![]() The most esteemed swordsmiths often formed their own manufacturing schools, as was the case with Goto Yujo (d. Although these masters, collectively known as Ban-kaji, were in such demand they could only be persuaded to spend one month each year at the capital. 1184-1198 CE) enticing 12 master swordsmiths to his workshop at Heiankyo (Kyoto). The production of swords received support right from the very top with such notable figures as emperor Go-Tobo (r. The combination of these three factors determines the form of the hamon and is a closely guarded secret in each smith's workshop. Finally, the blade is plunged into a tank of water, calibrated precisely to complement the amount of time spent in the fire at a certain temperature. Then, the sword is repeatedly passed through a high-temperature charcoal fire for a specified amount of time, until it reaches the temperature desired by the smith. First, clay is applied to the blade and allowed to dry. The hamon is a synergistic result of three events that contribute to the final hardening of the sword's cutting surface. This was achieved in the following process: Swordsmiths were not only admired and given a high social status for their practical skills but they also enjoyed a certain religious mystique thanks to their frequent association with Buddhist sects and their management of three of the five fundamental elements in Japanese folklore: fire, water, and metal.Īnother and much more sophisticated mark of identification of just who manufactured a sword was the hamon or the temper pattern of the cutting edge. The difference in the carbon content of the steel and the positioning of the contrasting metals also results in the characteristic curve of Japanese swords. ![]() Due to this process, Japanese-style blades have a complex, multilayered structure similar to the grain of wood, with a more flexible, lower carbon-content steel encased in (or layered with) a harder, more brittle outer surface that is exceptionally durable. …during the Nara period, these technologically advanced blades were made of densely forged steel laboriously hammered, folded and welded multiple times in order to create a steel fabric of superior flexibility and integrity. The steel was worked by master craftsmen who carefully controlled the carbon content in various parts of the blade for maximum strength and flexibility, as here explained by the historian W. Samurai sword blades were made in specialist workshops using steel in a manufacturing process which dated back to the Nara Period (710-794 CE). By the middle of the Heian Period (794-1185 CE), though, and the appearance of the samurai, it was the curved and viciously sharp sword they carried that saw Japanese swordsmanship reach its zenith. Swords had, in fact, been used in Japan since antiquity but were of the straight-blade type and used for thrusting. The long and super-sharp Japanese swords proved far more effective than the Mongol short swords, and neither could the invaders' light armour withstand the fearsome slashing blade of the samurai sword. This situation lasted until the Mongol invasions of the late 13th century CE which gave swords the opportunity to shine on a more frenetic battlefield than Japan had witnessed previously. The Sword as the Ultimate Weaponĭespite the sword's long history in myth and legend, it was actually the bow that was considered the primary weapon on the Japanese battlefield for much of the country's history. Sometimes blades were tested for their cutting prowess, typically on a condemned criminal, & the results were occasionally noted on the blade itself. In this way, the sword became a part of the imperial regalia, today preserved in the temple of Atsuta near Nagoya. This sword, he presented to his sister Amaterasu who later gave it to her grandson Ninigi who was the first ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. From the dead creature's belly, Susanoo discovered the special sword, the Kusanagi or 'grass-cutter' (in other versions of the story he extracts it from the serpent's tail). ![]() According to legend, Susanoo, the Shinto storm god, killed a giant serpent called Yamato-no-Orochi (aka Koshi) which was terrorizing the province of Izumo. A sword is one of the three sacred Shinto relics that make up the Japanese imperial regalia. Reverence for swords goes back a long way in Japanese culture. Fortunately, fine examples of Japanese medieval swords survive in museums worldwide today, and several are even listed as official National Treasures of Japan. Produced from the 8th century CE onwards and symbolic of the samurai's elevated status in Japanese society, many swords were both deadly weapons and family heirlooms. Swords used by Japanese samurai were renowned for the craftsmanship which produced strong yet flexible curved steel blades with a single, super-sharp cutting edge.
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