For the samurai in medieval Japan (794 to 1868), the sword was not only a weapon, it was a symbol of the samurai warrior class. No samurai would appear in public, whether in battle armor or in civilian clothing, without a sword. The making of a sword was not only an art form, but also a religious act. For the samurai, having a sword which had been forged by a celebrated master was a prized possession.
While today the primary weapon identified with the samurai is the sword, for much of samurai history the primary weapon on the battlefield was the bow. The sword was used primarily for dismounted combat and, as mounted warriors, this was something the samurai avoided as much as possible.
The sword acquired its reputation and prestige when the wars had ceased. The relative peace in Japan began in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu was proclaimed shogun by the emperor. Gregory Irvine, in his article on Japanese arms and armor in The Art of Armor, writes:
“Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan was effectively at peace. After centuries of warfare, members of the ruling samurai class found themselves in the anomalous position of being warriors with no more battles to fight.”
In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu laid down the rules for the samurai which required them to learn both military arts and civil learning. Ieyasu defined the dual nature of the samurai:
“The Way of Letters, and of arms, of archery and of horsemanship must be cultivated with all the heart and mind. In times of order we cannot forget disorder; how then can we relax our military training? The sword is the soul of the warrior. If any forget or lose it he will not be excused.”
Shown above is the Efu No Tachi Sword made by Yokoyama Sukesada circa 1660-1670. During the Edo period (1615-1868) the sword was the symbol of the samurai’s social status. The sword shown above has a curved blade just over 26 inches long. This type of sword would have been worn only by the highest-ranking members of the military aristocracy on ceremonial occasions. The hilt of the sword is covered with ray skin. This sword was on display at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum.
The Japanese sword is characterized by its curved blade. John Stevenson, in his chapter on the warrior in Japanese society in The Art of Armor, writes:
“When a straight sword strikes, its perpendicular impact transmits a shock to the hands much greater than that transmitted by a curved sword, which diffuses the shock.”
The samurai used four basic kinds of swords:
tachi,
katana,
wakizashi, and
tanto.
Tachi:
The tachi was a two-handed sword which would be slung from the belt with its cutting edge downward. This sword was carried by the samurai when dressed in armor and ready for battle. Since this was a two-handed weapon, the samurai would give his bow to an attendant before drawing the sword for action. The tachi has a blade that is more than two feet (60 centimeters) in length.
Katana:
When in civilian dress the samurai would wear the katana rather than the tachi. This sword would be thrust through belt with its cutting edge upward. In theory, this would enable the samurai to draw the sword and deliver a killing blow with a single stroke.
Eric Meulien, in his chapter on the way of the warrior in The Art of Armor, writes:
“The katana (sword) was the warrior’s most prized possession and the symbol of the nation’s ruling elite. Only samurai were allowed to carry katana, and they very rarely set down their weapon.”
Wakizashi:
The wakizashi was worn with the katana and this pair of swords was called a daisho. The two swords would have matching scabbards and fittings. Gregory Irvine, in his chapter on Japanese arms in The Art of Armor, writes:
“Only samurai were permitted to carry the two swords of the daishō; others such as doctors, priests, and later, merchants were allowed to carry a single short sword under strict regulations.”
The
wakizashi would be put through the belt with the
katana so that both handles would protrude upward. The
wakizashi, which began to be used in the sixteenth century, was not worn with armor. The
wakizashi has a blade that is 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) long.
Shown above is a sixteenth-century Wakizashi short sword. This was usually worn alongside the longer katana blade. It was used as a backup weapon. The sword shown above was on display at the Portland Art Museum.
Tanto:
In actual hand-to-hand combat, the tanto or dagger was often the weapon that determined the outcome of the fight. When wearing armor, the samurai would wear a tanto in his belt. The tanto has a blade less than 1 foot long.
Making the sword:
Making the samurai sword represented the culmination of centuries of knowledge, skill, and techniques which had been passed from each master to his successor. The making of the sword demonstrated a great knowledge of metallurgy, of how to use heat to bring different metals together to form a final product. The final product—the sword blade—had to be able to do two things. First, it had to have strength. To demonstrate the strength of the blade it had to be able to cut through a pile of seven corpses. Second, it had to be sharp. If the blade were placed in flowing water, it had to be sharp enough to cut through a water lily that floated downstream onto the blade.
With regard to the forging of the blade, Stephen Turnbull, in his book Samurai: The Story of Japan’s Great Warriors, reports:
“Rather than being just one piece of metal, the Japanese sword was of duplex construction and consisted of a selectively hardened cutting edge embedded within a softer and springier body to give resilience.”
The swordsmith would begin by forging two different metal bars: one of hard steel for the sword edge and outer zone, and a soft iron core. These two would be forged into a single piece that was deeply grooved, folded over, beaten, and hot forged again so that it formed a tightly welded piece. Each swordsmith had his own way of doing this.
In the final stages of manufacture, the blade would be polished and sharpened to produce a very fine cutting surface. Then the sword guard and handle would be added. The swords would then be tested to make sure that they had the correct balance and cutting ability.