Japanese Sword History

There are many tales of when and where the very first Japanese samurai sword was made. One legend goes so far as to state that they were first made by the sword smith Amakuni in the Hoki Province around 700 a.d. This is just one very specific legend. It is generally accepted that Japanese swords were based on Chinese swords, the Japanese being much stronger (Usagi Yojimbo).

The legend also says that from the first sword maker in the Hoki Province came five main schools of sword making. Within 800 years, hundreds of schools had opened, each one with a master that guarded his secrets and carefully passed them down to his son or apprentice.

The first historically recorded swords in Japan were sent as two gifts from Queen Himeko in China during 240 a.d. Soon afterwards, (280 a.d.) iron swords were regularly imported into Japan from China. The method of forging steel swords was acquired by the Japanese people sometime before the 5th century but exact details are hazy at best. The first swords initially made in Japan were straight, single edged weapons called chokuto. These swords tended to get longer as metallurgy techniques matured. Straight swords lasted until the 8th century. At this time, warriors noted that a curved sword was quicker to draw from the scabbard than a straight one, and the smiths responded by creating the tachi. Some tachi were extremely long for soldiers on horseback, giving them a lethal reach to the enemy foot soldier and other enemy horseback riders.

In the Heian Era (794-1184), the method of forging a soft center with a hard outer surface became a reality. During the Kamakura period, the Mongol invasions began (1274-1281) in which some problems with the Tachi appeared, such as the point of the sword breaking. In turn, this drove sword smiths to make stronger weapons, which eventually led to long swords called odachi, some of which were over a meter long. Later on, these swords were made or cut shorter to carry more easily and became known as katanas. Previously, swords in Japan were carried with the cutting edge down in the belt. The katana, however, was carried with the cutting edge facing up. This allowed a warrior to draw and cut with a single movement. In the late Muromachi period (1555-1595), the Portuguese brought firearms into Japan and swords became longer and heavier.

The samurai swords affected the Japanese culture in many ways as did the culture affect the Japanese sword. Most of these effects being felt directly through and by samurai and indirectly by the common citizen.

The swords effect on culture is mostly a result of samurai actions. During the 6th and seventh centuries B.C., swords were worn as a status symbol. Gold and silver swords with various levels of ornamentation were worn to show class and rank. With the use of the sword, there developed a military class called samurai that were trained in martial arts, especially archery and sword fighting. From 1185 to 1383, the samurai class was being developed with the basis of Confucian values. At the same time, it is evident that the Japanese begin to favor beauty as a feminine characteristic. In the early 1400s, as a result of fixed stipends, the samurais' class rank began to fall as merchants became wealthier. During the 17th century, Japan closed all borders to foreigners. Remaining closed until the 19th century, the Japanese had a strong economy and centralized rule, but lacked military power and technology. In the mid 1800s, there was a samurai upheaval in protest of poor government. In 1867, Samurai overthrew the government in order to begin the modernization period of emphasis in Japan. In the event that a samurai would fail or disobey the code of the samurai, they would be expected to use their own sword to commit seppuku, a ritualistic suicide, to maintain their honor.

The culture's effects on the sword are much harder to decipher. The samurai sword was and is still used in some religious ceremonies. These swords could be up to 2 meters long. A possibility for such lengthiness is simply for aesthetics and grandeur. There was also an adaptation of two swords being carried by samurai so that they could be more easily distinguished from commoners who might carry one as a status symbol. They were the only people of Japan allowed to carry two swords. The main fighting sword was the Katana, and the second sword would usually be a Wakisashi or a Tanto. The Wakisashi was shorter and was carried because the Katana was too large for indoor fighting. The Tanto was a large knife made from the same metal and blade design as the Katana and Wakisashi. This was an adaptation from close quarter fighting.

From Hoki Province came five major schools of sword-making: Bizen, Yamashiro, Yamato, Soshu and Mino. By 1500, these five schools had divided into hundreds, each led by a master who greedily guarded his own secrets and cautiously passed them down to a son or apprentice. However, with the fall of the samurai, the sword smiths also went into a decline and by the 18th century many smiths made more money making pots and pans than weapons. As a result, many of the secrets of the craft have been lost over the centuries and today, even with our modern technology, we are unable to duplicate these amazing blades.