Fencing We loved old man Ijumi-san. He was so unique - Russian, that we forgot that he was a man of a different race, a different culture. Maybe it was because he lived in Russia for so long? He spoke Russian poorly, so we all - Olga Petrovna, and Tusya, and I -

MUSO JIKIDEN EISIN RYU IAI HEIHO

Victor KLENKIN, Kyiv.

“If one examines things by focusing one's attention on the Tao (the path of natural development of all things), then all things can be known.”

Li Zi. II century BC e.

DICTIONARY

Horimono– artistic engraving on the blade.
Ukibori– three-dimensional engraving inside the fuller.
Bondzi- stylized spelling of the names of Buddhist deities in Sanskrit.
Mon- personal coat of arms.
Kao– personal signature of the master in cursive style.
Kakihan– the name of the master in the form of a monogram placed in a frame.
Jokoto- ancient straight swords.
Ken (tsurugi)– Japanese name for a double-edged sword.
Chokuto- a sword with a straight blade with a one-sided sharpening.
Kabutsuchi-to- a straight sword with a pommel - a hammer.
Saber- a weapon that has a curved blade with the blade located on the curved side.
Varabite-to- a short sword (cleaver) with the hilt pointing upward at a certain angle.
Ainu- indigenous inhabitants of the Japanese islands of the Caucasian type.
Makiri- the national knife of the Ainu with a handle curved upward.
Ryukozuka something- a sword with a concave-cylindrical handle and a curved blade, the predecessor of the classic Japanese sword.
Kenukigata no tachi- a sword with a metal handle in the form of “eyebrow tweezers”, made together with the blade from one piece.
Satetsu– iron-containing sand used as a raw material for the preparation of steel.
Bloom– the original porous metal ingot obtained after smelting ore in a cheese-blowing furnace.
O-kaji- blacksmiths who make the metal for their swords themselves.
Tatara– furnaces for the mass production of steel, destroyed after completion of the process in order to extract the resulting ingot.
Kara– an ingot of metal formed as a result of the Tatar process.
Tamahagane– steel obtained by forging small fragments of crushed ker.
Ko-kaji- blacksmiths who worked with tamahagane steel.
Damascus– steel for blades, obtained by welding a package consisting of layers of steel with different carbon content. When etched with acid, such steel gives a characteristic pattern.
Bulat– steel produced in a crucible by melting ore using complex technology. It has qualities beneficial for bladed weapons - both hardness and toughness. When etched with acid, it produces a pattern on the surface that Damascus imitates.
Cast steel– homogeneous steel produced in a blast furnace. Has preset characteristics.
Rational welding– composite blade design made of several strips of steel of different grades.
Asi– legs – transverse thin lines of less hardened areas, protecting the yakib from chipping.
Nihon something- a classic Japanese sword, obtained as a result of repeated forging of metal strips and their rational welding into tosin.
Minsyuteki kogei– a term meaning household items, made especially carefully and beautifully.
Tameshigiri– test cutting. Tests used to test blade quality.
Tatami– straw mats of standard size, rolled into a roll, were cut with a sword during tameshigiri.
Tsuzugiri– street cutting. An unofficial sword test by a samurai on passing commoners.
Kokuho– national treasure – the highest level of quality of a Japanese sword.
Tosu- small knives worn on the belt.
Kogatana- small sword. The second sword worn by the samurai in his belt, paired with the tachi sword.
Wari kagai (vari-bashi)- double kogai, consisting of two symmetrical halves.
Singunto– a new army sword. Sword blades made before and during the Second World War.
Sunobeabura yaki-ire- Shingunto swords, forged from factory-made cast steel and tempered in oil.
Matetsu-to– rolled steel, oil-hardened. Singunto blades made by rolling a blank on a rolling mill.
Kamikaze- Japanese suicide pilots. National heroes of Japan. (“Seven Lives for the Emperor” “Weapons and Hunting”. N1, 2002).
Nihon (Nippon)– (sun, root, country) “The country where the sun originates,” the ancient name of Japan.
Makiki– official expert of Japanese sword blades (sword expert).
Origami- a certificate issued in Japan after examination of the blade, indicating its value.
Hodzon token- a guarded sword. The lowest level on the scale of values ​​of Japanese swords.
Namban-tetsu– steel of the southern barbarians. Cast homogeneous steel, which came to Japan from Europe in the 17th century.
Maru-gitae- a solid blade made of namban-tetsu.
Payvoldo- Korean swords in appearance, no different from Japanese ones.
Yaodao- belt sword. Chinese swords, structurally similar to Japanese ones.
Tosin- body of the sword. Japanese sword strip: blade and tang.
Hada- a pattern formed by layers of steel on the polished surface of a blade.

For ten centuries, Japanese sword blades have existed without much change in design. Thanks to the excellent qualities of this type of bladed weapon, as well as special treatment the Japanese nation to these seemingly purely functional items, their history was overgrown with all sorts of fictions and guesses. Among Europeans seeking to understand the “mysteries” of Far Eastern civilizations through the mysticism of religious teachings and martial arts, a myth was born about a “superweapon”, of which there is nothing better and more dangerous.

Moreover, this belief extends to all the blades of Japanese swords without exception, although in different eras successful ones were not always found among these products.

Jokoto (ancient swords)

Iron and bronze were brought to Japan from mainland China simultaneously in the 3rd century BC. e. And for quite a long period of time, metal weapons existed simultaneously with the continued production of stone products. At the same time, the division of their functional purpose is noticeable. If stone and iron weapons were of practical importance in everyday life, bronze weapons became the subject of ritual and ceremonial actions. This was probably facilitated by the fact that the raw materials for the production of bronze (copper, tin and various additives that improve the quality of bronze) are rarer and, accordingly, more expensive on the Japanese islands than iron ore. In addition, the golden color of bronze and, accordingly, products made from this material were associated by people whose highest deity was the sun with the world of Kami - Japanese deities. Bronze swords carried a symbolic load, emphasizing the high position of the owner. Therefore, they tried to make them more decorative and attractive. Such a coincidence of circumstances, when some of the weapons were not initially intended for practical use, gave rise at the dawn of the formation of Japanese culture to a special aesthetics of its perception, i.e. The main attention was paid to surface texture, shape, color and play of light. It was from those times that the tradition of Japanese people perceiving the sword as an aesthetically self-sufficient thing in which the world around it is concentrated has stretched through the centuries.

The samples originally manufactured in Japan were similar to those brought from China, and then from Korea. In order to better satisfy the tastes and needs of the Japanese, they began to be modified (mainly in size). But in terms of metal quality, these swords were inferior to imported samples.

The first Japanese swords were double-edged swords with narrow straight blades. Such finds date back to the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. e. Bronze samples were cast together with handles; the blades of iron swords could end with a tang onto which the handle was mounted. But the double-edged blade, tapering in cross-section from the middle to the blades, could break due to the low quality of the metal. Obviously experience practical application weapons in battles contributed to the fact that gradually the blades, while remaining straight along their entire length, acquired a one-sided sharpening and a fairly massive butt on the side opposite the blade. The blade became thicker and, accordingly, better withstood loads. This happened in the 1st – 2nd centuries. At the same time, the straight blades of combat swords with one-sided sharpening repeated the Chinese designs, remaining quite long and narrow (length: 60–70 cm and width: 2.2–2.8 cm), or were the local - Japanese - type, characterized by a wider and a short blade often having a concave blade, like a scimitar.

But a more elegant and narrow blade still prevailed, which allowed the sword to be manipulated more quickly and provided the warrior with a technical advantage over the enemy.

At the same time, in everyday life, double-edged ken (or tsurugi) swords continued to exist, remaining cult objects, in contrast to combat chokuto - straight swords with a one-sided sharpening - which had a purely functional purpose. This is confirmed by the bronze sword Ken, found by archaeologists in 1978 in one of the burial mounds near Tokyo, the so-called “sword from Inariyama.” On his blade there is a dedication inscription, in which the archaic Japanese contains some phrases characteristic of the Korean language. This suggests that the master makers may have been emigrants from Korea, with which Japan maintained contact at the time.

The inscription begins with a list of 8 tribes of ancestors and further: “... from generation to generation until today, the Wowake no Omi family served as the head of the Swordsmen. When the great sovereign (ookimi - great Wang) Wakatakeru (456–479 reign) was in the Shiki palace, Wowake no Omi was entrusted with helping to govern the Celestial Empire. In commemoration of this, it was ordered to make this sharp sword, tempered a hundred times, and to record the origins of its (Wawake no Omi) service, starting with the ancestors.”

The inscription containing 115 hieroglyphs is written on both sides of the blade, which, of course, could not be hardened a hundred times, if only because bronze cannot be hardened at all. This is either a hyperbole, emphasizing the high cost and value of a product created in memory of an outstanding event, or the inaccuracy of a modern translator who does not know the intricacies of the technology for manufacturing such products. The fact is that to improve cutting properties, bronze weapons were beaten along the blade, compacting the metal structure, just as they do with modern scythes. And perhaps here we are talking about blows with a sledgehammer, repeatedly applied along the edges of the blade along the blades.

At that time the sword was rare and expensive weapons which few could afford. Therefore, they tried to give individuality to combat swords and, following the fashion of weapons, their handles were decorated with pommels, the shape and size of which are now systematized by the ancient chokuto. The simplest pommels were made in the form of a ring; the more elegant ones had stylized images of a pair of dragons inside the ring. There were pommels in the form of a rectangle elongated along the axis of the blade or located transversely (such a sword is called kabutsuchi-to - a sword with a hammer). Of great interest is the chokuto with an onion-shaped pommel, which appeared in the 6th century. For the first time, such an element as a tsuba is mounted on them (Blade No. 3, 2003, “Tsuba is a collector’s dream”). If earlier types of pommels came from China and Korea, then the latest type of straight sword with tsuba is of local origin. The centuries-old history of the Japanese sword began with him.

Era of Curved Blades

At a time when straight chokuto were still being produced everywhere in Japan, on the continent - in China and Korea - they began to be used in mass quantity curved blades. This form was borrowed from the steppe nomads, who preferred to fight on horseback.

It is in this case that a saber (and this is the generally accepted name for a blade of a similar shape) provides the most advantages. Cutting with a pull on yourself allows you to inflict a deeper and more dangerous wound, which is very important during fleeting horse clashes, because there is no time for a second blow (the horse carried further). But it turned out that the advantages of a curved blade do not end there. The smaller the sharpening angle, the sharper the blade, the better it cuts. But the less its mechanical strength and ability to withstand loads.

In a curved blade, the age-old debate between strength and sharpness is resolved by compromise. In a blade cutting at an angle to the plane of impact, the force application vector is not directed perpendicular to the blade, but at a certain angle proportional to the bend of the blade. The cross section of the blade built along this vector is 1.5–2 times longer than the section built perpendicular to the blade and equal to the width of the blade. Therefore, it practically turns out that with equal thickness and width of the blade and, accordingly, the same mechanical strength, a curved blade is 1.5–2 times sharper and therefore more dangerous.

It was this circumstance that contributed to the fact that curved blades “took root” on foot - after all, a strong and sharp sword gives a clear advantage on the battlefield.

But before the curved blade came to Japan, there, in the 7th century. Another type of straight sword was born - the wide and short cleaver warabite-to (a sword with a handle in the shape of a fern leaf). People of low standing were armed with this sword, and it was adapted for cutting with one hand. Nothing remarkable, except for one detail - its handle was directed upward at a certain angle relative to the blade. It is believed that a handle of this design was borrowed from the Ainu, the indigenous inhabitants of northern Japan, the island of Hokaido and surrounding areas. They have long had a national knife, the makiri, with a curved handle. It was more convenient to hold it in your hand when cutting up prey.

In warabite, such a position of the handle gives an advantage in cutting accuracy, since the axis of the handle passes in front of the blade and when moving towards the target, the blade, being behind the line directing the blow, acts as a kind of rudder, stabilizing the position of the handle in the palm. This ensures the correct position of the blade, without tilting to the side, at the moment of delivering a chopping blow.

Now, to create the stripe of a classic-looking Japanese sword, all that remained was to combine a warabite-type handle with a curved blade. This happened around the 8th century, when curved blades with a straight handle came from Korea to the Japanese islands. By creatively reworking the design of the sword, local craftsmen created ryukozuka-to (a sword with a concave-cylindrical handle). The shank of the ryukozuka followed the contours of the handle and was lined with wooden cheeks on both sides. After this, the handle was covered with leather.

Following the tradition marked by swords of this type, in the 10th century the sword kenukigata no tachi with a solid forged, voluminous iron handle, made at the same time as the blade, was popular. The handles of such swords were decorated with embossing, and the tsuba and habaki were put on from the tip side along the blade and “wedged” on it. Based on the unreliable fastening of these elements, it can be assumed that these types of swords were of a ceremonial nature, being popular among court aristocrats.

In the classic Japanese sword, the tang decreased in size and, giving the handle the optimal angle at which it joined the blade, became half its length and somewhat narrower at the base, tapering even more towards its end. All elements of the sword handle are mounted from the tang side, thereby strengthening the blade at the point of its connection with the handle.

Getting steel

The process of making a traditional Japanese sword begins with the production of the initial product - steel. It was obtained from iron-containing sand mined in certain places. This sand contained iron oxide and was called satetsu. The source material was enriched by washing with water and removing waste rock, and then burned with charcoal in a cheese furnace. As a result, a porous piece of metal was formed - kritsa. It was crushed and re-burnt, the iron was carbonized, turning into steel. The resulting mass was forged, compacting the metal. During this process, harmful impurities in the form of slags came out through the pores.

Then the resulting cake was hardened in water and broken into small fragments. Based on the graininess of the chips, which indicates different carbon content in individual fragments, they were sorted, welded, and forged until more or less homogeneous metal plates were formed. Thus, each blacksmith made the starting material for himself, in accordance with his experience. Such blacksmiths were called o-kaji.

The second method of obtaining raw materials required specialization and the efforts of many people. It took place in ovens called tatara. At one time, up to 8 tons of satetsu and 13 tons of charcoal were loaded into the furnace, obtaining at the end of the process a steel kera ingot weighing about 2 tons. This ingot was dragged up the slope of a hill and dropped onto stones, as a result of which it was broken into smaller pieces. They were picked up, crushed, and the fragments were sorted and forged, welding together. But this process was more practical, since the kera already consisted of steel, albeit very unevenly carburized, within the range of 0.6–1.5% carbon. The steel obtained in this way was called tamahagane, and it is considered the classic source material for Japanese swords. They still produce it now, as in ancient times, in the same furnaces, using traditional technology. At the same time, satetsu in some deposits is naturally alloyed with elements that, when included in the steel, improve its properties, making blades of higher quality.

Forging technology

Unlike o-kaji, who completely controlled the entire process of obtaining the raw material, blacksmiths who worked with steel produced in tatara furnaces were called ko-kaji. From small pieces of tamahagane sorted by eye, ko-kaji made metal briquettes of various qualities using forge welding. The difference was in carbon content. But even in each of the individual briquettes, the carbon content was not uniform, and therefore, when hardened, the briquettes became brittle due to excessive internal stresses and were not suitable as a starting material for making a blade.

It is from this moment that the characteristic Japanese technology begins, known in principle in other parts of the world in ancient times, but nowhere except Japan so scrupulously repeated due to the high risk of defects in the event of poor-quality “welding” of the metal layers. We are talking about the so-called “Damascus”, multilayer steel obtained by forge welding.

It should be noted that European damask, originally made in Syria, was just a cheap fake, an imitation of Indian cast damask steel, which had truly unique qualities. A package of steel plates with different carbon contents was forged, twisted repeatedly, mixing the layers, and, ultimately, a blade made from this blank was etched with a weak acid solution. As a result of this, iron corroded faster, and steel more slowly, and a relief pattern was formed on the planes, which for an inexperienced consumer was identical to damask steel. The aesthetic orientation, expressed in the unusual pattern of the blade, dominated over its quality. And only much later, the craftsmen who made Damascus were able to combine “business with pleasure”, having experimentally found such technologies, following which products from Damascus were not so noticeably inferior to real damask steel in quality, being at the level of the best European cast steels. But this is a topic for a separate article.

It should be emphasized here that the “Japanese Damascus” - repeated forging of the workpiece - pursued a different goal. Firstly, the same briquette of steel was forged. It was stretched, cut lengthwise and folded in half, welded again, cut across, folded... and so on up to 15 times (but no more). With 15-fold forging, more than 32 thousand layers of metal are formed, becoming almost homogeneous, since each layer reaches almost molecular thickness. With this operation, the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the steel package are equalized, and the forging can withstand more powerful mechanical loads, since it is known from the theory of strength of materials that a multilayer beam is much stronger than a monolithic one.

To make one blade, the blacksmith used a similar technology to produce several strips with different carbon content, which was determined by sorting the original steel fragments.

It is useless to etch a sample obtained in this way with acid, because in fact it is one piece of steel and it corrodes over the entire surface at the same speed. Therefore, the pattern on it will not appear. But in the absolutely smooth surface polished to a mirror shine, the eye of an attentive observer will see a pattern of layers coming out - hada. It is formed by an ephemeral boundary between layers - the diffusion of molecules caused by forge welding. It is this delicate, one might say microscopic work, performed with the help of forging hammers, that constitutes the main difficulty of the entire process. A little carelessness in work is enough: to leave a fingerprint or a piece of scale (a “lack of penetration” is formed in this place), and everything goes to waste.

Rational welding

The process described in the previous chapter was just a preparatory process. The result was several strips of layered steel (minimum 2, maximum 7, depending on the adopted method of welding the blade) with different carbon content. By welding them in various combinations accepted in one or another Japanese school of blacksmithing, the end result was a strip of a Japanese sword. A prerequisite was to use a strip with the highest carbon content (up to 1.5%) for the blade of the sword, and with the least (up to 0.5%) for the inner part of the blade, hidden by the side linings. At the same time, low-grade iron, capable of bending at the slightest effort, was never used inside. The use of rationally located strips of steel of different qualities in the design made it possible for the Japanese blade to confidently withstand mechanical loads and at the same time have a hard blade capable of holding an edge for a long time. In fact, the blade of a Japanese sword has a composite design with all the ensuing benefits. In the 30s of the twentieth century, the famous weapons historian V.V. Arendt, exploring this issue, called such a process “rational welding,” which very accurately conveys the essence of the final operation.

Roughing and hardening

At the end of forging, after the strip was roughly sized and shaped, it was annealed. Being slowly heated in a forge without oxygen to a temperature above 800°C, it then just as slowly cooled down along with the forge. Then the strip, which had become soft and pliable, was processed with a file and abrasive stones, giving it its final shape. In this case, the cutting edge of the blade was not sharpened, leaving it dull (1-2 mm thick) so that it could maintain uniform heating in the short period of time required to transfer the strip from the forge to a vessel with coolant. If necessary, a tool similar to a plane was used to plan the valleys along the butt. The shank was shaped and a notch was applied to it. At this point, the preparation of the blade for the most important process - hardening - was considered complete.

Before hardening, which is carried out in water at a certain temperature, the blade is covered with clay. Before this, the clay must be thoroughly muddied, that is, foreign impurities must be removed from it. In order to obtain a completely homogeneous clay for coating blades, Japan invented its own method.

To do this, on a frosty sunny day, wet lumps of clay were laid out in the sun. The moisture in the clay froze and turned into ice. The ice, without turning into water, evaporated in the sun, and the lumps crumbled, forming a dehydrated powder. It was collected, sifted on a fine sieve and mixed with water to obtain a clay solution free of impurities of the required consistency.

First, the entire blade is covered with a very thin layer of fireproof clay with additives. Then, stepping back from the edge of the blade and from the tip of the blade, thicker layers are applied to the sides and the spine of the blade, allowing each layer to dry. The essence of this process is that the thickness of the layer of clay applied to the blade regulates the rate of heat transfer during heat treatment and controls the entire process, hardening different areas of the blade in different modes during that short period of time while the weapon cools sharply in the coolant. A very thin layer of clay on the blade allows it to be hardened to maximum hardness (50–65 Rockwell). At the same time, the remaining areas are softer, but still able to withstand shock loads.

After applying layers of clay along the entire length of the blade, at the junction of the blade with the base of the blade (Hamon line), thin transverse ribs of clay (asi-legs) are applied to the thin initial layer of dried clay with the edge of a spatula. The meaning of this action is that under the thread-like thickenings on a thin section of clay, the blade is hardened in a different mode, it is less hard. As a result, the solidity of the internal structure of the hardened metal is disrupted. In practice, this means that from a section of the blade that has crumbled during operation, the cracks do not go any further, but “break off.” This extends the life of a blade with combat defects, leaving it as reliable as before.

After cleaning the hardened blade from clay residues, it is first ground with a sufficiently coarse stone so that, upon inspection in its white form, it is ensured that there are no visible defects. If the hardening was successful and there are no obvious defects, the kaji engraves on the tang, which remains soft, his name, the name of the area, or something else that his heart suggests and that will later help his descendants identify the blade of his work. By the way, the great masters did not sign their products at all, believing that it was already clear who created this man-made miracle!

To the rhetorical question about what time period is needed to forge a classic Japanese sword (Nihon-to), observing all the technologies, the answer is simple. Contrary to claims that it takes years to make one blade, the organization NBTHK (Society for the Preservation of Japanese Sword Art) has recommended that modern craftsmen working using traditional technology not make more than 24 blades in a year. If we take into account that the normal work cycle is the production of two blades at the same time (while one is warming up, the second is forged), then it takes a month to produce one blade. At the same time, one cannot make a hasty conclusion that if it takes a month to make two blades, then one will take 15 days. You can't heat it up and forge it twice as fast! Accelerated technology leads to marriage. Therefore, making two blades at the same time is just a rational use of time.

Images on the sword strip

On the blades and shanks of Japanese swords, in addition to inscriptions, there are often images that are different in nature, but always emphasize the individuality of a given sample.

First of all, artistic engravings - horimono - catch your eye. Their story is like this. IN troubled times During internecine wars, the samurai could only rely on his sword and, to give it the magical properties of a talisman, he ordered the engraver to depict the guardian deities or their names on the blade. When peaceful times came, this tradition remained, but shifted from the religious-mystical level to the decorative one. Therefore, the rough engraving of old battle swords, which was carried out by the blacksmiths themselves, became more elegant and multi-subject. The engraving themes include dragons, carps, bamboo and plum, sea waves and insects - everything that is found in tsuba subjects of this period. And the engraving was carried out by specialist engravers.

This operation also includes cutting the fullers - longitudinal grooves on the blade. Their varieties are taken into account and systematized, and the fullers themselves, in addition to their decorative function, also lighten the blade, maintaining its rigidity and dampening vibration during impact.

There are options when the decorative engraving is inside the fuller and is made three-dimensional, in the form of a bas-relief. Such images are called ukibori.

During the Edo period, a fashion also arose to engrave lines from popular poems of that time on blades, as well as battle mottos and sayings of the sages of antiquity.

If part of the Horimono is hidden under the hilt, then the strip of the sword was shortened at one time, since Japanese swords are shortened only on the side of the tang, which is cut to the required size. In this case, it happens that the old inscriptions remaining on the removed part of the shank are retained. To do this, the part of the shank with the inscription is modified and, in the form of a plate, attached with rivets to the shortened shank. But this is also a way for fakes, when a surviving inscription from a lost sword is attached to a less valuable blade.

Sometimes there are incomprehensible signs that are similar to hieroglyphs, but also different from them. These are the names of Buddhist gods written in Sanskrit, the language of Buddhist books that came from India. But in this case, Sanskrit is stylized and has acquired a more familiar appearance for the Japanese. Such inscriptions are called bonji, and they appeared at a time when the position of Shinto in the country weakened somewhat, and Buddhism came to the fore.

On the shanks, in addition to the inscription, there may be images engraved or stamped on hot metal - personal signs of the kaji. These are “mon” - a personal coat of arms bestowed for special merits, “kao” - a stylized painting in cursive style or “kakihan” - a monogram of clearly inscribed hieroglyphs placed in a frame.

All these images excite the imagination of inquisitive descendants and increase the cost of the sword.

Polishing

The next stage that a Japanese sword blade goes through is polishing. Blade polisher is a profession that has its own subtleties, so the pre-processed blade is passed on to the next specialist (along the technological chain).

First of all, it should be noted that nature gave the Japanese deposits of abrasive material of extraordinary purity and fine grain. Without this, it would have been impossible to create what is proudly called “Nihonto”.

So that the reader understands what we're talking about, I’ll tell you about one movie plot shown in Soviet times on TV. A Japanese carpenter, in front of the audience, successively sharpened the blade of his plane on a number of natural abrasive stones mined in Japan. Each time he removed thinner and finer shavings from the wooden block. The plane seemed to stick to the wood and with a leisurely, effortless movement, long, unbroken shavings equal to the width of the blade appeared from it. After the last sharpening, the shavings became almost transparent - thinner than tissue paper! At the same time, the master did not shout that he had set a record, nor did he demand to be included in the Guinness Book. He was a master high class, capable of applying their skills in practice, and not making a show out of it.

Likewise, the polisher, using successively smaller abrasive stones, brings the surface of the blade to an ideal state, allowing, as through glass, to see the structure of the blade, all the nuances of its hardening. There is no such thorough polishing of weapons anywhere in the world!

Why is this possible?

Let's take a break from the complex manufacturing process and ask a natural question - why? Indeed, why do people create things with such care that their production can be elevated to the rank of art? A possible answer is the national Japanese religion Shinto - the way of the gods. In it, the sword is elevated to the rank of an attribute of divine power. The next thing that comes to mind is the unusually high position of the military class in medieval Japan and the pair of swords that accompanied the samurai throughout his life, as a symbol of this high position. But this is only part of the truth. No religion, no prestigious order will force a craftsman to work better than he wants. Let's try to listen to an eyewitness, the creator of the famous lines:

"The West is the West,
East is east
And they can’t get together..."

English writer R.D. Kipling, while visiting Japan in 1889, wrote: “I was shown a man who had been polishing a small vase five inches high for a month. He had two more days to work... and the ruby ​​dragon frolicking on the lapis lazuli field, every tiny detail, every curl, every area filled with enamel, would become more and more attractive.

You can buy it cheaper elsewhere,” the owner said, smiling. We don't know how to make them like that. This vase will cost seventy dollars.

I respected his words because he said “we can’t” instead of “we don’t.” It was the artist who spoke."

In Japan there is the concept of minshu-teki kogei (art created by hand for everyday use by people). This is exactly the case when a reverent attitude towards a thing created with one’s own hands forces a master to put his soul into the act of creation, not in the hope of the final reward, but simply because otherwise it is not worth taking on the work. Japanese masters of the highest standard in professions that are not at all prestigious in the rest of the world raise their work to the level of art, and this awareness of their own dignity forces them to strictly follow ancient technologies in all cases and get excellent results.

Testing and installation

After polishing and sharpening, which lasts an average of two weeks, the blade with a temporary handle ends up in the hands of a sword testing specialist. Why did this happen? Couldn’t a samurai, the future owner of the sword, cut something like that and then, with the air of an expert, examine the blade, declare: “The sword is so-so, it can’t cut nails!”

In Japan, there were official testing tests that only a professional could perform. Such tests were called tameshigiri (trial cutting). When testing blades, they were used to chop sheaves of straw, rolled mats - tatami, copper and iron plates. But the most exotic and at the same time the most real tests took place during the executions of criminals and on the bodies of already executed people.

From the darkness of centuries came the story of a certain executioner Goto. When he needed to test yet another new sword on convicts tied to posts, it suddenly began to rain. Goto took an umbrella in his left hand, a sword in his right and went out into the yard. He returned a few moments later, his clothes and sword barely wet. Handing it to the owner, he uttered words of approval, and all witnesses to this scene agreed that Goto was a true master of his craft.

The results of official tests were written on the tang of the sword and, unlike the humble kaji inscription, were often inlaid with gold wire.

There was also a custom of unofficial testing of the sword, tsuzugiri (street cutting), when a samurai, most often of low rank, went out at night with his sword and tried to kill some commoner. However, some high-ranking samurai did not disdain this, so to speak, to keep in shape.

After tests that revealed the working capabilities of the sword, the blade at the final stage went to the Tsubako workshop, where accessories were made for it, and it took on a well-recognized elegant appearance.

This is, in fact, the entire technological chain, after which the product turned into a formidable weapon and at the same time a work of art. Further, each sword had its own fate, in which some were destined, having broken in battle, to be lost in time, while others turned into kokuho - a national treasure and, passed down from generation to generation, have survived to this day, surrounded by legends.

Variety of forms

It would seem that nothing could be simpler! Receiving for centuries practical results operation various swords on the fields of numerous battles, you can choose or combine the most successful model, make samples and send them to all known kaji, oblige them to produce exactly the same. Call the resulting samples standard and equip a standing army of samurai with these weapons. In fact, this is what they did in Europe as soon as regular armies appeared there. This simplified the armament process, reduced the cost of supplies and, ultimately, made it possible to keep the armament process itself in the strong hands of the central government. And yet, in Japan, nothing like this happened until the military class in 1876 was equated with the rest, and the attributes of their high position - a pair of swords with which they were not parted - were prohibited.

Okay, let there be 11 main forms of stripes of Japanese swords, 6 types of their bends, 12 types of blade tip design, 7 types of section and 6 types of butt. In the end, all this is visible and directly affects the performance of the blade.

But - 6 types of shank shapes and 10 types of its end, not to mention 20 main types of notches on the same shanks. But besides this, there are also intermediate forms! Why do all this if the tang embedded in the handle is not visible at all, except for those rare moments when the handle is removed, and the marks left by the craftsmen are admired on the tang, dark from time to time?

Perhaps the issue of such diversity will be clarified by the statement of a person close to artistic world, but we have already come to the conclusion that Japanese artisans who devote themselves entirely to their work are artists.

Masami Shiraishi, chief curator of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, said: “...another important characteristic of Japanese applied art is the deliberate infliction of damage. By destruction correct forms, such as a circle or a square, behind the perfection of which beauty is hidden, reveal a beauty inaccessible to reason.”

The thousand-year history of the Japanese blade is a continuous search for that very beauty that is inaccessible to reason, which all true artists strive for and at the same time, everyone feels it in their own way!

Secondary blades

This topic has already been touched upon in previous publications, so without repeating it, let’s expand on it somewhat. Firstly, and quite naturally, the auxiliary blades: kozuka, kogai and umabari, were made from pieces of the same forged strips of steel that were used to make the sword. Therefore, with good polishing, a pattern is visible on them, formed due to the multilayered nature of the source material.

The kozuka, a small knife carried on the inside of the rim of a Japanese sword, dates back to ancient times when bushi carried only one sword at their waist. In the 7th – 8th centuries. soldiers (low-ranking bushi) were allowed to carry a small knife - tosu - along with a sword. Its blade, with a one-sided sharpening, 10-20 cm long, was used not only as a weapon, but also for economic purposes. At the same time, over time, the size of the blade became smaller and smaller and in some specimens that have survived to this day, it reaches only 3 cm. Such short tosu were worn in several pieces in one sheath. When samurai began to wear a second sword (kogatana - a small sword) in their belts, the tosu knife, used only for household needs, migrated to the frame of the sword, where it was always at hand and at the same time out of the way.

During the times of continuous wars, the kozuka blade was quite large and repeated the contours of a straight sword - chokuto. Since it was intended for household needs, it was sharpened many times, and it took the specific shape of a knife worn out on campaigns (other knives were used at home). Perhaps because of this, in imitation of the blades of veterans who spend their lives on campaigns, a fashion arose for making this blade exactly like this, specific shape. Young samurai, taking out this blade at a rest, seemed to assert themselves, showing that they, too, were “not cut out for it!” During the Edo period, the bloody campaigns ended, but this fashion found fertile ground when they began to strive to make weapons as elegant as possible, and the decor of the handle became the main advantage. Therefore, this form of kozuka blade has become traditional and has been preserved for several centuries.

Kogai, a kind of awl attached to the outside of the frame, is nothing more than a device called a “pile” in the navy and is mainly intended for untying knots. The fact is that Japanese armor did not have tightening belts with buckles. All their elements on the warrior were tied together with cords that were tied in knots. To free oneself from armor, such a tool was extremely necessary.

Sometimes kogai consisted of two halves (wari-kogai, double or wari-bashi, two chopsticks). When folded, they occupied their usual place on the outside of the sword rim, and were often used during meals.

There is nothing unusual in this; Chinese and Mongolian knives, as a rule, had a special compartment in their sheaths specifically for sticks. The Japanese simply combined this function with a tool designed for other things.

Perhaps kozuka and kogai were used so that on the battlefield a samurai could celebrate his glorious victory by sticking one of these objects into the ear of a defeated enemy, without thereby spoiling the appearance of the trophy that he had to present after the battle to confirm his feat and receive appropriate honors. All other functions of these objects, for example, cleaning one’s own ears and throwing at a target, let them remain on the conscience of the numerous authors who touch upon these issues.

Umabari is a stiletto-shaped blade with several edges, in contrast to the round or oval kozuka. Its purpose is explained very vaguely, as an item for caring for horses. At best: in order to “bleed for medical purposes.” What kind of goals are these? At one time in the steppe outback, where horses are kept in herds and shepherds only heard about veterinarians, I observed the following picture. The horse, swollen like a drum, was held by several shepherds, not allowing it to lie down, and the oldest and most experienced one took out a tool similar to an awl, but made of a triangular file and polished to a shine. Having boiled it in a pot, he went up to the horse and poked it in the stomach with this awl. There was a noise of gases escaping from the puncture, and the horse became noticeably smaller. They covered her wound with something and left her for a couple of days near the yurt, after which she – alive and well – returned to the herd.

The shepherds told me that this happens quite often to horses that are freely grazing, because, unlike wild animals, they eat all the plants in a row, and some types of herbs are harmful or even poisonous. And this the only way- save the horse's life. And a faceted instrument because a round one would clog the wound and prevent gases from escaping.

Therefore, it can be assumed that the umabari was borrowed by the Japanese from the steppe nomads and became a necessary accessory for those who were associated not only with caring for horses, but also with grazing them in herds.

Army sword blades

Shingunto blades (new army sword), manufactured for the Japanese army from 1930 to 1945 inclusive and supplied to officers and sergeants (see “Japanese army swords” “Weapons and Hunting” No. 9, 2001) are available in Japan, unlike nihonto, a completely different status.

After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the victors - the Americans - insisted that these swords, as a symbol of Japanese militarism, be legally sentenced to destruction. This law is still in effect today, and therefore Japanese army swords, often found among collectors in many countries, are extremely rare in Japan. An exception is made only for swords in an army frame, but old - family ones - like the sword on display at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Kyiv.

What are Shingunto blades? Firstly, this product is most often made of cast steel, which has a uniform structure and the yakiba - the hardened part of the blade - is fake, obtained either by etching or grinding according to a template. Such blades were most often tempered in oil. Most of the manufactured samples are characterized as “sunobe abura yaki-ire” (forged from factory-made cast steel and hardened in oil). Their quality is completely different, because they were made in many places by different craftsmen, for whom quantity was a priority. For example, one of the Japanese sources talks about the blacksmith Mineyoshi Nakajima, who worked in Beijing in 1942. Having another blacksmith and ten Chinese auxiliary workers in his forge, he supplied the army with 300 blades a month, making them from English-made rails with the Sheffield brand, which he bought from the Chinese, who dismantled the surrounding areas at night. railways. In this case, the upper part of the rail, compacted by multi-ton trains, was used, and the middle and lower parts became production waste. With such a monthly workload, he also managed to make custom blades without presenting them to army inspectors.

In the arsenals of Japan, located in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, blades were generally made by rolling, passing a hot strip of metal between two shafts of the desired configuration. Then the resulting blade was straightened, hardened and sent for polishing, and the entire manufacturing process was accelerated as much as possible. Such blades were called mantetsu-to (rolled steel hardened in oil). One should not think that such blades were of poor quality. This method was widely practiced in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and this technology came to Japan from there. For edged weapons of mass consumption, so to speak, this method of making blades was very progressive.

Military blades have numbers, acceptance marks and marks of the arsenal that manufactured them. If blades were made in a private workshop, the blacksmith did not always sign his products. Sometimes some patriotic mottos were applied to army blades.

Swords with Shingunto blades were indeed a symbol of selfless loyalty to the emperor and the homeland, and Japanese warriors - officers and sergeants - died in battle with a sword in their hands or, if this was impossible, at least touching its hilt with their hand, as kamikazes did - sacrificing pilots themselves, but also destroyed the ships of the enemy sailing to the shores of their homeland - Nihon (Nippon, - sun, root, country) - the country where the sun originates.

Expertise

In the 7th – 8th centuries, the production of weapons in Japan was taken into special account by the government. Since then, the official position of a sword connoisseur - mekiki - has appeared. They followed the work of the most famous kaji, described the swords they made and valued them in monetary terms. The fact that swords were incredibly expensive in Japan is evidenced by the remark of a Dutch merchant who visited Japan in the second half of the 17th century. He writes that “...swords and daggers in Japan often cost 4-5 thousand florins or more,” which by European standards was a fortune. In order for the product to match its price, experts were involved, mostly hereditary specialists, who for generations had collected and classified all available information regarding the manufacture of swords. Their work has created an extensive literature on swords in Japan. Many blades, once famous, but lost and not surviving to this day, are known thanks to scrolls on which they are depicted quite meticulously.

A real examination of a Japanese sword with the issuance of a corresponding certificate - origami - which has absolute authority, is possible only in Japan and only by Japanese specialists, for which the blades are specially brought or sent to the country. All other certificates, no matter where the examination takes place and whoever carries out the examination, are not recognized in Japan, being essentially a fake. Only specialists involved in examination from generation to generation can, with a reasonable degree of probability, clarify the origin of the blade being studied. But even in this case, when defining kaji, a reservation is allowed: “the father or son of such and such a family of masters worked.”

Currently, experts - mekiki - work in two Japanese organizations:

– Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kekai (NBTHK – Society for the Preservation of Japanese Sword Art);

– Nippon Token Hozon Kyokai (NTHK – Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword).

Both of these organizations recognize the Japanese sword as "an art worthy of preservation" only if its blade is made using traditional technology. In the gradation they developed, a blade can occupy one of six levels of its value status, from kokuho - a national treasure (assigned only to blades located in Japan and prohibited for export) to hozon token (protected sword).

Collecting

Collecting Japanese swords is a common hobby among people who collect collections of bladed weapons. When you come into contact with these silent witnesses of history, be it highly artistic blades of old masters or even singunto from the Second World War, you feel the breath of time, your involvement in the past.

But some unpleasant surprises may await the collector along the way. We are not talking about Hong Kong or Taiwanese interior remodels, with which everything is already clear. The difficulty is that not every stripe that looks like the blade of a Japanese sword and at the same time is quite old and has its own history is actually such a sword.

It is known that since the end of the 17th century, Japanese blacksmiths forged sword strips from imported steel without using rational welding. The steel for them was delivered from the mainland and was called namban-tetsu (steel of the southern barbarians), and the type of construction of the maru-gitae blade itself was a solid structure.

Therefore, a blade identical in design to the Shingunto may have a longer history, but at the same time not fall into the category of a real Japanese sword - nihonto.

In addition, it is known that in the Middle Ages a lot of Japanese blades were made for export and taken to China, exchanged for other goods. According to Japanese documents, this export is traced, amounting to 3502 swords in 1432, 9900 swords in 1453, and 24,862 swords in 1539. In total, in the first half of the 16th century, 100 thousand Japanese-made swords were exported to China, and their further fate was not connected with either Japan or the samurai. Moreover, such popularity of this “overseas superweapon” gave rise to the production of weapons of a similar type in China itself and in Korea. Korean swords, similar in design to Japanese ones, are called paivoldo. They are easier to manufacture and somewhat lighter than Japanese ones.

In China, such swords are called yaodao - belt sword. Obviously, bodyguards of all times are characterized by a love of imported weapons (“no prophet is in his own country!”) and the imperial palace guard in Beijing was armed with such swords. Moreover, the blades of these swords were both original Japanese and Chinese. The installation was carried out in Chinese style. An example of this could be a sword from the collection of Emperor Peter I, stored in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. Its definition as “katana type saber, Japan, 17th century” is questionable.

Firstly, the blade itself, with a wide (full width of the strip) and rather short fuller starting at the handle, after which, after some distance, two narrow fullers stretch along the butt to the working part of the blade, and its double-edged end is typical of Chinese craftsmen . Secondly, there is no such important detail, like a habaki clutch, and the wooden handle is round (the cross-section of the handle of a Japanese sword is an ellipse). In addition, the gold-plated futi coupling appears to be made in the form of a ring, rather than a cap, like the Japanese. The diameter of this coupling is significantly larger than the diameter of the handle, and a unique floral ornament is used for its decoration. All this suggests that this sword was made by Chinese craftsmen.

From past to future

The very fact that the art of making nihonto now exists, and the growing interest shown by weapon lovers around the world in this tradition, puts the Japanese sword out of time. Collecting its elements that bear the stamp of true art: tsuba, menuki and toshin (sword body, stripe), embodying the aesthetics of the Japanese worldview, their deep respect for their traditions and the filigree craftsmanship of their ancestors, elevates the Japanese sword to an international phenomenon.

People who start collecting Japanese edged weapons simply because they like it and have the means to do so, over time begin to understand that they are collecting bits and pieces of our common history.

And this feeling extinguishes the aggressiveness of the thing, highlighting its aesthetic value, which is fully perceived when leisurely examining the Japanese Nihon-to sword.

"I put things into the light
And I watch the shadows being born
At noon in autumn..."

Takahama Kyoshi (1874–1959)

In the late 80s of the 20th century, along with the first video recorders, video cassettes with Hollywood films about ninjas were brought to the USSR. It was then that the inhabitants of the USSR learned that the strange ninja sword with which they cut down entire hordes of enemies was called a ninja-to. Many children, and adults too, after watching these films, were sure that the legendary ninja sword was made in ancient times from some kind of super steel and was passed down for dozens of generations from master to student. As it turned out, the truth was very far from this theory.

True quality of traditional Japanese swords

There is an opinion that a real Japanese sword (be it a ninja or a samurai katana) is made of the highest quality steel, and the process of its manufacture can last several years. Indeed, making a Japanese sword is a fairly lengthy procedure, and its forging consists of numerous hammering and folding of a strip of metal.

The problem is that Japan does not have high-quality ore for steel production. To obtain a more or less acceptable quality of steel, the billets had to be stored in swamp water for years. Even after this, European steel was of better quality than Japanese. It is for this reason that most ancient Japanese swords were made from blanks that were brought to Japan by European traders. These blanks were forged using traditional Japanese technology, resulting in high-quality swords.

What shape was the blade of a real ninja sword?

Currently, there is practically only one opinion on the Internet, wandering from site to site, regarding the shape of the ninja sword blade. It states that not a single museum dedicated to the history of ninjas has an ancient example of a straight ninja sword. It is not clear in which museums these “experts” were, but in the same Iga-ryu museum you can see straight ninja swords.

If you delve into the study of ninja fighting techniques, you will see that the entire ninja sword fighting technique is based on the technique of stabbing. This does not mean that ninjas did not cut with their swords, it was just that it was easier to kill a professional samurai using a stabbing technique with a sword, which was unfamiliar to them. In addition, most often ninjas carried out their tasks by dressing up and masquerading as soldiers, peasants, monks or townspeople. In this case, their weapons were no different in appearance from the weapons of the class that they currently represented.

Despite the fact that in films ninjas are presented as powerful and rich clans, the ninja sword did not carry any sacred meaning. It was a common tool that was suitable for solving many problems that Japanese ninjas had to solve.

Components of a ninja sword

Like all Japanese swords, the ninja consists of 4 main elements:

1. Directly the blade itself;
2. Guards;
3. The handle, which was most often all-metal;
4. Scabbard.

Although the hilt of a ninja sword was similar in appearance to the hilt of a katana, it performed functions that were not available for traditional samurai swords. The hilt of the ninja sword was braided with a long black cord. Unlike the katana, there was no menuki woven into the braid of the ninja sword.

At the end of the metal hilt of a ninja sword there was often a cap that covered a hiding place located in the hilt. Not only were various secret documents carried in this cache, but it was also used to carry gunpowder or various blinding mixtures based on pepper and sand. A throwing knife was sometimes attached to the cap that covered the cache.

As for the sheath, unlike the sheath of a samurai sword, the ninja sheath was a universal device that could be used for many purposes:

• They were longer than the blade of the sword, so they often contained hiding places for documents or additional weapons;
• The tip of the scabbard was often removable, and another additional knife was attached to it;
• There were swords that could be combined with a sword, after which a short spear was obtained;
• The scabbard was quite simple, but very strong. They could be used as a cradle-“perch”, which was suspended under a bridge or from the ceiling, and could withstand the weight of the owner, who had to watch over his enemy for a long time;
• The sheath of a ninja sword, like the sheath of a samurai sword, was wrapped with a sareo cord, which for the ninja was much longer. It could be used for a variety of operations such as tying up an enemy, setting traps, simple rope, and many other operations.

The guard of a ninja sword, in contrast to this element on a samurai sword, was more massive and stronger, while its shape was square. It could be used as a step or a weapon, as it was made of metal.

How to make a ninja sword with your own hands

In order to make a ninja sword with your own hands, you need to know at least the basics of blacksmithing. A long blade can only be forged if you first practice on shorter ones, for example, when making knives. It is much easier to find or buy a strip of 65G steel and use a grinder and files to give it the desired shape. When making a sword, you should not sharpen it, otherwise it will be the manufacture of edged weapons, which is prohibited by law.

The procedure for making a sword from a finished strip of metal is as follows:

• First, the outline of the future sword is drawn on the strip;
• Then, using a grinder, this contour is cut out from the workpiece;
• The following procedure is the removal of triggers on the sword blade. For this you will need a grinder. In extreme cases, you can use an electric sharpener. Gradually removing the metal from one side or the other, you need to bring out the shape of the blade;
• Next, the workpiece is hardened, sharpened and ground. If the blade needs to be given shine, it is carefully polished;
• Next, you need to cut a square tsuba out of metal and make a metal handle. It is with the handle that you will have to tinker, so it is better to make it out of wood. The blade is secured to the handle using wooden pegs;
• The next difficult step will be making the sheath. As with the handle, they are easier to make from wood, although according to the rules they must be made from metal. If you make the scabbard identical, then it can take 2 times longer to make it than to make the scabbard.

Ninja sword technique

The technique of fighting with a ninja sword is very different from the technique of working with a katana. Despite the fact that ninjas are considered masters of sword fighting, in reality, in open combat against a samurai, ninjas had no chance. In written sources that described such battles, ninjas achieved victories in such battles only through the use of various tricks. For example, spitting, hitting the groin, throwing various mixtures in the face, and so on. One ninja was able to defeat the samurai after his death. To do this, he used a sword in battle, in the hilt of which was mounted gem and a poisonous needle. The samurai who defeated him received this sword, and when he picked it up, he received an injection from a poisonous needle.

Basically, the shinobi-gatana fighting technique was based on one fatal blow. In fact, ninjas tried to avoid not only combat, but even detection. If a spy was discovered, he tried to quickly kill the enemy and disappear.

How medieval ninjas carried a sword

In modern ninja films, swords are carried behind the back, with the hilt up, with the hilt sticking out over the right shoulder, and the tip of the scabbard sticking out at the left side. Everyone is already so accustomed to this position of the sword that they do not question this method of wearing. A Japanese expert in the field of Japanese weapons, Nava Yumio, conducted several experiments, as a result of which he came to the conclusion that ninjas never carried a sword as shown in the movies.

Here are the arguments given by Nava Yumio:

• The handle sticking out on one side and the tip of the sheath on the other side will cling to branches, trees and other obstacles, creating unnecessary noise and drawing attention to the ninja warrior;
• If the sword sticks out behind your back, this will not allow you to do somersaults and rolls, which were constantly used by ninjas in battle. If you try to roll with a sword behind your back, the square guard is highly likely to cause injury to your face;
• A sword positioned in this way is almost impossible to sheathe;
• It is almost impossible to grab a long sword from such a position, especially considering the body structure of the Japanese, and especially ninjas, who stood out even among the Japanese for their subtlety.

Taking into account all of the above, the Japanese specialist concluded that ninjas carried their swords on their left side. It is from this position that you can quickly and effectively remove the sword, delivering a blow along with the extraction.

As for carrying a sword behind the back, this method actually took place among Japanese samurai, but only the handle in this case protruded above the left shoulder. It is possible that the ninjas who dressed up as samurai also used this method of carrying a sword.

The most convenient place to carry a ninja sword

Carrying a sword on the left side has many advantages, which is why ninjas carried it that way. The sword in this position was easily removed, often together with the scabbard, if necessary. Sometimes, if a ninja had to capture a living hostage or "tongue", the ninja would strike him over the head with a sheathed sword.

It was wearing a sword on a belt that helped the ninja during an operation to penetrate the victim’s house. Moving in the dark, the ninja could sense the space in front of him in two ways (although the second method is highly questionable):

1. The ninja pulled out the sheathed sword in front of him and felt the space. If the sheath bumped into an enemy, the ninja instantly jumped back, simultaneously drawing the sword from the sheath. Immediately after this the fatal blow was struck;
2. The second method is similar, only the ninja felt the path in front of him with the hilt of his sword. This method is most likely fiction, since the enemy could grab the hilt of the sword and take possession of the weapon.

Ninja sword blade coloring

Ninjas usually did not polish the blades of their swords. This is due not so much to the fact that a polished blade can give away the movement of a scout, but also to the large labor costs of polishing the weapon. For operations in the dark, ninjas matted the blades of their swords or inked them using lye. In the latter case, the blade of the sword was wrapped in silk, which was then set on fire. After this procedure, the blade became dark in color and was almost invisible in the dark.

One of the Japanese experts in the field of edged weapons put forward a theory that in the days of the ninja there were swords whose blades were coated with black varnish. Moreover, these swords were among the best. This theory is very interesting, but lacks common sense, since no one will varnish a sword that took weeks of labor to polish. In addition, a layer of varnish on the blade will make the sword not so sharp, that is, it will no longer be able to cut. Moreover, there is no ancient sword, the blade of which would be completely covered with varnish.

This theory arose after reading some medieval documents that actually mentioned o-kashi-gatana swords, the blades of which were completely covered with varnish. In fact, these swords were of very low quality, and were made to order by Japanese daimyos in the hundreds. These swords were stored in warehouses for a long time. Varnishing was necessary to prevent them from rusting. At the same time, high-quality swords were stored in large barrels of oil. All such swords were typical katanas and were rarely used by ninjas.

The ninja sword is a real monster weapon that, together with its scabbard, could perform many different functions. Since a ninja, going on a long journey, simply physically could not carry an entire arsenal on himself, he needed just such a multifunctional sword.

One of the most frequent subjects of dispute between ninja experts and ninjaphiles. Moreover, almost everything is often disputed: from the material and workmanship of the blade to the cord and insert needles. And although swords for ninjas have never been an object of cult, a simple and heavy piece of sharp iron in those times of unrest was as indispensable as a pistol during the showdowns of the 90s.

In films and games we often see what ninja-ken a regular long one is issued Samurai sword. And there is some truth in this: in those cases when a shinobi disguised himself as a ronin or nobleman, no other sword was simply unthinkable to wear. The katana was not always suitable for covert surprise attacks, because it was quite long and not very convenient for carrying while climbing walls/trees/fences and striking in confined spaces. From this we can conclude that ninja It was still somewhat shorter than the katana.

Blade shape Shinobi-Gatana for some reason it always seems straight, although in the heyday of ninjutsu there were few straight blades in Japan - well, they didn’t seem practical at that time and that’s all. Even a slightly curved blade had a much better cutting effect than a sharp straight strip of iron. Although this does not deny the existence of straight blades ( chokuto) - there will always be exotic lovers. Today, straight "swords" are popular mainly because huge amount fakes by Spanish craftsmen stamping ninja in Spanish on a market scale.

Handle Shinobi-Gatans was most likely the same as most Japanese swords - long enough to allow a two-handed grip. The handle was wrapped with a long cord, and the long cord - sageo- attached to the scabbard. For the separate use of this piece of twine for military and peaceful purposes, the cunning Japanese came up with one and a half thousand ways. Well, it is clear that ninjas did not decorate the hilts of their swords with beads, silks and stuffed animals, because it was impractical.

Garda or tsuba(protection for the hand holding the sword) is believed to have been square - there is likely a practical justification for this. But it was almost certainly removable and strong enough to be paired with a sword and sageo play the role of such a small ladder. In general, the removable parts in a ninja sword are a separate song sung by experts. And if you give free rein to your imagination, then the ninja sword could include almost a folding self-propelled gun. From the sheath alone it was possible to build a blowpipe, a case for documents, a handle for a halberd, and storage for the second and third spare knives, and on top disguise it all as a flute. And in the handle were stored prickly poisoned needles, poison, again knives and a supply of provisions for a week. But the worst thing is that, even despite this wild exaggeration, the existence of such a sword is sometimes still believed, unlike all sorts of, God forgive me, fuum.

In general, if you evaluate the level of development of Japanese gunsmiths of that time and the purposes for which shinobi swords were served, then in the end the following “generalized” representative appears before your eyes ninja: a sword similar to a katana, but somewhat shorter, unadorned and with a square or oval guard, with a hilt, wrapped in a nondescript but strong cord and in a sheath modified for a specific mission (for example, for use as a snorkel for underwater breathing). It’s simple, but practical, isn’t it?