Information About a Samurai Sword
A significant cultural icon both nationally and abroad, the "nihonto," or Japanese sword, has inspired sword enthusiasts around the world.
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History
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Evolving in a time of feudal warfare during the pre-Tokugawa Shogunate (roughly the 14th to 17th centuries), the modern katana developed as both an offensive and defensive weapon. Though the roots of the Japanese sword go back to well before the time of Buddha, the forging technique of "wrapping" the metal has been developed in recent centuries.
Philosophies
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Unlike the European provinces, a samurai on the field of battle would wear limited armor and no shield. This created a context for battle that required tremendous focus, allowing for intensive and purely concentrative philosophies, such as the no-mind Zen practice and the moral code of Bushido, to form.
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Sword Anatomy
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There are two different types of steel involved in making the katana. The inner core, or "shingane," is a soft, low-carbon steel compared to the "kawagane," or high-carbon steel. This is so the sword can maintain its flexibility while being able to absorb a tremendous amount of force. Where these two types of steel combine along the sword's edge is called the "hama," or temper edge.
Forging a Samurai Sword
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Once all the impurities of the iron have been removed through smelting, the process of "folding" the metal is used to make a dense and solid sword. Through this technique, the "kawagane" is heated, pounded, and folded up to 3,000 times, resulting in a sword density of surprising sturdiness.
Combat and Kenjutsu
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Kenjutsu, literally "the way of the sword," is the traditional art of fencing in Japan. Originally the practice of fencing was taught in a number of separate schools, each instructed by a sensei of distinguished ability appointed by a daim-yo, or local ruler. Here young students would apprentice until their abilities in fencing were recognized by their teacher.
Training Today
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While the traditional schools are still primarily found in Japan, a number of Iado, or "sword-drawing" schools have emerged in the United States. The study and practice of kendo, where students dress in armored "bugei" and wield bamboo sticks called "shinai", is also taught in a number of public schools.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jarok Kurtheimen
Comments
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hyoujinsama
Jan 08, 2011
Also, "iaido" as opposed to "iado". -
hyoujinsama
Jan 08, 2011
Couple notes: Kendo armor is "bogu" instead of "bugei", the hardened edge mark is "hamon" instead of "hama" and has nothing to do with folding, and the steel would have only been folded between ten and twenty times.
