Many nations and regions of the world have brought about their own distinct traditions and styles of sword but few have gained the notoriety of the legendary Japanese steel. Perhaps this claim to fame can be derived from the infamous warriors known as samurai who were known for their unique wield of the katana but the way of the Japanese sword spans much further that one period in time or one sword among the many varieties. To clearly define and understand the origins of Japanese steel one must delve deeper into its rich history and the evolution therein.

History

Prior to 987, Japanese swords, or nihontō (日本刀 or にほんとう), were made in very odd shapes. Some of these early weapons were known as chokutō or jōkotō. Like many other aspects of Japanese culture, sword-making techniques were developed with great influence from China during the Tang dynasty in the early 10^th century. This period brought about a golden age of sword-craft in Japan.  The swords forged at this time were the first curved swords in Japan called kotō; a tradition that continued until the 1600s.

Japanese swords today characterized by a deep curve originated from the shinogi-zukuri tachi developed sometime around the middle of the Heian period. The main point to this innovation was for use in the cavalry in military engagements. The tachi is notably lengthy for a sword of that era and was usually accompanied with a shorter sword or “waist sword” called koshigatana. These two swords worked to great effect on a fully armored warrior along with daggers and other weaponry.

After the Mongol invasion in the 13^th century, swords began to change shape once again. This time the growing need was for a less fragile sword to compete in the close-combat against thick leather armor. Threats such as these continued the need for utilitarian swords as more artistic designs fell by the wayside. This became a major sword aesthetic through the 15^th century and became the second pinnacle in Japanese sword-smithing.

As time rolled into the 16^th century, samurai kept an ongoing demand for more advanced swords for close-quarter combat. Such needs spawned a new sword made in both the one and two-hand forms called uchigatana. The uchigatana evolved into the modern day katana replacing the tachi as the samurai weapon of choice. All remaining tachi were shortened as the desire for katanas grew over the 16^th and 17^th centuries. The craft of the sword decayed in the years that followed with the introduction of firearms and advanced methods of warfare.

In more peaceful times the art of sword making has been revived by a select few artists in the field that cling to the old traditions of folded steel. This new generation of swords is referred to as shintō or “new swords.” Most of the swords produced at this time were more ornamental and lead to more recent developments in the art of Japanese steel. As the era's progressed on the name for new breeds of swords changed until around 1989 when the words shinsaku was chosen to represent moder swords.

Recent History

-In the late 1700s to early 1800s Master Suishinshi Masahide brought about the second renaissance of Japanese sword-making by publishing opinions and teaching the importance of drawing from the roots of sword-smithing techniques and bring back the old ways of the art form.

-In 1853 the modernization in Japan caused and overall civilian ban of weapons which brought the market for swords to an abrupt halt

-Swords became a military necessity at the beginning of the 20^th century and the industry for making swords re-emerged

-After WWII, swords became banned for citizens once again. This was soon amended to not include artistic swords and over the last half a century these swords rose in popularity throughout western culture bringing about a whole new industry for sword-smithing.

Sword Varieties

When categorizing Japanese swords it is usually differentiated by length. Sword lengths are measured in shaku(30.3cm):

Nodachi, Odachi, Jintachi: > 90cm (3 shaku)

Tachi, Katana: 60cm - 89cm (more than 2 shaku)

Wakizashi: 30.3cm – 60cm (1-2 shaku)

Tanto, Aikuchi: < 30.3cm (1 shaku)

Another deciding factor in sword differentiation is the school under which that sword was forged. Japanese swords can be traced back to one out of five provinces in Japan. Each province carries a different school in sword-smithing and with each school comes unique characteristics:

Soshu - itame hada, midareba hamon in nie deki

Yamato - masame hada, suguha hamon nie deki

Bizen - mokume hada, midareba hamon in nioi deki

Yamashiro - mokume hada, suguha hamon in nei deki

Mino - strong mokume and midareba along with a mixed togari-ba

For more in depth segregation, swords can be separated many different ways from grain to sharpening design.

Below are two diagrams indexing the various parts of a Japanese sword using the classic katana blade and the buke-zukuri style mounting commonly seen in today's swords:

One great separation in Japanese swords is the authentic and the swords you can find in any souvenir or oddity shop. These “display only” swords can be spotted by their crude edges and are characteristically made of stainless steel. Though these teenage room wall hangings have blotted a sore spot on the traditional Japanese sword market the world of the blade is far from sunk. Those traditions have weathered the storm and will continue to outlast secondary weapons for centuries to come.

Links

http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/glossary.htm

http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/terms/terms.htm

http://www.forging.org/FIERF/pdf/JapaneseSword.pdf

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/katana.html

http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/samurai-sword-history.html

See also: Katana Samurai Swords