{"id":6936,"date":"2020-06-08T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T00:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samuraimuseum.jp\/shop\/?p=6936"},"modified":"2022-05-19T16:09:54","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T07:09:54","slug":"episode-2-japanese-swords-from-different-ages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samuraimuseum.jp\/shop\/episode-2-japanese-swords-from-different-ages\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 2: Japanese Swords from Different Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Given that you have read our first article (If you haven\u2019t,<\/span>\u00a0 see here<\/span><\/a> ), now you know different types of Japanese swords.\u00a0 Today, we would like to delve into it a little more and write about the differences by the age of each Japanese sword.<\/span><\/p>\n

INDEX<\/span>
\nChapter 1: The History of the Curvature of Japanese swords<\/strong><\/span>
\nChapter 2: The Ages of Japanese Swords<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u30fbJO-KO-TO(\u4e0a\u53e4\u5200\uff09<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u30fbKO-TO \uff08\u53e4\u5200)\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u30fbSHIN-TO\uff08\u65b0\u5200\uff09<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u30fbSHIN-SHIN-TO(\u65b0\u65b0\u5200\uff09<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u30fbGENDAI-TO(\u73fe\u4ee3\u5200)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Chapter 1: The History of the curvature of Japanese swords<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dating back to the earliest years of the Samurai times (The HEIAN-Period; 794-1185 A.D.), There would be a lot of non-curved Japanese swords.\u00a0 That trend changed as the regime of ancient Samurai families had taken over the imperial government of Japan in the 10th century. There was the whole transition from the straight sword(CHOKU-TO; \u76f4\u5200) to the curved sword(WAN-TO(\u6e7e\u5200; ).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Japanese sword have seen rapid, drastic changes after the mid-HEIAN-Period due to the transition of war strategies.\u00a0 The swordsmiths modified the swords in various ways following the clan’s war reports so that Samurai could use their swords more efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chapter 2: The Ages of Swords<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The chart below shows the ages of Japanese swords in chronological order.\u00a0 In Chapter 2, we are going to explain the characteristics of Japanese swords in each era.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u30fbJO-KO-TO(\u4e0a\u53e4\u5200)<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nJO-KO-TO is mostly straight since they were copies of the swords from the continent. Usually, they were only discovered in the excavation sites from ancient times, or heritage sites of the ancient empire of Japan (5-8C).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u30fbKO-TO (\u53e4\u5200) <\/strong><\/span>
\nThe swords made between the Late Heian Period towards the end of the Warring States (930-1595 A.D.) are called KOTO (\u53e4\u5200: Old-Sword) in Japanese. Those swords were likely to be used in real lives of Samurai, so their designs had to fit the way they used the sword.\u00a0 It is hard to generalize Koto but they typically have a more aesthetically masculine look than those of the other eras.\u00a0 The blacksmithing technique wasn’t fully developed yet in this era, so the KO-TO blades contain gold, silver, and other metals, making the surface pattern of Koto intricate and beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I: From Late-Heian to Early-Kamakura period(10 C-)<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe swords from this era were the first to have the shape of Tachi.\u00a0 The curvature starts from the handle to the middle and becomes steeper towards the edge. We call this design KOSHI-ZORI(\u8170\u53cd\u308a; Waist-Curve).<\/span><\/p>\n

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II: Mid-Kamakura period(Appx. 13 C)<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom the mid-Kamakura Period, TACHI was made to look even more magnificent.\u00a0 The upper half of the blade was forged thicker, which means the overall blades were a little flatter than the previous ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

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III: Late-Kamakura period(Appx. 1274-1333 A.D.)<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe blades have become longer and thinner during this era.\u00a0 They also resemble the Early-Kamakura style, but such sharpness at the peak cannot be seen in the Early-Kamakura swords.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

VI: Nanbokucho-period (1336-1392 A.D.)<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0In this era, Tachi have become the largest in history.\u00a0 Swordsmiths reduced layers of steel in the blade to keep it light and easy to wield the sword in hand.\u00a0 They also tend to have HI(\u6a0b; Gutter) on the blade since it would otherwise be too heavy.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

V: Early-Muromachi period(1367-1467 A.D.)<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe swords from this period mostly resembled the Kamakura-style swords. At the same time, there is also a curvature from the middle towards the peak.<\/span><\/p>\n

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IV:Middle Muromachi Period-Late Muromachi period(1467-1573 A.D.)<\/strong><\/span>
\nAs of this era, soldiers began to fight on the ground, so UCHI-GATANA(Katana) was made for the first time.\u00a0 They are shorter, and typically have the strong curvature from the middle to the edge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since it was also in the middle of the Warring States period (Sengoku Jidai),\u00a0 some swords were relatively low-quality to cater to the clan’s high demands for weapons to provide foot soldiers with.\u00a0 The high-quality swords forged during the Warring States are called CHUMON-UCHI (\u6ce8\u6587\u6253; custom-made).\u00a0 There were also popular sword forging schools which often had orders from high-class Samurai, such as Bizen Osafune school.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2166: Azuchi-Momoyama period(1573-1594 A.D.)\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0Amidst the Warring States (c. 16C), swordsmiths had gathered around the castle towns of great Samurai warlords such as Edo city (Today\u2019s Tokyo).\u00a0 Transport links between the provinces became way faster in this era, and there were also swords made of steel brought from western countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The swords from this era are very similar to OH-SURIAGE(\u5927\u647a\u4e0a\u3052; Heavily-Sharpened), which had formerly been Tachi but were adjusted to the size of Uchi-Gatana. The blade is usually thick and tends to have more layers of steel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u30fbSHIN-TO(\u65b0\u5200)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

IIX: Late Azuchi-Momoyama -Mid of Edo Period (1596 A.D.-1763 A.D.)\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0As opposed to KO-TO, SHIN-TO refers to the swords forged from 1596(Keisho-era) until around 1763.\u00a0 It is said that carbon steel (Tamahagane) used during this time was pure because of the development of metal-tempering.\u00a0 Also, the peaceful state of Edo period allowed many swordsmiths to pursue their technical improvement.\u00a0 Thus, it became easier for the swordsmiths to make a custom-made blade just as requested by Samurai than the KOTO era.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0SHIN-TO is generally heavier and thicker, and less curved than KO-TO. And it tended to have gorgeous, intricate designs in the EDO Period (1603-1868 A.D.).\u00a0 In the early Edo period, swords had less curvature and were thinner towards the edge.\u00a0 We mainly refer to those as KANBUN-SHINTO (\u5bdb\u6587\u65b0\u5200; Sword of the KANBUN era) given that most of the famous swords that represent the early Edo style were made during the KANBUN Era (1661-1673 A.D.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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IX: Mid-Edo period (Since the GENROKU Era; 1688-1704 A.D. and onward<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe swords from this era restored the graceful curvature on the blade, as the government had experienced the most peaceful state in history.\u00a0 There were also engraved artworks on some of those.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u30fbSHIN-SHIN-TO(\u65b0\u65b0\u5200) (1764-1876 A.D.)<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom the 1760s onwards the end of the Samurai times, there was a revival movement of KO-TO styled swords.\u00a0 We refer to those made at that time as SHIN-SHIN-TO.\u00a0 Thus, SHIN-SHIN-TO usually resembles KO-TO of the old era,\u00a0 which is seen in its magnificent look. They were also made longer and had less curvature than the ones of the previous eras.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u30fbGENDAI-TO(\u73fe\u4ee3\u5200)<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0Edict of the 9th of the Meiji Era (1878 A.D.), following the decline of the Samurai regime, the Sword Prohibition Bill took effect in Japan.\u00a0 Thus, many Japanese swordsmiths lost their jobs, but the craftsmanship was preserved by the government, with the two well-known swordsmiths GASSAN and KANENORI being selected as the national sword artists.\u00a0 When it comes to the features of Gendai-To, You can seek references to the swords from different eras, most of which were inspired by the Kamakura-style.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0There are around 150-200 swordsmiths in Japan today. Those who practice Iaido(\u5c45\u5408\u9053) use those GENDAI-TO, and there are international Japanese sword collectors who order their new custom-made blades. The contemporary Japanese sword makers are researching old ways to forge swords and try to recreate ancient style swords. They are the ones who keep the tradition of Japanese history alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Did you enjoy this article?\u00a0 Which one do you like better? KO-TO? SHIN-TO? All of these are remains of Samurai history and worth preserving for centuries. We hope this article helps you understand more about the features of swords from each period.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also deal with Japanese swords from different eras.\u00a0\u00a0 You may be able to notice what is unique about our collection of Japanese swords.\u00a0 Hopefully, some of you are now interested in owning one of them. You can just click the embedded links on the pictures, or visit HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to have a look at all collections. We are looking forward to serving you out there anytime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Samurai Museum<\/strong><\/span>
\nEmail: order@samuraimuseum.jp<\/a><\/span>
\nTEL:+81 3 6457 6411<\/span><\/p>\n

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