shorter
katate-uchi at their side;
wakizashi or kodachi intended for one-handed fighting only.
Testing of swords, called tameshigiri, was practiced on a variety of materials to test the sword's sharpness and also practice cutting technique. Considering the broader case of Japanese swords, rather than the specific case of the shinto katana, technique varies over time depending on the style of fighting prevalent in military operations of the time.
Technique
Kenjutsu is the use of the Japanese sword in combat. The katana is primarily a cutting weapon, or more specifically, a slicing one. However, the katana's moderate curve allows for effective thrusting as well. Without the use of proper technique, the katana's cutting power is more than halved. Also, improper technique has been known to damage the blade, on more than one occasion.
The hilt of the katana is often held with two hands, though a fair amount of one-handed techniques exist. The left hand can clutch the katana in two different ways. Some practitioners, during times when the bokken was in greater use, closed the pinky finger upon itself, serving as a platform for the bottom of the tsuka to rest upon; this worked well with
bokken, since the bottom of its tsuka would be flat. The ring, middle, and index fingers would wrap around the hilt in a more orthodox fashion. The second method for holding katana with the left hand was to grasp it as one would grasp any other hilt -- just above the
pommel. The reason for this was because, with live blades, some katana featured sharp pommels, which could cause discomfort if held as previously stated.
The placement of the right hand was dictated by both the length of the tsuka and the length of the wielder's arm. The swordsman would outstretch his right arm, turning the underside of his forearm upwards. Then, he would place the bottom of the hilt against the elbow joint and bend his arm, bringing his hand to grasp the tsuka. The highest point on the tsuka -- from said position -- that can be grasped is then considered to be the proper placement of the right hand, for that specific swordsman.
For cutting, there was a specific technique called 'ten uchi.' Ten uchi refers to an organized motion made by arms and wrist, during a descending strike. As the sword is swung downwards, the elbow joint drastically extends at the last instant, popping the sword into place. This motion causes the swordsman's grip to twist slightly and if done correctly, is said to feel like wringing a towel. This motion itself caused the katana's blade to impact its target with sharp force, and is used to break initial resistance. From there, fluidly continuing along the motion wrought by 'ten uchi,' the arms would follow through with the stroke, dragging the sword through its target. Because the katana slices rather than chops, it is this 'dragging' which allows it to do maximum damage, and is thusly incorporated into the cutting technique. At full speed, the swing will appear to be full stroke, the katana passing through the targeted object. The segments of the swing are hardly visible, if at all. Assuming that the target is, for example, a human torso -- ten uchi will break the initial resistance supplied by shoulder muscles and the clavical. The follow through would continue the slicing motion, through whatever else it would encounter, until the blade inherently exited the body, due a combination of the motion and its curved shape.
For horizontal slashes, a similar concept is applied. However, the right hand is allowed, by some practitioners, to slide along the tsuka, closing the gap between the two hands. This allows for several more inches of reach, when swinging towards the opponent's right flank. The right side is more commonly targeted, due to the obstacle, which is the daisho -- situated on a samurai's left hip. Those sheaths, or the wakizashi, could hinder a cut or render it completely useless.
It is comparably difficult to apply ten uchi to an uppercut slash which can only be done, again, if attacking the opponent's right. Also, because rising attacks lack the same momentum as descending strokes, the effect is less potent. Oftentimes, those cuts are made successful by drawing the edge along the target, more than anything else.
Nearly all styles of kenjutsu share the same five basic guard stances. They are as follows; chudan no kamae , jodan no kamae , gedan no kamae hasso , and waki no gamae .
The katana's razor-edge could only exist because of its extreme hardness. The edge was so hard that upon hitting an equally hard or harder object, such as another sword's edge, chipping became a definite risk. As such, blocking an oncoming blow blade-to-blade was generally avoided. In fact, evasive body maneuvers were preferred over blade contact by most, but, if such was not done, the side or the back of the blade was used for defense in many styles, rather than the precious edge. A popular method for defeating descending slashes was to simply beat the sword aside. As an enemy's blade raced downwards, a samurai could raise his at a shallow angle, and slap the oncoming katana's flank with the side of his own blade. This technique would bring the defender into a high-guard -- poised to strike -- as the attacker's sword would've been redirected, harmlessly falling to the side. The tables would be effectively turned. Horizontal attacks could be countered by voiding and beating the horizontal swing downwards, and effectively off-course for good measure. This could be done with a descending strike, aimed at the oncoming sword. Thrusts were often beaten to the side. In some instances, an
umbrella block positioning the blade overhead, diagonally -- would create an effective shield between and attacker's descending strike and the defender. If the angle of the block was drastic enough, the curve of the katana's spine would cause the attacker's to slide along its counter and slide off to the side. Ultimately, there were numerous methods of attack, and defensive techniques to counteract all of them.
Comparisons with swords of other cultures
The Japanese sword has, over its millennium of usage, developed a fearsome reputation and has been praised widely for its sharpness and effect on the battlefield. However, over the years and especially during the 20th century its reputation as a superior weapon has given rise to a number of myths about its actual capabilities.
Traditional Japanese steel, called tamagahane, is popularly considered to be one of the best for creating swords, but European steel was generally more pure and required less labor to make a sword from. After trade with Europe developed, some Japanese swordsmiths started using European steel, and would at times indicate it on the blade. Weapons such as swords from
Toledo, Spain, one example of legendary swords from outside Japan, could be produced in large quantities at a low cost with a moderate sacrifice in quality because of the greater availability of iron in Europe. Because Japan was an iron-poor society, making a sword was an inherently expensive undertaking, and so the majority of swords made were of high quality.
The differences between the katana and other swords are due less to the limitations of their makers than to the requirements of their use. Katanas are capable of damaging Japanese armor to varying degrees: Older Koto era swords were designed when armor was prevalent and were generally slightly more curved and thick; consequently they had relatively good armor penetration and sustain less damage when used on an armored opponent, although weapons such as the yari were favored for armored opponents because sword attacks sometimes did not penetrate deeply enough to be fatal. As sword making moved onto the Shinto period the blades tended to become thinner and slightly less curved for use against unarmored opponents. It is worth noting that European swords of a similar length and weight to the katana were virtually useless against European
plate armour and
chainmail. In European swordsmanship the correct technique against mail was to thrust through it, and against plate, to take the sword by the blade in the left hand, and thrust at the gaps in the armor, often after
grappling the opponent to an unfavourable position.
Many sword types from the very beginning of the history of the sword, through the medieval period and the renaissance to the 20th century, were designed for the same combat modes as Japanese ones, fighting against lightly-armored or unarmored men on foot. Styles that relied on a single longsword for both offense and defense were well known outside of Japan as well, as documented in numerous fencing treatises such as Joachim Meyer's
Fechtbuch, and disparities in weight have been greatly exaggerated; both katanas and other longswords weighed between 1.0 and 1.5 kg .
Katanas were produced with a forging method that resulted in a very hard edge with a soft but flexible core and spine. The majority of the swords of other cultures were of an even moderate hardness throughout the blade. Both types of construction had their advantages and disadvantages; a harder edge generally stays sharp longer and will cut a harder target, but also is more prone to chipping, while a softer edge loses its sharpness and becomes gouged more easily, but is more resistant to fractures. In a katana, the softer, tougher core provides support for the hard edge, and so makes the entire sword more resistant to breakage and provides increased flexibility while retaining the benefits of a hard edge, though the edge remains more brittle than a softer one. In tests a traditionally forged katana was able to shatter a
.45 ACP round from a handgun without sustaining damage, and managed to withstand seven direct hits from an
M2 machine gun and its
.50 BMG armor-piercing bullets before shattering. In extreme slow-motion footage of this test, some bullets were cut perfectly in half as their path of motion was unchanged. The same blade also proved impenetrable to an iron-cutting machine. These feats are often attributed to the katana's hard but resilient martensite and pearlite structure, although it is not known how the swords of other cultures would do in such a test.
References
See also
Some famous katana smiths
- Masamune
- Muramasa
- Amakuni
- Nagasone Kotetsu
- Shintogo Kunimitsu
- Magoroku Kanemoto
Famous historic katana users
External links
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Recommended reading
- Irvine, Gregory. The Japanese Sword: The Soul of the Samurai. London: V&A Publications, 2000.
- Kapp, Leon. The Craft of the Japanese Sword. Kodansha Intl. Ltd., 1987.
- Perrin, Noel. Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879. Boston: David R. Godine, 1979.
- Robinson, H. Russell. Japanese Arms and Armor. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1969.
- Sinclaire, Clive. Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior
- Yumoto, John M. The Samurai Sword: A Handbook. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1958.
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