Japanese samurai swords. Samurai swords. Japanese weapons and their types

The sword has always been the weapon of the nobility. The knights treated their blades as comrades in battle, and, having lost his sword in battle, a warrior covered himself with indelible shame. Among the glorious representatives of this type of bladed weapon there is also its own “nobility” - famous blades, which, according to legend, have magical properties, for example, putting enemies to flight and protecting their owner. There is some truth in such tales - an artifact sword by its very appearance could inspire the companions of its owner. We present to you 1 2 most famous deadly relics in history.

1. The Sword in the Stone

Many people remember the legend of King Arthur, which tells how he plunged his sword into a stone to prove his right to the throne. Despite the complete fantastic nature of this story, it may be based on real events, only they occurred much later than the estimated time of the reign of the legendary king of the Britons.

In the Italian chapel of Monte Siepi there is kept a block with a blade firmly embedded in it, which, according to some sources, belonged to the Tuscan knight Galliano Guidotti, who lived in the 12th century.

According to legend, Guidotti had a bad temper and led a rather dissolute lifestyle, so one day the Archangel Michael appeared to him and urged him to take the path of serving the Lord, that is, to become a monk. Laughing, the knight declared that going to the monastery would be as difficult for him as cutting a stone, and to confirm his words, he forcefully struck a boulder lying nearby with his blade. The Archangel showed the stubborn man a miracle - the blade easily entered the stone, and the amazed Galliano left it there, after which he embarked on the path of correction and was later canonized, and the fame of his sword, which pierced the stone, spread throughout Europe.

Having subjected the block and sword to radiocarbon analysis, an employee of the University of Pavia, Luigi Garlaschelli, discovered that some part of this story may well be true: the age of the stone and sword is about eight centuries, that is, it coincides with the life of Signor Guidotti.

2. Kusanagi no Tsurugi

This mythical sword has been a symbol of the power of Japanese emperors for several centuries. Kusanagi no tsurugi (translated from Japanese as “sword that mows grass”) is also known as Ame-nomurakumo no tsurugi - “sword that collects the clouds of heaven.”

The Japanese epic says that the sword was found by the wind god Susanoo in the body of an eight-headed dragon he killed. Susanoo gave the blade to his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu, later it ended up with her grandson Ninigi, and after some time it went to the demigod Jimmu, who then became the first emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun.

It is interesting that the Japanese authorities never put the sword on public display, but, on the contrary, tried to hide it away from prying eyes - even during coronations the sword was carried out wrapped in linen. It is believed to be kept at the Atsuta Shinto shrine in Nagoya, but there is no evidence of its existence.

The only ruler of Japan to publicly mention the sword was Emperor Hirohito: giving up the throne after the country's defeat in World War II, he called on the temple servants to keep the sword at all costs.

3. Durendal

For centuries, parishioners of the Not-Dame chapel, located in the city of Rocamadour, could see a sword stuck in the wall, which, according to legend, belonged to Roland himself, a hero of medieval epics and legends who existed in reality.

According to legend, he threw his magic blade while protecting the chapel from the enemy, and the sword remained in the wall. Attracted by these tales of the monks, numerous pilgrims flocked to Rocamadour, who retold the story of Roland's sword to each other, and thus the legend spread throughout Europe.

However, according to scientists, the sword in the chapel is not the legendary Durandal, with which Roland terrified his enemies. The famous knight of Charlemagne died on August 15, 778 in a battle with the Basques in the Roncesvalles Gorge, located hundreds of kilometers from Rocamadour, and rumors about “Durandal” lodged in the wall began to appear only in the middle of the 12th century, almost simultaneously with writing "The Song of Roland". The monks simply associated Roland's name with the sword to ensure a steady stream of worshipers. But rejecting the version about Roland as the owner of the blade, experts cannot offer anything in return - who it belonged to will probably remain a mystery.

By the way, now the sword is not in the chapel - in 2011 it was removed from the wall and sent to the Paris Museum of the Middle Ages. It is also interesting that in French the word "Durandal" is feminine, so Roland probably felt not friendly affection for his sword, but real passion and could hardly throw his beloved against the wall.

4. Bloodthirsty Blades of Muramasa

Muramasa is a famous Japanese swordsman and blacksmith who lived in the 16th century. According to legend, Muramasa prayed to the gods to imbue his blades with bloodthirstiness and destructive force. The master made very good swords, and the gods respected his request, placing a demonic spirit of extermination of all living things in each blade.

It is believed that if the Muramasa sword gathers dust for a long time without use, it can provoke the owner to commit murder or suicide in order to “drink” blood in this way. There are countless stories of Muramasa sword wielders who went crazy or slaughtered many people. After a series of accidents and murders that occurred in the family of the famous shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, which popular rumor associated with Muramasa's curse, the government outlawed the master's blades, and most of them were destroyed.

To be fair, it must be said that the Muramasa school is an entire dynasty of gunsmiths that lasted for about a century, so the story of the “demonic spirit of bloodthirstiness” embedded in swords is nothing more than a legend. The curse of the blades made by the masters of the school was, paradoxically as it may sound, their exceptional quality. Many experienced warriors preferred them to other swords and, apparently, thanks to their art and the sharpness of Muramasa’s blades, they won victories more often than others.

5. Honjo Masamune

Unlike the bloodthirsty swords of Muramasa, the blades made by the master Masamune, according to legend, endowed warriors with calmness and wisdom. According to legend, in order to find out whose blades were better and sharper, Muramasa and Masamune dipped their swords into a river with lotuses. The flowers revealed the essence of each of the masters: the blade of Masamune’s sword did not inflict a single scratch on them, because his blades cannot harm the innocent, and Muramasa’s product, on the contrary, seemed to be striving to cut the flowers into small pieces, justifying its reputation.

Of course, this is pure fiction - Masamune lived almost two centuries earlier than the gunsmiths of the Muramasa school. However, Masamune swords are truly unique: the secret of their strength cannot be revealed to this day, even using Newest technologies and research methods.

All surviving blades made by the master are the national treasure of the Country Rising Sun and are carefully guarded, but the best of them, Honjo Masamune, was given to American soldier Colde Bimor after the Japanese surrender in World War II, and its whereabouts are currently unknown. The government of the country is trying to find a unique blade, but so far, alas, in vain.

6. Joyeuse

The Joyeuse blade (translated from the French “joyeuse” - “joyful”), according to legend, belonged to the founder of the Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne, and served him faithfully for many years. According to legend, he could change the color of the blade up to 30 times a day and outshine the Sun with its brightness. Currently, there are two blades that the famous monarch could wield.

One of them, used for many years as the coronation sword of French kings, is kept in the Louvre, and for hundreds of years there has been controversy as to whether Charlemagne's hand actually grasped its hilt. Radiocarbon dating proves that this cannot be true: the surviving old part of the sword exhibited in the Louvre (over the past hundreds of years it has been remade and restored more than once) was created between the 10th and 11th centuries, after the death of Charlemagne (the emperor died in 814). Some believe that the sword was made after the destruction of the present Joyeuse and is his an exact copy, or there is a part of “Joyful” in it.

The second contender for belonging to the legendary king is the so-called saber of Charlemagne, now located in one of the museums in Vienna. Experts differ regarding the time of its manufacture, but many admit that it could still have belonged to Charles: he probably captured the weapon as a trophy during one of his campaigns in Eastern Europe. Of course, this is not the famous Joyeuse, but, nevertheless, the saber has no price as a historical artifact.

7. Sword of St. Peter

There is a legend that the blade, which is part of the exhibition of the museum in the Polish city of Poznan, is nothing more than the sword with which the Apostle Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant during the arrest of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. This sword was brought to Poland in 968 by Bishop Jordan, who assured everyone that the blade belonged to Peter. Adherents of this myth believe that the sword was forged at the beginning of the 1st century somewhere on the eastern outskirts of the Roman Empire

Most researchers, however, are confident that the weapon was made much later than the events described in the Bible, this is confirmed by an analysis of the metal from which the sword and the falchion-type blade were smelted - such swords simply were not made in the time of the apostles, they appeared only in the 11th century .

8. Wallace's Sword

According to legend, Sir William Wallace, a military commander and leader of the Scots in the struggle for independence from England, after winning the Battle of Stirling Bridge, covered the hilt of his sword with the skin of the treasurer, Hugh de Cressingham, who was collecting taxes for the English. One must think that the unfortunate treasurer had to endure many terrible moments before his death, because in addition to the hilt, Wallace made a scabbard and a sword belt from the same material.

According to another version of the legend, Wallace made only a sword belt from leather, but it is incredibly difficult to say anything for sure now, because at the request of King James IV of Scotland, the sword was redesigned - the old worn finish of the sword was replaced with one more befitting of this great artifact.

Probably, Sir William could really decorate his weapon with the skin of the treasurer: as a patriot of his country, he hated traitors who collaborated with the occupiers. However, there is another opinion - many believe that the story was invented by the British to create the image of a bloodthirsty monster for the fighter for Scottish independence. We will most likely never know the truth.

9. Goujian Sword

In 1965, in one of the ancient Chinese tombs, archaeologists found a sword on which, despite the dampness that had surrounded it for many years, there was not a single spot of rust - the weapon was in excellent condition, one of the scientists even cut his finger when checking the sharpness blades. Having carefully studied the find, experts were surprised to note that it was at least 2.5 thousand years old.

According to the most common version, the sword belonged to Goujian, one of the vans (rulers) of the kingdom of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. Researchers believe that this particular blade was mentioned in a lost work on the history of the kingdom. According to one legend, Goujian considered this sword to be the only standing weapon in his collection, and another legend says that the sword is so beautiful that it could only be created by the joint efforts of Earth and Heaven.

The sword was perfectly preserved solely thanks to the art of ancient Chinese gunsmiths: the blade was made using a stainless alloy invented by them, and the scabbard of this weapon fit so tightly to the blade that air access to it was practically blocked.

10. Seven-pronged sword

This unusually beautiful blade was discovered in 1945 at the Isonokami-jingu Shinto shrine (Tenri, Japan). The sword is strikingly different from the usual edged weapons from the Land of the Rising Sun, first of all, in the complex shape of the blade - it has six bizarre branches, and the seventh, obviously, was considered the tip of the blade - therefore the found weapon received the name Nanatsusaya-no-tachi (translated . from Japanese - “Seven-toothed sword”).

The sword was stored in terrible conditions (which is very uncharacteristic for the Japanese), so its condition leaves much to be desired. There is an inscription on the blade, according to which the ruler of Korea gave this weapon to one of the Chinese emperors.

A description of exactly the same blade is found in Nihon Shoki, ancient work on the history of Japan: according to legend, the seven-pronged sword was presented as a gift to the semi-mythical Empress Jingu.

Having carefully studied the sword, experts came to the conclusion that, most likely, this is the same legendary artifact, since the estimated time of its creation coincides with the events described in the Nihon Shoki, in addition, it also mentions the Isonokami-jingu shrine, so the relic was just lying there there for more than 1.5 thousand years until she was found.

11. Tizona

The weapon that belonged to the legendary Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid Campeador, is now located in the cathedral of Burgos and is considered a national treasure of Spain.

After the death of Sid, the weapon went to the ancestors of the Spanish king Ferdinand II of Aragon, and the king who inherited it gave the relic to the Marquis de Falces. The descendants of the Marquis carefully preserved the artifact for hundreds of years, and in 1944, with their permission, the sword became part of the exhibition of the Royal Military Museum in Madrid. In 2007, the owner of the sword sold it to the authorities of the region of Castile and Leon for $2 million, and they transferred it to the cathedral where El Cid is buried.

Employees of the Ministry of Culture were offended by the sale of the sword, and they began to spread information that it was a later fake that had nothing to do with de Vivar. However, a thorough analysis confirmed that although the worn “native” hilt of the weapon was replaced with another in the 16th century, its blade was made in the 11th century, that is, the sword most likely belonged to the hero.

12. Ulfbert

In our time, such swords have been practically forgotten, but in the Middle Ages, when the word “Ulfbert” was heard, the enemies of the Vikings experienced genuine horror. The honor of possessing such weapons belonged exclusively to the elite of the Scandinavian armed forces, because Ulfberts were much stronger than other swords of that time. Most medieval bladed weapons were cast from brittle low-carbon steel mixed with slag, and the Vikings bought crucible steel for their swords from Iran and Afghanistan, which is much stronger.

Now it is unknown who this Ulfbert was, and whether he was the first to think of creating such swords, but it was his mark that stood on all swords made in Europe from Iranian and Afghan metal. Ulfberts are perhaps the most advanced melee weapon early Middle Ages, far ahead of its time. Blades of comparable strength began to be mass-produced in Europe only in the second half of the 18th century with the beginning of the global industrial revolution.

Often used in literature Japanese names to designate varieties of Japanese sword and its parts. A brief dictionary of the most commonly used concepts:

Comparison table of Japanese swords

Type	Length (nagasa), cm	Width (motohub), cm	Deflection (sorry), cm	Thickness (kasane), mm	Notes

Tati	61-71	2,4-3,5	1,2-2,1	5-6,6	Appeared in the 11th century. Worn on the belt with the blade down, paired with a tanto dagger. A type of odachi could be worn on the back.

Katana	61-73	2,8-3,1	0,4-1,9	6-8	Appeared in the 14th century. Worn behind the belt with the blade up, paired with a wakizashi.

Wakizashi	32-60	2,1-3,2	0,2-1,7	4-7	Appeared in the 14th century. Worn with the blade up, paired with a katana or separately as a dagger.

Tanto	17-30	1.7-2.9	0-0.5	5-7	Worn in tandem with a tati sword or separately as a dagger.

All dimensions are given for the blade without taking into account the shank. The width and thickness are indicated for the base of the blade where it meets the tang. The data is taken for swords from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods ( - gg.) from catalogs. The length of tachi in the early Kamakura period and modern tachi (gendaito) reaches 83 cm.

History of the Japanese sword

Ancient swords. Until the 9th century.

The first iron swords were brought to Japanese islands in the 2nd half of the 3rd century by Chinese traders from the mainland. This period of Japanese history is called Kofun (lit. “mounds”, III - centuries). The kurgan-type graves preserved, although heavily damaged by rust, swords from that period, divided by archaeologists into Japanese, Korean and, most commonly, Chinese designs. Chinese swords had a straight, narrow, single-edged blade with a large ring-shaped pommel on the tang. Japanese examples were shorter, with a wider, straight, double-edged blade and a massive pommel. During the Asuka period (-), with the help of Korean and Chinese blacksmiths, Japan began to produce its own iron, and by the 7th century they mastered the technology of forging multilayer steel. Unlike previous samples, forged from a solid iron strip, swords began to be made by forging from iron and steel plates.

In total, about 650 licenses were issued to blacksmiths to make swords after the end of World War II. Approximately 300 licensed farriers continue to operate at this time. Many of them are trying to restore the traditions of sword making from the Kamakura and Koto periods. The swords they produce are considered primarily as works of traditional Japanese art.

Sword making technology

Blacksmiths-gunsmiths

The blacksmiths had a high social status in Japanese society, many of them are known by name thanks to lists. Lists of ancient blacksmiths begin with the name of Amakuni from the Yamato province, who, according to legend, lived at the beginning of the 8th century during the reign of Emperor Taiho ( - gg.).

In the old days (the period of Koto swords, around 2000), there were approximately 120 blacksmith schools, which for centuries produced swords with characteristic persistent signs, developed by the founding master of the school. In modern times (the period of Shinto swords - gg.) 80 schools are known. There are about 1000 outstanding masters of the blacksmith's craft, and in total, over a thousand years of the history of the Japanese sword, more than 23 thousand swordsmiths have been recorded, of which most (4 thousand) during the koto (old swords) period lived in the province of Bizen (modern Okayama Prefecture ).

Iron ingots were flattened into thin sheets, cooled rapidly in water, and then broken into coin-sized pieces. After this, a selection of pieces was carried out, pieces with large inclusions of slag were discarded, and the rest were sorted by color and granular structure of the fault. This method allowed the smith to select steel with a predictable carbon content ranging from 0.6 to 1.5%.

Further release of slag residues in the steel and reduction of carbon content was carried out during the forging process - joining individual small pieces into a blank for the sword.

Blade forging

Cross section of a Japanese sword. Shown are two common structures with excellent combinations in the direction of the steel layers. Left: The metal of the blade will show texture. itame, on right - masame.

Pieces of steel with approximately the same carbon content were poured onto a plate of the same metal, in a single block everything was heated to 1300 °C and welded together with hammer blows. The process of forging the workpiece begins. The workpiece is flattened and folded in half, then flattened again and folded in half in the other direction. As a result of repeated forging, multilayer steel is obtained, finally cleared of slag. It is easy to calculate that when the workpiece is folded 15 times, almost 33 thousand layers of steel are formed - the typical density of Damascus for Japanese swords.

The slag still remains a microscopic layer on the surface of the steel layer, forming a peculiar texture ( hada), resembling a pattern on the surface of wood.

To make a sword blank, the blacksmith forges at least two bars: from hard high-carbon steel ( kawagane) and softer low-carbon ( shingane). From the first, a U-shaped profile approximately 30 cm long is formed, into which a block is placed shingane, without reaching the part that will become the top and which is made of the best and hardest steel kawagane. Then the blacksmith heats the block in a forge and welds the component parts together by forging, after which he increases the length of the workpiece at 700-1100 °C to the size of a sword.

With more complex technology welded up to 4 bars: from the hardest steel ( hagane) form the cutting edge and apex, 2 bars of less hard steel go to the sides, and a bar of relatively soft steel forms the core. The multilayer structure of the blade can be even more complex with separate welding of the butt.

Forging is used to shape the blade of the blade to a thickness of about 2.5 mm (in the area of the cutting edge) and its edge. The upper tip is also straightened by forging, for which the end of the workpiece is cut diagonally. Then the long end (on the blade side) of the diagonal cut is forged to the short one (butt), as a result of which the structure of the metal at the top provides increased strength in the striking zone of the sword, while maintaining hardness and thereby the possibility of very sharp sharpening.

Blade hardening and polishing

Next important stage sword manufacturing involves heat treatment of the blade to harden the cutting edge, as a result of which a hamon pattern appears on the surface of the sword, specific to Japanese swords. Up to half of the blanks in the hands of the average blacksmith never become real swords as a result of failed hardening.

For heat treatment, the blade is covered with an uneven layer of heat-resistant paste - a mixture of clay, ash and stone powder. The exact composition of the paste was kept secret by the master. The blade was covered with a thin layer, the thickest layer of paste was applied to the middle part of the blade, where hardening was undesirable. The liquid mixture was leveled and, after drying, scratched in a certain order in the area closer to the blade, thanks to which a pattern was prepared jamon. The blade with the dried paste is heated evenly along its length until approx. 770 °C (controlled by the color of the hot metal), then immersed in a container of water with the blade down. Sudden cooling changes the structure of the metal near the blade, where the thickness of the metal and heat-protective paste is thinnest. The blade is then reheated to 160°C and cooled again. This procedure helps to reduce the stresses in the metal that arise during hardening.

The hardened area of the blade has an almost white tint compared to the rest of the blade's darker gray-bluish surface. The border between them is clearly visible in the form of a patterned line jamon, which is interspersed with shiny martensite crystals in iron. In ancient times, the hamon looked like a straight line along the blade; during the Kamakura period, the line became wavy, with fancy curls and transverse lines. It is believed that in addition to its aesthetic appearance, the wavy, heterogeneous line of the hamon allows the blade to better withstand impact loads, damping sudden stresses in the metal.

If the procedure is followed, as an indicator of the quality of hardening, the butt of the blade acquires a whitish tint, utsuri(lit. reflection). Utsuri reminds jamon, but its appearance is not a consequence of the formation of martensite, but an optical effect resulting from a slight change in the structure of the metal in this zone compared to the nearby body of the blade. Utsuri is not a mandatory attribute of a quality sword, but indicates successful heat treatment for certain technologies.

When the blade is heated during the hardening process to a temperature of more than 770°, its surface acquires a richness of shades and a richness of pattern details. However, this may damage the durability of the sword. Only the blacksmiths of the Sagami province during the Kamakura period managed to combine the fighting qualities of a sword with the luxurious design of the metal surface; high-quality swords of other schools are distinguished by a rather strict manner of design of the blade.

The final finishing of the sword is no longer carried out by a blacksmith, but by an artisan polisher, whose skill was also highly valued. Using a series of polishing stones of varying grits and water, the polisher would polish the blade to perfection, after which the smith would stamp his name and other information onto the unpolished tang. The sword was considered ready, the remaining operations were to attach the handle ( tsuki), guards ( tsuba), applying jewelry was classified as an auxiliary procedure that did not require magical skill.

Fighting qualities

The fighting qualities of the best Japanese swords cannot be assessed. Due to their uniqueness and high price, testers are not able to test and compare them with best works gunsmiths from other regions of the world. It is necessary to distinguish between the capabilities of the sword for different situations. For example, sharpening a sword for maximum sharpness (for tricks with cutting handkerchiefs in the air) will be unsuitable for cutting through armor. In ancient times and the Middle Ages, legends were spread about the capabilities of weapons that could not be demonstrated in modern times. Below are some legends and facts about the capabilities of the Japanese sword.

Modern assessment of Japanese swords

After the surrender of Japan in World War II, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition issued an order to destroy all Japanese swords, but after the intervention of experts, in order to preserve historical relics of significant artistic value, the order was changed. The Society for the Preservation of Artistic Japanese Swords was created (Japanese) 日本美術刀剣保存協会 Nippon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, NBTHK, Nippon bujutsu to:ken hozon kyo:kai), one of his tasks was an expert assessment of the historical value of the sword. In 1950, Japan passed the Law on Cultural Heritage, which, in particular, determined the procedure for preserving Japanese swords as part of the cultural heritage of the nation.

The sword evaluation system is multi-stage, starting with the assignment of the lowest category and ending with the awarding of the highest titles (the top two titles are under the purview of the Japanese Ministry of Culture):

National Treasure ( kokuho). About 122 swords have the title, mostly tachi from the Kamakura period, katana and wakizashi in this list are less than 2 dozen.
Important cultural property. About 880 swords have the title.
A particularly important sword.
An important sword.
A particularly guarded sword.
Guarded sword.

In modern Japan, it is possible to keep a registered sword with only one of the above titles, otherwise the sword is subject to confiscation as a type of weapon (unless it is classified as a souvenir). The actual quality of the sword is certified by the Society for the Preservation of Artistic Japanese Swords (NBTHK), which issues an expert opinion according to the established standard.

Currently in Japan, it is customary to evaluate a Japanese sword not so much by its combat parameters (strength, cutting ability), but by criteria applicable to a work of art. A high-quality sword, while maintaining the properties of an effective weapon, should provide aesthetic pleasure to the observer, have perfection of form and harmony of artistic taste.

Sources

The article was written based on materials from the following publications:

Sword. Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan. 1st ed. 1983. ISBN 0-87011-620-7 (U.S.)
A. G. Bazhenov, “History of the Japanese sword”, St. Petersburg, 2001, 264 pp. ISBN 5-901555-01-5
A. G. Bazhenov, “Examination of the Japanese sword,” St. Petersburg, 2003, 440 p. ISBN 5-901555-14-7.
Leon and Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara, “The Craft of the Japanese Sword.” Translation into Russian on the website www.katori.ru.

Notes

There are discussions in the literature about whether samurai-shaped swords produced using non-traditional Japanese technologies should be called Japanese. The article uses the established term “sword,” but some believe the term “saber” is more correct to refer to a curved, single-edged weapon. According to the current Russian GOST R 51215-98 (Melee weapons, terminology), the “Japanese sword” refers to sabers - “4.4 saber: Contact blade chopping and cutting piercing weapon with a long curved single-edged blade." Sword definition: "4.9 sword: A contact bladed piercing and slashing weapon with a straight medium or long massive double-edged blade"
The term “tati” has been established in Russian-language literature. Russian phonetics does not allow you to accurately convey the sound, English phonetics reproduces the title as tachi.
There is no exact deflection standard for tati. At the beginning, the Tati sword had an almost saber-like curvature; by the 14th century the blade straightened. The sori deflection is standardly measured as the maximum distance from the butt to the straight line between the tip of the sword and the base of the blade. The handle is not taken into account in the calculation of curvature.
Definitions of the types of Japanese swords are given in A. Bazhenov’s book “Examination of the Japanese Sword” according to the explanation of the Japanese association NBTHK (Society for the Preservation of Artistic Japanese Swords), responsible for the certification of Japanese blades.
Although the tachi is on average longer than the katana, it is not uncommon for the length of the katana to exceed the length of the tachi.
These lengths are obtained by converting the traditional Japanese length measure shaku (30.3 cm, approx. elbow length) into cm.
That is, until the end of the Momoyama period. Traditionally Japanese history divided into unequal periods, identified by name settlements, which became the emperor’s habitat.
Kokan Nagayama. The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords. - First edition. - Japan: Kodansha International Ltd., 1997. - P. 3. - 355 pp. - ISBN 4-7700-2071-6
Leon and Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara. Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths. - First edition. - Japan: Kodansha International Ltd., 2002. - P. 13. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-4-7700-1962-2
Aoi Art Tokyo: Japanese auction house specializing in Japanese swords.
Japanese Sword Ginza Choshuya Magazine: A store selling Japanese swords, publishes a catalog every month.
The Kogarasu-Maru sword is made in the unusual kissaki-moroha style popular during the Nara period. Half of the blade is double-edged to the tip, the other half has a blunt edge. There is a central groove running along the blade; the blade itself is very slightly curved, but there is a rather strong bend in the shank in relation to the blade. There is no signature on the sword. Kept in the collection imperial family. See photo in Bazhenov’s book “History of the Japanese Sword”.
"Lumbar curve" ( koshi-zori) was named so because the maximum deflection of the blade when wearing a sword comfortably fit the body just in the lumbar region.
The butt can be flat or semicircular, but such examples are extremely rare among real Japanese swords.
A. G. Bazhenov, “History of the Japanese sword”, p. 41
A. G. Bazhenov, “History of the Japanese sword”, p. 147
Tamio Tsuchiko. The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths. - First edition. - Japan: Kodansha International Ltd., 2002. - P. 8. - 256 p. - ISBN 4-7700-2854-7
Sword. Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan.
A. Bazhenov, “Examination of the Japanese sword”, pp. 307-308
A brilliant clear color of the fracture indicates a carbon content greater than 1% (high carbon steel).
The process of forging a sword is described according to the booklet of the All-Japan Association of Swordsmiths and the book “The Craft of the Japanese Sword” (see sources), which describes the ancient technology restored by a modern master.
There are up to 30 varieties hada(metal textures), the main ones are 3: itame(knotty wood) masame(straight grain wood), mokume(tree bark). Unlike the hardening pattern (hamon), hada may not be visible to the naked eye. Its absence as a result of special polishing is typical only for Shinto blades.
According to the authors of the book “The Craft of the Japanese Sword” (see sources).
Hamon in the form of a straight line is called sugu-ha(lit. straight).
The hamon pattern is a stable sign for identifying a particular blacksmith school or the time of sword manufacture. Conventionally, more than 60 types of hamon are distinguished for sword certification.
A. Bazhenov, “Examination of the Japanese sword”, p. 76

Let's look at the structure of a Japanese sword using an example katanas.

Katana- long samurai sword, sword length 90-120 cm, handle length 25-30 cm or 3 arm wraps, blade width 27-35 mm, deflection equal to or slightly more width blade. The handle is covered with stingray skin or shark skin. Garda katanas called tsuboi and is most often round in shape.

The length of the sword blade is calculated as follows: to get the maximum length, you need to subtract 90 cm from your height. To also take into account issues of ease of handling the sword, you usually subtract another 8 cm from the resulting value. For example, 175 - 90 = 85 cm, 85 - 8 = 77 cm. (my personal opinion is that this is not scientific, below is information from another source).

If your height is not in the table, then for every additional centimeter of height you need to add 3 mm to the length of the blade, i.e. you can more accurately calculate the length of the blade (but this is only a recommendation since throughout the existence of the sword its length and technique of wielding it have changed, here the fighter has the right to choose the length of the sword depending on the combat situation).

Frame buke-zukuri, or uchi-gata-na koshirae . Swords mounted in this style were worn tucked into the belt. There was a protrusion on the scabbard kurikata, through which the cord was passed sageo.

Frame details buke-zukuri

Kasira - the head of the hilt of swords mounted in the style buke-zukuri.

Kojiri - the tip of the scabbard of swords in the style buke-zukuri; may be missing, then the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and varnished in the same way as all the scabbards.

Koiguchi - "carp mouth"; entrance to the scabbard (or kutigane, if the mouth of the sheath is covered with a metal ring).

Kurikata - a protrusion with a slot located one-sixth the length of the sword below koiguchi on the front side of the scabbard omote, through which the cord passes sageo.

Mekugi- a fastening pin passing through the handle and tang of the sword.

Manuki - ornament on the hilt of the sword.

Sageo - cord on the scabbard of the sword.

Same- stingray skin used to cover fart.

Saya - sheath.

Seppa - a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard.

Footy - clutch on the handle.

Tsuba - garda.

Tsuka - handle.

Tsuka-ito - handle winding

The most famous type of sword style buke-zukuri- This katana (daito) And wakizashi (shoto). Wakizashi was just a smaller copy katana. Together they formed daisho(“big and small”). If all the details of the frame daisho were designed in the same style, then this pair was called daisho-soroimono.

Scabbard (saya) swords are usually made from ho-no-ki(magnolia) and consist of two halves. In cross-section, they almost always have the shape of an elongated oval of the same shape and size as seppa(washers) located next to them and remain the same throughout their entire length. Sword scabbards were usually coated with a very durable varnish. U daisho - pairs of swords worn by samurai - this varnish is usually of calm tones, usually black, and all other decorations are designed in the same calm style. Bright, eye-catching colors were preferred by dandies, and bright red varnish, imported from China, was on the swords worn by samurai from the provinces of Satsuma and Hyuga, who were famous for their courage and great ardor.

The surface on which the varnish is applied is either simple smooth, or it may have wide or narrow grooves running diagonally or transversely. The varnished base itself can be either grainy or well sanded, plain or decorated nashiji(gold dust) guri-bori or in other styles, or even striped two-color. Quite often there is also a varnish like stingray fish ( same-nuri). These bases can then receive any form of decoration, but for daisho sophisticated maki-e(loose pattern) does not suit Japanese taste. However, with regard to daggers, the master could allow free flight of fantasy, and inlaid metal ornaments are often found here (kanamono).

The following six pieces of sword scabbard, framed in the style buke-zukuri, could have special decoration details:

Ring covering the entrance to the scabbard - koi-guchi(“carp mouth”) or kutigane, if it is metal;

Uragawara - reinforcing bar running across the base of the slot for ko-gatana;

Lining of slots for ko-gatana And kogai. Typically available in polished black lacquer, polished natural horn, or soft buff leather;

kurikata(“chestnut shape”) - a protrusion with a slot located one-sixth of the length of the sword below koi-guchi on the side omote, through which the cord passes sageo;

sori-tsuno("returning horn"), or origane, - a small hook-shaped protrusion even lower on the same side, directed towards the hilt. It serves to prevent the sheath from slipping forward from the belt. It is quite rare and usually wakizashi, but his presence often speaks of good things
blade;

Kojiri - scabbard tip. It often doesn’t happen, especially in wakizashi, and the tip of the scabbard is simply rounded and varnished in the same way as all the scabbards. In shape, material and decoration it very often corresponds cashier.

All these parts (except for the lining of the slots for ko-gatana And kogai) usually metal, more or less equally decorated. But in discreet frames they can be made of polished black horn simplest form and the smallest size necessary for their purpose.

Sageo - it is a flat silk cord passed through curicata, with which the sword was tied to the belt. Length sageo was from 60 to 150 cm depending on the size of the weapon, and it could be removed before battle and used as tasuki for tying long sleeves civilian suit to give freedom of arm movements. Sageo They were also used to bind a captured enemy. Color sageo matches the color of the scabbard. If the latter are in good Japanese taste, discreet and strict, the same will be true sageo. Bright and dog have three frames sageo corresponding.

Handle (tsuka) always made from two halves of wood glued together, preferably ho-no-ki(magnolia). There was a hole between them for the shank (nakago), called tsuka-guchi. The tree was usually covered with a single piece of white same- knotty stingray skin. The seam ran down the center of the side hooray, and usually the piece was selected so that the central row of three or four larger knots was on top of the side omote.

A winding was placed on top tsuka-ito(“hilt thread”), consisting of a strip of strong flat silk (less often leather or cotton) ribbon uchi-him o up to 0.6 cm wide. Quite rarely, instead of a flat ribbon, you find a cord wrapped in rows. Usually, tsuka-ito was black, occasionally soft brown, dark blue or green. Sometimes daimyo used katanas with white winding; it was also a trait of a certain type tati. Occasionally, leather cord and whalebone are found. The center of the tape was placed close to the handle coupling footy on the side omote, and the two ends were wrapped around the handle on the right and left, respectively, and twisted twice at equal distances. As a result same turned out to be completely closed, except for a number of diamond-shaped spaces on both sides of the handle. After the tape was passed through the sides of the handle head cashier, it was secured on both sides of the handle with a flat compact unit. Slightly below the center of the handle on the side omote and a little higher on the side hooray the wrapping partially covered and secured the two decorations in place Menuki.

Handle wrap options tsuka and the winding technique resulting in the pattern shown top center

Securing the cord tsuka-ito on cashier

There were many exceptions to this usual tsuka-maki(handle wrapping method). For example, on swords worn daimyo in formal wear, called kamishimo, in the shogun's court during the Edo period, a black silk wrap was crossed over the cashier, instead of going inside; cashier in this case it was made of simple black horn. This style is known as maki-kake-no-kashira, and a sword with such a winding was called kamishimo-zashi.

Certain court swords, as well as most short swords and daggers, had stingray skin hilts left unwrapped. In such cases cashier and both Menuki had to be secured with glue, hidden pins, decorative buttons, or some other suitable method. This style is called hanashi-menuki(free Menuki). There are also many forms of unwound hilt, mostly in daggers whose handles are covered with polished or carved wood, varnish, rattan or metal. Usually, if there was no stingray skin on the handle, the side joints between the halves of the handle were covered with strips of metal called kenuki-kanamono.

The shape of the handle consists of a narrow elliptical section and usually becomes very slightly thinner at both ends towards the middle. Daggers with an unwound hilt have a side omote may have an oblique cut at a distance of 2.5 cm from cashier. In the case when the dagger is worn on the chest in clothing ( kwaiken), This feature allows a person to immediately feel which side the blade is on.

Garda (tsuba) usually has the shape of a disk. The only exceptions are the guards of ancient swords, which have the shape of a small cross and are called sieve-gi(shaped like a Shinto sacrificial rice cake, hence the name). Such guards are also found on some ceremonial types. tati. Cup-shaped guards are found, but quite rarely.

Guards come in a variety of shapes and sizes, although the most common are round or oval with a diameter of 6 to 9 cm.

Guards are almost always made of metal, although on ceremonial swords they may be patent leather, leather stretched over wood, or papier-mâché. Until the 16th century. Tsuba guards were usually made of iron. Simple in design, they served a purely utilitarian purpose - to protect the hand. Later, as metallurgy developed, the tsuba also became a work of art. Guard decorations reach their peak during the peaceful Edo period. Metals such as gold, silver, copper with various reddish patinas, as well as copper alloys began to be used to decorate them: shakudo, shibuichi, sambo gin, rogin, karakane, nigurome, sentoku and pure brass sintu. Application of various chemical compounds made it possible to give them a variety of colors. To them you need to add interesting contrasting combinations of two or more alloys of different colors.

Guard details (tsuba)

Hira(“flat body”) - part of the guard between Mimi And seppadai.

Mimi - headband

Seppadai(“position for washers”) - place for washers seppa. The oval part of the guard around the hole for the tang. Two washers are adjacent to this place ( seppa) between the guard and the blade and the guard and the handle. When the guard is on the sword, seppadai completely hidden from view. Usually completely unremarkable except for the signature, it is often a slightly convex regular oval.

Nakago-ana - hole for shank. A hole in the center of the guard through which the tang of the sword passes.

Udenuki-ana - holes for lanyard. Some guards have two holes of different sizes. A lanyard was attached to them.

Sekigane - aggregate. A metal filler used to size the tang hole to the specific strip of the sword and provide a secure fit. These holes are found on iron guards and indicate that this is an early guard. The filler is also used in ryo-hitsu.

Kogai hitsu-ana - hole for kogai. This hole is often shaped like half of a four-petaled flower.

Kozuka hitsu-ana - hole for Kozu-ki. This is the hole opposite Kogai hitsu-ana, designed for handle ko-gatana. The hole is often shaped like half a moon. Together Kogai hitsu-ana And Kozuka Hitsu-ana are called ryo-hitsu.

Handle coupling (futi) and handle head (kasira). These two frame pieces are usually considered together since they are usually designed similarly and made by the same craftsman.

Function footy(handle couplings) and cashier(handle head) consists of strengthening the handle at both ends. Term "cashira"(lit. "head") is an abbreviation of the original name "tsuka-gashira"(handle head), and footy- a general term for a boundary. Both things together are usually called futi-kasira.

Footy, as a rule, consists of a flat metal ring band up to 1.3 cm wide, which covers the handle next to the guard and is easy to remove. At the base footy there is an oval plate called tenjo-gane(“ceiling metal”), usually copper, with a hole for the tang of a sword.

Kasira is a small cup usually with a flattened bottom, although it is also common cashier with a completely round bottom. On footy the main part of the pattern is located on the side omote. On cashier the pattern is located on the end of the handle so that it is visible when wearing the sword.

From each side cashier there is an oval slot - shitodome-ana, equipped with a retractable eyelet - shitodome("oat eye") of gilded copper, just large enough to accommodate the cord of the handle. On the hilt with a wrapped handle cashier no longer attaches. However, on a handle without a wrap, it is usually secured not only with glue, but also with two leaf-headed pins large enough to hide shitodome-ana(the loop from which has been removed).

Footy signs on the side omote outer surface tenjo-gane and sometimes on the visible part. On cashier the signature, in the rare cases where it is present, is on a small metal plate soldered on the inside or outside. It is also located at Menuki.

Manuki- this is a pair of small ornaments made of decorated metal located on both sides of the handle. They serve not only as decoration, but also for a tighter grip around the handle. They probably originate from the decorated caps of fastening pins on ancient swords. Together with kogai And ko-gatana (Kozuka) they can form a single set called mitokoro-mono(“three places of a thing”). A single style can extend to a complete set of metal parts for a sword - soroimono(“uniform thing”) or pairs of swords - daisho-soroimono. Mitokoro-mono or soroimono the work of a famous metalworker - preferably one of the Gotos - was a favorite gift among daimyo and other dignitaries on special occasions.

Mekugi- This is a fastening pin that goes through the hilt and tang of the sword and prevents the sword strip from falling out of the hilt. It is usually made from bamboo, but often from dark horn (very rarely from ivory). When the handle is wrapped, it tapers slightly mekugi enters on the side hooray in the center of one of the open diamonds same so that's on the side omote its narrower end is hidden by the winding. But there are exceptions to this rule. In the unwrapped hilts of daggers mekugi can pass through a metal or ivory eyelet or through a metal band - do-gane(“body metal”), covering the handle.

Metal mekugi- This amazing feature most unwrapped handles. It consists of a thick copper tube with a decorative cap, often silver, into which a copper pin with the same cap is threaded or screwed on the other side. The threads on the screws are often left-handed, and extreme care must be taken when dismantling such weapons.

Washers (seppa)- this is a pair of oval metal washers covering the shank on both sides of the guard. They are almost always made of copper, plain, gold-plated, silver-plated, or covered with gold or silver foil. Visible surfaces may be polished or lightly streaked. Their edges are usually milled or decorated with holes. Some swords have two or three pairs, and some tati in addition to these usual seppa often there is a much larger pair called o-seppa(large washers). They cover most guards and are decorated with engraving, and the basis of the pattern is often an elegant Maltese cross. They say that seppa began to be used in the 12th century. Their purpose is to protect footy and guard from damage and give everything a finished look.

Coupling (habaki). Despite the fact that from the artistic side habaki The least significant, it is absolutely necessary, and is found on all Japanese swords, daggers and spears. This is a thick metal sleeve, the inner side of which fits tightly to the last two to three centimeters of the blade and the first two to three centimeters of the shank ( nakago) (approximate figures for a medium-sized weapon), has several functions. Firstly, it holds the sword tightly in the sheath, eliminating friction of the blade and especially the hardened part of the blade on the inner surface of the sheath. Secondly, it to some extent protects the blade from the appearance of rust in this dangerous place, therefore part of the strip of the sword under habaki should be lightly oiled. But its most important function is that it transfers the impact of a blow through the guard to the entire handle, and not to the relatively weak restraining peg mekugi made of bamboo or horn.

Habaki usually made of copper, silver-plated or gold-plated, or covered with gold, silver or alloy foil shakudo. The surface is either polished or covered with oblique strokes, which are called neko-gaki(“cat scratches”) If a thin foil covering is present, it can be embedded into these neko-gaki or decorated with a stamped pattern. Occasionally also found habaki made of iron, precious metals, or even ivory or wood, but only on swords not mounted for serious use. If the sword strip is thinner than average and thus requires habaki extra thickness, then can be used nid-zyu-habaki- double habaki. It is simply a regular sized habaki, reinforced with a separate but neatly fitted piece that adds two “cheeks” to reinforce the lower part (adjacent to the guard). By habaki you can often evaluate the quality of the blade. Niju-haba-ki and especially habaki, decorated with the family coat of arms mon, usually belong to good swords.

Sword strip terminology

Stripe of a sword, dagger or any other bladed weapons consists of a blade and a shank.

Point (kisaki)- This is the most difficult part of the sword to forge and polish. The value of a sword is largely determined by its condition. kitsaki. Hardening line on the tip ( barefoot) may not be the same on different sides of the blade.

There are a great many types of hardening lines on the tip (as well as on the blade itself).

Types of sword point ( kitsaki) and hardening lines (barefoot) are classified:

1. according to the shape of the blade:

- fukura-kareru- direct;
- fukura-tsuku- curved;

2. by size:

-ko-kisaki- small point. Characteristic of the tachi of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period;
- tyu-kisaki- average. A widespread type for all swords from about 1232;
- o-kisaki- long;
- ikari-o-kisaki- long and curved;

3. along the hardening line (bosi):

- ko-maru- weak rounding;
- o-maru- strong rounding. The width of the hardened part is narrower than in ko-maru;
- jizo- in the shape of the head of the deity Jizo;
- yaki-zume- non-returning. Typically, the hardening line extends to the point and turns back toward the shank. In this case, return ( Kaeri) absent;
- midare-komi- wavy;
- kaen- fiery;
- iti-mai- full. The entire tip is hardened;
- Kaeri-tsuyoshi- straight return line;
- kaeri-fukashi- long return;
- kaeri-asashi- short return.

Sword strip

Komi, or mi,- blade.
Nakago- shank.
Tosin- sword strip.

Sword strip terminology

Bosi - hardening line on the tip.

Yokote - the line separating the tip and the blade.

Dzi (ilihira-ji) - the plane between the blade and Shinogi(its width is called Nick).

Jihad - surface pattern hada.

Ji-tsuya - darker (compared to ha-tsuya) part of the blade (the rest of the blade, except the hardened part).

Kasane - blade thickness, measured along the spine; It happens moto-kasaie And saki-kasane.

Kisaki - tip (sometimes this term refers to the entire area from yokote to the very tip of the blade).

Ko-shinogi - the edge of the blade at the tip.

Mizukage - fuzzy line on a plane dzi, usually occurring when re-hardening the blade.

Mihab - blade width; It happens moto hub And saki-haba.

Mitsu-kado - the point where they meet yokote, Shinogi And ko-sinogi.

Monouchi - the part of the blade that delivers most of the blows is the part of the blade about 15 cm long, located about 10 cm below yokote(data for a long sword; for short swords and daggers it is proportionally reduced).

Moto-kasane - blade thickness mune-machi.

Moto hub - blade width between ha-mati And mune-machi.

Mune - butt of the blade.

Mune-machi - a small cut separating the shank from the blade on the butt side, edge mune.

Mune-saki - the name of the butt near the tip;

Mai - inscriptions (on nakago and etc.).

Mekugi-ana - holes in nakago For Menuki.

Nagasa - blade length (measured between mune-machi and tip).

Nakago-jiri - extremity nakago.

Sabigiwa - border between habaki-moto And Yasuri-me.

Saki-kasane - blade thickness yokote.

Saki-haba - blade width yokote.

Shinogi - edge of the blade.

Shinogi-ji - blade plane between Shinogi And mune.

Sorry - blade curvature.

Sugata - blade shape.

Fukura - blade shape kitsaki.

Ha(or ha-saki) - blade.

Habaki-moto - part of the sword strip that is under the muff habaki.

Hada - steel lamination; the result of the folding of steel during the forging process.

Ha-mati - small cut separating the tang from the blade on the side of the blade, edge Ha.

Jamon - line Yakiba.

Hataraki - “activity”, development on the metal surface ( nioi, nie and etc.).

Ha-tsuya - lighter part of the blade compared to ji-tsuya; almost the same as Yakiba.

Hee - dollars

Horimono - engraving on the blade.

Yakiba - hardened part of the blade.

Yakihaba - width Yakiba.

Yasuri-me - notches on the shank.

Edge of the blade (shinog) missing from blades hira-zukuri. There are two types:

protruding (Shinogi-takashi). The thickness of the blade between the stiffening ribs is much greater than that of the butt;

smooth (shinogi-hikushi).

The plane between the edge and the butt of the blade (Shinogi-ji) can be wide or narrow.

Dol (hee) originally made to increase the strength of the blade and reduce its weight. Later it began to be seen as decoration. Sometimes a fuller was made in order to restore the balance of a shortened sword or to hide flaws in the blade (such fullers added later are called ato-bi). There are 8 types of dols, of which Koshi-hi, Tomabashi, Shobu-hi, Kuichigai-hi and Naginata-hi- on short swords.

In addition, there are 4 forms of fuller at the shank, of which kaki-toshi and kaki-nagashi usually found on strips of swords made by smiths of the Old Sword Period ( koto).

The valley may cross yokote(type hi-saki-agari) and stop a little before reaching yokote(type hisaki-sagari).

Plane shinogi-ji, not cut down, is called tiri. Dol may have tiri on both sides (type ryo-chiri) or only on one side (type kata-chiri).

Types of fullers on a sword strip

Bo-hee- wide dol.
Bo-hi-ni-tsure-hi- wide and narrow valley.
Gomabasi- two short beats.
Kaki-nagashi- extending to half of the shank.
Kaki-toshi- passing along the entire shank.
Kaku-dome- rectangular end.
Koshi-hi- short dollar
Kuitigai-hi- double irregular fuller joining at the end.
Naginata-hi- short wide fuller; typical for naginata, but is also found on swords.
Shobu-hi- double dale joining at the end.
Futasuji-hi- two narrow valleys.
Maru-dome- rounded end.

Engraving (horimono). There are various types of engravings on the blades of Japanese swords. Most common subjects: chopsticks ( Goma-Hasi), ritual sword ken, the Dragon ( kurikara) and inscriptions in Chinese or Japanese characters (bondzi).

Hataraki
Ji-nie- spots nee V dzi.
Kinsuji, inazuma And Sunagashi- stripes below and above the line jamon.
Ko-nie- small dots nee above jamon.
Uchinoke- “activity” in the shape of a crescent.

However, I propose to continue this topic...

Japanese swords are a separate type of weapon. This is a weapon with its own philosophy. When you hold a real katana, tachi or tanto in your hands, you can immediately tell which master made this thing. This is not an assembly line production; each sword is individual.

In Japan, sword manufacturing technology began to develop in the 8th century and reached its highest perfection by XIII century, allowing you to produce not just military weapon, but a real work of art that cannot be reproduced in full even in modern times. For about a thousand years, the shape of the sword remained virtually unchanged, changing slightly mainly in length and degree of bending in accordance with the development of close combat tactics. The sword also had ritual and magical meaning in Japanese society.

The role of edged weapons in Japan has never been limited to its purely utilitarian military purpose. The sword is one of the three sacred regalia - the bronze mirror of Yata no Kagami, the jasper pendants of Yasakani no Magatama and the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi - received by the ancestors of the current imperial family directly from the gods, and therefore also has a sacred function

Owning a sword placed its owner at a certain social level. After all, commoners - peasants, artisans, merchants - were denied the right to carry bladed weapons. It was not a tight wallet or the number of servants, but a sword tucked into a belt that served as indisputable evidence of a person’s belonging to the court nobility or the samurai class.

For many centuries, the sword was considered the materialized soul of a warrior. But for the Japanese, swords, especially ancient ones, are also works of the highest art; they are passed down from generation to generation as priceless treasures, and are kept in the exhibitions of national museums along with other cultural masterpieces

It is difficult to say when the first swords appeared on Japanese territory. The legendary sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, according to official myths, was extracted by the god Susanoo from the tail of the dragon he defeated. However, in fact, the situation with the first swords was somewhat more prosaic. They, along with other goods, were imported from the continent - from China and Korea.

The oldest examples of swords were discovered in burials from the Kofun period (300-710). Although they had suffered severely from rust, what was left gave an idea of what they looked like. They had short straight blades with a sharpened end; obviously, they did not chop, but stabbed. Experts call them jokoto - ancient swords.

In those years, there were more than a thousand different schools of gunsmiths in the country. Each workshop offered its own method of forging, tempering, and decorating the sword. The huge demand for weapons has led to a decline in quality. As a result, the secrets of making old koto swords were irretrievably lost, and each workshop began searching for its own technology. Some blades - they were called Shinto (new swords) - turned out to be very good, others - less successful, but none of them could rise to the heights of koto.

The appearance of imported European weapons in the country could not somehow influence traditional technologies. The Japanese were surprised to discover that Spanish and German blades were made in “the same forging.” Therefore, most of the swords brought into the country were used as raw materials for processing in accordance with Japanese technologies. After reforging, they made good daggers.

Craftsmen often put their mark on the shank of the blade. Over time, information about the weapons tests carried out began to appear next to the master’s name. The fact is that with the advent of the Edo period (1600-1868), peace reigned in the country. The samurai could test the edge of their sword only on a tightly tied bunch of wet rice straw. Of course, there were also “tests on living material.”

According to the existing tradition, a samurai could, without further ado, hack to death a commoner who showed disrespect - a peasant or artisan. But such “fun” began to cause condemnation. And then they began to test the newly forged swords on the bodies of executed criminals.

According to the laws of the shogunate, the bodies of those executed became the property of the state, with the exception of the remains of murderers, tattooed people, clergy and untouchables, who were subject to a taboo. The body of the executed person was tied to a pole, and the person checking the quality of the sword chopped it in designated places. Then an inscription was carved on the shank of the weapon, for example, that two bodies were cut with a sword - a kind of OTK mark

Such marks were especially often made on blades produced in the 19th century. They came to be called Shinshinto (new new swords). In a sense, this period became a renaissance in the art of making Japanese swords.

Around the end of the 8th century, swords began to change their shape; they were made longer and slightly curved. But the main thing was different. The old koto swords, as they are now called, acquired incomparable qualities thanks to the art of Japanese swordsmiths. With only an empirical understanding of metallurgical technology, through much trial and error, they came close to understanding how to make a sword blade sharp enough, but not brittle.

In many ways, the quality of a sword depends on the carbon content of the steel, as well as on the hardening method. The reduction in the amount of carbon, which was achieved by long-term forging, made the steel soft, while oversaturation made it hard, but very brittle. European gunsmiths were looking for a way out of this dilemma through a reasonable compromise, in the Middle East - with the help of original alloys, including the legendary damask steel.

The Japanese have chosen their own path. They assembled the blade of the sword from several types of steel that had different qualities. The cutting edge, which was very hard and therefore capable of being very sharp, was fused with a softer, more flexible blade with a reduced carbon content.

Most often, the production of swords at that time was carried out by the Yamabushi mountain hermits, who professed asceticism and religious detachment. But the blacksmiths who made weapons in feudal castles and craft estates also turned sword forging into a kind of religious act. The masters, who at this time adhered to strict abstinence in food, drink and communication with women, began work only after the purification ceremony, dressed in ceremonial robes and decorated the anvil with the sacred symbols of Shintoism - rice rope and paper strips.

Tati's long sword. The wavy pattern is clearly visible jamon on the blade. The hamon is individual for each sword; the patterns of the most famous swords were sketched as a work of art.

The slag still remains a microscopic layer on the surface of the steel layer, forming a peculiar texture ( hada), resembling a pattern on the surface of wood.

As a result of this long and labor-intensive process, the structure of the koto became multilayered and consisted (this is visible only under a microscope, and the old masters judged this by the color and texture of the metal) of thousands of lamellar layers, each with its own indicators of viscosity and brittleness, determined by the carbon content. The carefully leveled surface of the anvil, the meticulous selection of hammers, and the force of the hammer blows were all important.

Then the long hardening process began. Each part of the sword had to be heated and cooled in its own way, so the workpiece was covered with a layer of clay of varying thickness, which made it possible not only to vary the degree of heating in the forge, but also made it possible to apply a wavy pattern to the blade.

When the blacksmith's work was completed, the product was handed over to the polisher, who used dozens of sharpening stones, pieces of leather of varying thicknesses and, finally, the pads of his own fingers.

Meanwhile, another craftsman was making a wooden scabbard. Honoki wood was mainly used - magnolia, because it effectively protected the sword from rust. The sword hilt and sheath were decorated with decorative overlays made of soft metal and ingenious patterns of twisted rope.

Initially, most koto swords were produced in the province of Yamato and its neighboring Yamashiro. The skill of the old blacksmiths reached its highest peak during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Their products still amaze with their excellent quality and artistry of design. Swords were worn in sheaths, attached with two straps to the belt, with the blade down. By this time, longer swords came into use, sometimes up to 1.5 m long, intended for mounted warriors. Riders attached these swords to their backs.

As the country was drawn into the bloody civil strife of the 14th century, which caused considerable damage to the country's economy, but contributed to the prosperity of gunsmiths, the demand for swords increased. Large workshops settled in the provinces of Bizen, Sagami and Mino. So, in those days more than 4 thousand masters worked in Bizen, in Mino - 1270, in Yamato - 1025

If we take the average productivity of a blacksmith of those years as 30 swords per year (although more expensive orders took much longer), then the Bizen province alone produced 120 thousand swords annually. In total, in those years there were about 15 million units of these bladed weapons in circulation throughout Japan.

How much did the samurai’s “soul”—the sword—cost? It is very difficult to calculate the real cost of a sword in modern monetary terms. But you can get an idea of this by the number of working days spent on the production of one standard sword. During the Nara period (710-794), the craftsman spent 18 days on forging, 9 days on decorating it, 6 days on varnishing the scabbard, 2 days on leather straps, and another 18 days on final finishing and fitting. And if we add to this the cost of materials, then the samurai sword became a very expensive acquisition.

Higher quality and more expensive swords were intended both for gifts to superiors, foreign guests or gods (they were left in the altar of a favorite temple), and for rewarding the most distinguished warriors. From the middle of the 13th century, a division of labor emerged in the production of swords. Some craftsmen forged, others polished, others made scabbards, etc.

With the advent of military armor capable of withstanding the blow of an arrow and a sword, the shape of bladed weapons began to change. Swords became shorter (about 60 cm), wider and heavier, but much more convenient in foot fights. To hit vulnerable spot In addition to the sword, daggers were also used in the enemy’s armor. Thus, the warrior began to wear two blades in his belt at once, with the blade facing upward - a katana sword and a wakizashi dagger (short sword). This set was called daisho - “big and small”.

The Kamakura period is considered the golden age of the Japanese sword, blades reached their highest perfection, which could not be repeated in later times, including attempts by modern blacksmiths to restore lost technologies. The most famous blacksmith of this period was Masamune from Sagami Province. Legend has it that Masamune refused to sign his blades because they could not be counterfeited. There is some truth in this, since out of 59 known blades only a few daggers are signed, but establishing authorship does not cause controversy among experts.

Monk Goro Nyudo Masamune, who lived from 1288 to 1328, is best known as the greatest Japanese sword maker. He studied with the famous Japanese gunsmith Shintogu Kunimitsu. During his lifetime, Masamune became a legend in weaponry. Masamune used a special Soshu technique in his work and created swords called tachi and daggers called tanto. Several generations of his followers and students worked in this tradition. This technology was a way to create super-strong swords. Four strips of steel were welded together and folded together five times, resulting in a total of 128 layers of steel in the blade.

In Japan, there is the Masamune Award, which is awarded annually to outstanding sword makers.

The swords made by the Master are distinguished by their special beauty and high quality. He worked at a time when pure steel was often not used to make swords. Masamune perfected the art of "nie" - the design on the blade of the blade. The sword material he used contained martensite crystals embedded in a pearlite matrix, similar in appearance to stars in the night sky. Masamune swords are characterized by clear gray lines on the leading edge that cut through the blade like lightning, as well as a gray shadow on the front of the blade formed during the hardening process.

Master Masamune rarely signed his works, since he made swords mainly for shogunts. The swords "Fudo Masamune", "Kegoku Masamune" and "Daikoku Masamune" are considered to be his original works. Masamune swords are listed in a catalog of weapons that was written during the Kyoto era by the appraiser Gonami. The catalog was created by order of Tokugawa Eshimune of the Tokugawa Shogunt in 1714 and consists of 3 books. A third of all swords listed in the catalog, made using the Soshu technique, were created by the master Masamune and his students.

Sword " Fudo Masamune» is one of the few swords whose blade was signed by the master Masamune himself, so its authenticity is beyond doubt. The blade of the tanto sword, about 25 cm long, is decorated with carvings on the front of the blade. It has engravings of chopsticks (goma-hashi) on one side and the Kurikara dragon on the other side. The Kurikara dragon on the blade of the sword represents Fudo-myo, the Buddhist deity after whom this sword was named.

Sword "Hocho Masamune" refers to one of three specific and unusual tanto related to Masamune. These tantos have a wide base in contrast to the usually refined and graceful workmanship of the craftsman, making them look like a Japanese cooking knife. One of them has an engraving of chopsticks called goma-hasi. The sword "Hocho Masamune" was restored around 1919, and is now kept in the Tokugawa Art Museum.

Sword "Kotegiri Masamune" or "kote giri". The name kote giri is taken from martial art kendo, and means a chopping blow to the wrist. The sword is derived from the tachi, a long Japanese sword used by Asakura Yujika against an army of samurai in the Battle of Kyoto. The military-political leader of Japan during the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga, took possession of this sword. He reduced the size of the sword to its current length. In 1615, the sword was given to the Maeda clan, after which it was presented as a gift to Emperor Meiji, a famous sword collector, in 1882.

Along with Masamune swords, Muramasa swords are often mentioned, although they are mistakenly considered contemporaries of Masamune swords, and the mistake is that they were created by his student. Muramasa is known to have worked in the 16th century AD. and could not meet Masamune. According to legend, Muramasa blades are considered a symbol of evil, and Masamune blades are considered a symbol of peace and tranquility. The legends associated with Masamune swords say that they were considered holy weapons.

BLADE OF HONJO MASAMUNE- piece of art.

This blade is considered one of the best swords that man has ever created. It is a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for about two hundred years.

The shogunate or Edo bakufu is the feudal military government of Japan, founded in 1603 by Tokugawa Izyasu and headed by the shoguns of the Tokugawa clan.

It existed for more than two and a half centuries until 1868. This period in the history of Japan is known as the Edo period, after the name of the capital of Japan, the city of Edo (now Tokyo). The shogunate headquarters was located in Edo Castle

The name of the sword is most likely associated with General Honjo, who received this sword in battle. General Honjo Shikinaga in the 16th century was attacked by Umanosuke, who already had several trophy goals to his name.

Umanosuke cut the helmet of General Honjo Shikinaga with the Masamune sword, but he survived and took the sword as a reward. The blade of the sword was slightly damaged in battles, but is still usable. In 1592-1595, General Honjo Shikinaga was sent to Fushimi Castle, then he took the Masamune sword with him. Subsequently, Honjo, since he had no money, had to sell the sword to his nephew. At that time, the Masamune sword was purchased for only 13 gold coins. It was later valued at 1,000 yen in a Kyoto weapons catalog. Exact date The creation of the sword is not known; it is approximately 700 years old.

To appreciate the significance of the Honjo Masamune for the Japanese, it is enough to remember that this blade was passed down from generation to generation by the Tokugawa shogunate. Until January 1946, the descendants of the Tokugawa remained the owners of the priceless sword.

The photo of the sword is speculative, there are simply no other images of this katana

In 1939, this blade was declared a cultural property of Japan.

Japanese culture is very original. Accordingly, the officers Imperial Army and the Japanese Navy during WWII carried traditional edged weapons. Before the outbreak of World War II, every officer and non-commissioned officer of the Japanese Army was issued a Japanese sword as a symbol of valor and courage (these swords were made industrially, they were often forged from rails and were more of a part of a costume and do not represent any value). Officers who belonged to ancient samurai families had family swords, officers from poor and humble families had army “remakes”.

They were made in large quantities and were naturally inferior in quality to “piece” blades. The manufacturing technology has been simplified in accordance with the needs of in-line production.

Douglas MacArthur, American military leader, holder of the highest rank - Army General, Field Marshal of the Philippines, recipient of many orders and medals.

On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, MacArthur commanded Allied forces in the Philippines. For his leadership in the defense of the Philippines despite the surrender, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 1, 1942.

MacArthur led the Allied counter-offensive in New Guinea from July 1942 (Battle of Kokoda) to January 1943, and from there his troops moved into the Philippines, which he finally liberated from the Japanese in the early months of 1945.

Following the example of Germany, he developed a plan for dividing Japan into separate parts between the victorious countries, which was never implemented.

As Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific, he accepted Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945, aboard the American battleship Missouri.

As commander-in-chief of the Allied occupation forces in Japan, MacArthur implemented postwar reforms and helped draft the new Japanese constitution.

He was the organizer of the Tokyo trial of Japanese war criminals.

The country was in deep depression caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the inglorious defeat in World War II. As part of disarmament, as well as breaking the spirit of the defeated Japanese, all swords were subject to confiscation and destruction as edged weapons. According to some reports, over 660,000 blades were seized, and about 300,000 were destroyed.

Moreover, the Americans could not distinguish a valuable sword from a stamped one. Since many swords were of great value to the Japanese and world communities as objects of art, after the intervention of experts, the order was changed. The “Society for the Preservation of Artistic Japanese Swords” was created, one of its tasks was an expert assessment of the historical value of the sword. Now valuable swords were confiscated, but not destroyed. Some Japanese families Then they bought cheap stampings and handed them over, hiding their family heirlooms.

Swords were also awarded to particularly distinguished American soldiers. Moreover, some received a stamp, and others received a valuable copy. They didn't really understand.

In January 1946, Tokugawa descendants were forced to give Honjo Masamune's katana, and with it 14 other swords, to Sergeant Coldy Bymore of the 7th US Cavalry, but this name is inaccurate. Since when a seizure was made at the police station, where this sword was given by its previous owner, a Japanese police officer made a phonetic translation of the sergeant’s name into Japanese, and subsequently this phonetic translation was again translated into English, due to which there was an inaccuracy in the translation, since it was proven that Sergeant Coldy Baymore was not listed in the lists of personnel of the 7th US Cavalry Regiment.

The further fate of Honjo Masamune's sword is unknown.

In the post-war years in America, and throughout the world too, there was a boom in collecting Japanese “artifacts”; thousands of swords were bought and sold at completely different prices. Would-be collectors often had no idea about the true value of their acquisitions. Then the interest subsided and they got rid of the boring toys.

In 1950, Japan passed the Law on Cultural Heritage, which, in particular, determined the procedure for preserving Japanese swords as part of the cultural heritage of the nation.

National Treasure ( kokuho). About 122 swords have the title, mostly tachi from the Kamakura period, katana and wakizashi in this list are less than 2 dozen.
Important cultural property. About 880 swords have the title.
A particularly important sword.
An important sword.
A particularly guarded sword.
Guarded sword.

InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Samurai sword

Japanese technology for making swords from iron began to develop in the 8th century and reached its highest perfection by the 13th century, making it possible to produce not just military weapons, but a real work of art that cannot be fully reproduced even in modern times. For about a thousand years, the shape of the sword remained virtually unchanged, changing slightly mainly in length and degree of bending in accordance with the development of close combat tactics. The sword, being one of the three ancient regalia of the Japanese emperor, also had ritual and magical significance in Japanese society.

Terminology

Japanese names are often used in literature to refer to varieties of Japanese swords and their parts. A brief dictionary of the most commonly used concepts: