Abstracts

This book is a tribute to what has been defined the deadliest hand weapon in history. Once a cold and clinical weapon of attack, the Japanese sword now occupies an almost metaphysical place in the popular imagination. A genuine cult object in the most modern sense of the word, one which has transformed itself into a compelling icon of oriental art and culture. Surviving pieces are revered with such awe and respect that in Japan the finest amongst them have been awarded the title of ‘national treasure’.
The value both intrinsic and symbolic of the Japanese sword provide the twin narrative threads weaved throughout this book. The former documents the evolution of the sword through the different epochs of Japanese history, the latter meanwhile recounts myths of indestructible, impossibly sharp blades, of spirits and gods, of smiths whose fame and reputation took on legendary proportions.
It is a story richly illustrated by almost two hundred previously unpublished colour photographs, their subjects ranging from blades to mountings to close ups of decorative accessories. Sword anatomy and technical processes are explained in meticulous detail side by side with helpful illustrative tables. In addition, the book includes a useful comparative timeline, a comprehensive glossary of Japanese terms and practical guidelines to sword evaluation and buying.

Translator’s Note
The original text contains numerous Japanese terms, most if which have been retained for the sake of authenticity and technical precision. Where such terms appear for the first time, they have been translated; where appearing subsequently, the reader should consult the glossary at the back of the book.

Man is like a sharpened blade.

A Samurai once told:
‘There are two sides to a man, one interior, the other external,
and to be effective they must work together.
It’s like the blade of a sword:
after sharpening the blade, you put it back in the scabbard.
You take the sword out to dry it
and then you put it back again.
If one keeps the sword always drawn,
no-one will go near and no one will be your ally.
On the other hand, if you keep the blade always sheathed,
it ends up rusty, becomes useless,
and he owns it will be a laughing stock.
(Yamamoto Tsunetomo)
Extract from ‘Hagakure – The secret code of the samurai’
Between history and legend
‘Kusanagi no Tsurugi’
The Grass Reaper

Legend tells that the god Haya Susanoo, son of the god Izanagi – creator, along with the goddess Izanami, of the Japanese islands – was banished from the land of the gods to the earthly region of Izumo. There, he killed an eight-headed dragon to save a virgin who had been offered in sacrifice. After stabbing the beast to death, he proceeded to dismember it with his sword. However, he was unable to sever the tail, the point of his sword clanking uselessly against some prodigiously impenetrable element. Ripping open the length of the tail, the god found inside a large sword – a sword which was to become known as the Tsumugari (The Well Sharpened). Susanoo subsequently delivered the mighty weapon to the sun goddess Amaterasu, who in turn presented it to her grandson, Ninigi, upon his descent from the skies to govern Japan. The sword was eventually inherited by the emperors, the tenth of whom, Suigin, ordered that it should be kept custody in the temple of Ise. Prince Yamato Takeru, son of the fourteenth emperor, took possession of the sword during an expedition against the Ainu, carrying it with him throughout the campaign. The enemy one day ambushed the prince in a meadow, to which they then proceeded to set fire. At this point, retellings of the legend vary: one version asserts that the now-trapped Takeru began slashing at the fiery grass himself, another claims that the sword acted magically. In any case, a passageway was thus created leading towards safety and eventual victory. From that day on the sword took the name of the ‘Kusanagi no Tsurugi’, (The Grass Reaper), and was presented to each successive emperor upon his coronation along with the Mirror and the Bud, symbols of Amaterasu.
Japanese swords (their origin, the craftsmen who forged them, the warriors who wielded them or suffered their deadliness) are the source of numerous stories similar to that of Susanoo; stories which are suspended between myth and historically documented reality. Passed down from father to son in long-gone times, most don’t stand up to the light of pragmatic western logic, yet were once venerated in Japan as the unarguable truth: indestructible, impossibly sharp swords putting right wrongs or banishing malignant souls in the name of justice. They carried real names linked to their owners, to the craftsmen or, even more frequently, to a particular aspect of their extraordinary tales.

Noble, fascinating and lethal
The Japanese sword is – or so it is said – a physical representation of the human spirit. Like a silent, relentless river, the deadliest hand weapon in history has, generation after generation, captured the popular imagination. No longer viewed solely as a cold and clinical weapon of war, the Japanese sword has today become a noble and fascinating icon of oriental art and culture, able to penetrate diverse and distant territories in the same way as literature, costume, cinema and the martial arts.

Nipponto - The divine katana
The cult of the perfectly sharpened blade – deadly weapon, objet d’art, talisman – occupies a special place in the history and culture of Japan. A desire for perfection is requisite both in terms swordsmanship and production techniques, as the following legend illustrates:-
The story, similar in some ways to the western ‘Excalibur’ myth, tells of Masamune, a craftsman much renowned for his ability to forge high-quality weapons. He is so talented, in fact, that when a bloody war breaks out, the most noble samurai of the region turn to him. The craftsman puts heart and soul into the creation of a ‘perfect’ sword, one designed to destroy but itself remain indestructible: a legendary katana to be passed down from generation to generation. It is forged using new and innovative techniques, the multi-layered overlapping of wrought metal lending it exceptional qualities of resistance; blows hard enough to render other swords inoperable fail to leave the slightest nick. Long and easy to handle, and with the circular hilt typical of samurai weapons, the sword becomes a myth, able to penetrate even the toughest of armour. The samurai in possession of the sword is effectively invincible.
When the feudal wars finally ceased and the order of the samurai was disbanded, the Masamune sword – after having gained the name of the Divine Katana – returned to the hands of the craftsman’s descendants. Nothing more is known of the sword: according to some, even today the craftsman’s descendents continue to guard it jealously.

The shape of perfection
A nipponto sword consists almost without exception of a curved blade with a single sharpened edge, and is characterised by a complex structure. The blade extends inside the handle (tsuka) through a tang (nakago) of variable shape. The blade and handle are bound together by a small bamboo pin (mekugi). The tsuka is almost always of wood wrapped in raw, high quality leather (same), the leather in turn braided in either silk, cotton or another type of leather. When not used, the sword is stored in scabbard (saya) of lacquered wood, often richly decorated.
It is the marriage of production techniques and highest quality materials which makes the Japanese sword (nipponto or nihonto) the deadliest hand weapon in history. The manufacturing process evolved over a period of more than 1,300 years, becoming ever more refined. A level of excellence was first achieved during the Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333), only to be improved still further during the Koto Period (1334 to 1595). Indeed, the styles and techniques of this latter period remain the blueprint for many modern smiths, in whose work it is still possible to see the influence of the five traditional schools (Gokaden): Yamato, Yamashiro, Bizen, Soshu and Mino.
The steel used in Japanese blade manufacture (tamahagane) is produced from iron-sand (satetsu) and coal which is smelted in special earth kilns. At the end of the process, around two tons of steel is obtained. This is then broken down into fragments, the most carbon-loaded of which pass final selection. The carbon content can later be modified by the smith during the forging process, in which the steel is folded and refolded as many as fifteen times. Impurities are thus eliminated and the carbon distributed more evenly. It is precisely such a laborious procedural process which renders the Japanese blade unique and unmistakeable, granting it both structural solidity and great beauty, the steel surface displaying a characteristic grain (jihada).
At this point, the blade is coated in one or more firing clays of different thicknesses, the composition of which will determine the form of the eventual tempering line. The thinner the coating, the harder the steel becomes once cooled and eventually quenched. The distinctive tempering line which is produced (hamon) is an important characteristic of the Japanese sword. After the polishing phase, traditionally carried out using various types of stone, the hamon will take on a lighter colour than the body of the blade. By examining the main structural and surface details of a sword – the shape of the blade, its curvature, the pattern of the hamon, the colour of the nakago and so on – it is possible to determine, even without reading the hallmark, the period, school, and sometimes even the individual smith.

Japanese historical periods
The evolution of forging techniques is closely linked to the stormy history of Japan – a history which is traditionally divided into distinct periods. The following brief sketch will help contextualise the changing background in which production methodology developed.

Ancient Period (before 650 B.C)
The exact date is a source of continued conjecture, but at approximately the same time that Christianity was elsewhere taking root, the first emperor of Japan, Jimmu, migrated across the sea from Kyushu to Kashiwara in Yamato province. After first conquering the local tribes, he then constituted the Japanese Empire. In approximately 284 B.C the traditional continental culture – in the form of Confucian philosophy, silk and weapon production – was introduced from China and Korea. It is believed that numerous Chinese and Korean swordsmiths were at that time operative in Japan. Despite such a large output, very few ancient-period swords (either Japanese-produced or imported from the continent) have survived to this day. The few remaining examples are mostly very similar in appearance, therefore making it difficult to determine place of production. Some, unearthed from ancient burial grounds, display incorrect tempering. The majority are straight-bladed rather than curved.

Nara Period (710 B.C to 794 A.D)
At the beginning of this period, the capital of the empire was established in Nara, Yamato province. Permanent capitals had never existed before because the seat of power had simply switched to the residence of each successive emperor. The period also coincided the increasing popularisation of Buddhism.
The Nara Period is also known as ‘the golden age’ due to the high level of artistic and cultural development, particularly in the areas of architecture, painting and sculpture. Sword production techniques were only at the beginning, but given the increasing military demand a rapid development was imminent.

Heian Period (794 to 1185)
The capital was eventually moved from Nara to Heian (modern-day Kyoto) in Yamishiro province. Administrative power passed from the royal family to the hands of the Fujiwara dynasty, who had gained governmental control.
For eight successive reigns, a period spanning almost a century, the Fujiwara ruled sovereign-like over Japan, and it seemed that at last the country would enjoy lasting peace. However, weak governmental administration was destined to bear serious consequences. Fields and artisan workshops were abandoned; a rising tide of criminality gathered momentum. In approximately 900, two samurai clans, the Minamoto and the Taira, took advantage of the worsening situation to seize power from the Fujiwara. Relations with China thereafter ceased, and it was at this time that the Japanese smiths began to refine their sword production techniques. The quality level rose to such a degree as to render superfluous further imports; by the second half of the Heian period it had reached excellence.

Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333)
The constitution of the Minamoto/Kamakura shogun in Sagami province marked the beginning of a new age. Centuries of feudalism followed, the military shogun claiming both administrative and judicial power. In 1274 and again in 1281, the Mongols, as a sideline to their expansionistic aims in Europe, attempted also to invade Japan. They were however to meet with a formidable pair of allies: Kamukara’s warriors and two sudden typhoons (kamikaze) which the Japanese subsequently believed to be of divine origin.
Spurred by the combination of such dire national emergencies and, more mundanely, by the wishes of the military commission, sword production was granted an even higher profile. The Soshu school (Sagami province) developed an innovative new technique capable of producing swords of unrivalled strength and efficiency. At the same time, the shogun – intoxicated by its victories over the Mongols – was spiralling into an irreversible decline. Emperor Godaigo, with the help of the Ashikaga clan, was ready to seize the occasion, winning back governmental control.

Nambokucho/Muromachi Period (1333 to 1573)
History was soon to repeat itself however: the Ashikaga clan in turn betrayed Emperor Godaigo, installing a puppet government in Kyoto and re-establishing the shogun system. Godaigo was meanwhile able to elude the Ashikaga, eventually setting up residence in the Nara region following his escape. For the next 55 years (1337 to 1392) two imperial courts existed in Japan. The Ashikaga weren’t strong enough to impose their authority, and their incapacity to control the provinces gave rise to a bitter struggle between the feudal aristocracy. The subsequent era of war, the Sengoku Period, lasted for more than a century (1478 to 1605 according to some historians, 1467 to 1615 according to others). Sword demand increased throughout Japan, particularly in Tokyo. Under the patronage of the Ashikaga, the art of sword production flourished to unprecedented levels.

Momoyama Period (1573 to 1600)
Oda Nobunaga, a samurai of humble birth, was called to Kyoto to help the emperor re-establish order and reunify Japan. Nominated vice-shogun, Nobunaga was however killed before completing his mission. It was left to his deputy, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to bring an end to the long period of war. Hideyoshi, also of humble origins, was nominated Emperor Regent; the other military leaders meanwhile became daimyo, feudal lords. During this period, Hideyoshi established the capital at Osaka. All arts were to flourish, including that of sword production.

Edo Period (1600 to 1867)
After Hideyoshi’s death, and following the battle of Sekigahara (September 1600), power passed from the Toyotomi clan to that of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa established the capital at Edo, modern-day Tokyo, from where the clan governed the whole of Japan for the next 250 years. In order to perpetuate the shogun system and make it more functional, the Tokugawa passed a raft of laws fundamental to its survival. Borders became impermeable to both foreigners and foreign cultures; in addition, a strict social class system was introduced, dividing the Japanese population into daimyo, samurai, labourers, artisans and merchants. The long and relatively peaceful Tokugawa Era came to an end at the beginning of the 19th century, the period in which Japan was finally drawn into the age of international commerce.

Modern Period (1868 to present day)
Emperor Meiji, the 122nd descendant of Emperor Jimmu, retook power in 1868, confirming Tokyo as the capital. Two years later, a national edict prohibited the business and merchant class from carrying swords (Haitorei): only samurai were authorised to do so. A second decree in 1876 prohibited all citizens from carrying swords in public, unless at formal ceremonies. The emperor eroded the power of the samurai cast to the point of finally abolishing it altogether, a measure which met with violent rebellion. To survive, the smiths and other sword-related craftsmen were forced to channel their efforts in different directions: kitchen knives, agricultural tools and the like. The Meiji revolution also abolished the provincial feudal system, adopting instead a more modern police network controlled by central government. The samurai thus lost their source of income: many were forced into selling their swords, now rendered superfluous, to help make ends meet. The sharp increase in supply led to a general drop in prices, both for new and antique swords. As a consequence, it was during this period and that the largest western collections of Japanese swords and other samurai equipment were gathered. Some of these have since been donated to museums.
Between the Haitorei Period and the Showa Period (1926), times were undoubtedly hard for the Japanese sword craftsmen. Fortunately, some were however able to continue their art, putting in place the foundations for a renaissance of the Japanese sword – an object seen as the symbol of the nation’s spirit. Even though primary materials were inadequate and mass production techniques compromised quality, demand once more began to increase – particularly so when, during the Showa period, swords were reintroduced as part of the uniform of military officials. Whilst certain arsenals such as that at Seki (in the ancient province of Mino) produce blades of poor quality, others – most notably, that of the shrine of Yasumaki – continue to manufacture swords in the traditional manner, and with exceptional results. Numerous associations have meanwhile been founded both by forge masters and the military to support traditional production of nipponto.

Japanese eras in relation to sword periods
Japanese history is usually divided into large spans of time called ages (prehistoric, ancient or classical, medieval, modern, contemporary), which in turn are subdivided into shorter spans of time called periods (these can be matters of several decades or centuries). Periods are customarily named on the basis of the seat of government at the time: thus, for example, the Heian Period and the Edo Period are the periods in which the imperial court was established in Heian (modern-day Kyoto) and in Bakufu di Edo (modern-day Tokyo) respectively. To avoid possible confusion, the terms ‘era’ and ‘period’ are capitalised when referring to a traditional time classification or to relevant epochs in the history of sword production. When used in a purely figurative sense, the words appear lower-case.
Rather than an unbroken series of numbers, years in Japan are indicated following the Chinese system (adopted during the Nara Period). This system consists of a succession of short-lived eras (usually named after the serving emperor), followed by a number indicating the ordinal year of each era (nengo). The system is still used today in Japan.
During the Nambokucho Period, two separate imperial dynasties existed. The first of these, the southern dynasty (Nancho), is represented by the symbol (inserire simbolo qui), whilst the northern dynasty (Hokucho) is represented by the symbol (inserire simbolo qui).
Another time classification traces the history of sword production through the differing characteristics of the manufacturing process.
Jokoto – from the Yamato Period to the Mid-Heian Period
Koto – from the Mid-Heian Period to 1596
Shinto – 1596 to 1781
Shinshinto – 1781 to 1876 (Haitorei)
Gendaito – 1876 to modern day