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[Semi-OT] Katana and its nickname [message #365498] Wed, 21 March 2018 21:29 Go to next message
Manbow Papa is currently offline  Manbow Papa
Messages: 113
Registered: March 2012
Karma: 0
Senior Member
"Toji no Miko" is one of my favorite anime in this season. The divine
swords miko use have a nickname. Kanami's Chidori, Hiyori's
Kogarasumaru, Mai's Magoroku-kanemoto, Kaoru's Nenekirimaru etc.

There are some 2.5 million Japanese sword registered in Japan and about
half of Japan's national treasures and intangible cultural assets are
sword. Some master pieces of the sword have a nickname. For example,
five master pieces of Muromachi period are Doujigiri, Onimaru, Mikazuki,
Oodenta and Juzumaru.

Usually, though, a sword is called by the swordsmith's name. Masamune is
the most famous swordsmith worked in Kamakura of Sagami from late
Kamakura period to early Nanboku-cho (14 ct). He started Soushuuden
school, one of Gokaden [The Five Schools]. The other schools are
Yamashiroden, Yamatoden, Bizenden and Minoden. They were in different
countries in Japan.

How the Japanese sword evelved, then?

The oldest Japanese sword I have ever seen is "Kin-saku-mei Tekken" at
the museum of Sakitama Kofun Park in Saitama prefecture. It's a rusty
straight sword of 73.5cm in length. The sword was stored in the stone
room of Inariyama-Kofun, a huge ancient tomb. Its surface has gold text
saying like "commemoration for Owake's contribution (long duty) as the
guard leader of Yuuryaku-tenno, AD.471". Sword is one of Sanshu-no-jingi
[three sacred treasures] that are sign/evidence of Imperial Throne. And
it's often found in a Kofun as a part of grave goods. About 200,000
Kofun were built from 3 ct to late 7 ct for Tenno (Japan's Emperor) and
powerfull families all over Japan.

A katana (curved Japanese sword) found in the treasure house of Kasuga
Jinja in 1939 has been identified one of the oldest katana remains to
date. It's likely made in late Heian period (11 ct) when katana got
current style. It's 82.4cm in length. Its swordsmith might be famous
Yasutsuna of Houki (now, Tottori prefecture) who made Doujigiri
mentioned above. Curved swords were first made in Mokusa (or Maikusa) of
Ichinoseki that was Oushuu Fujiwara clan's territory at the time. It
means that katana needed at least six centuries to evolve. It's amazing
that the 1,000-year old katana of Kasuga Jinja looks so bright and
perfect after whetting.

In Edo period, large conflicts between fudal lords were eliminated and
samurai became a bureaucrat than a warrior. Katana became only a symbol
of samurai. The skill of making katana and the iron manufacturing
process for Tamahagane, pure iron for katana, were largely lost in 300
years hiatus.

After the Meiji restoration, Japanese government made and distributed a
lot of military swords to officers as a spiritual symbol of guardian.

Today, some swordsmiths try to reproduce ancient katana and they
sometimes get good results. Still, they have never made a katana as good
as the best ones from Kamakura period. The only Tamahagane manufacturer
is Hitachi Metals in Shimane prefecture. They preserves and uses
traditional Tatara process. Tamahagane is so pure and precious as it
looks much like shining platinum with a few small brilliant blue and
magenta patches on the surface.

--
/ Ishikawa Kazuo /
Re: [Semi-OT] Katana and its nickname [message #365515 is a reply to message #365498] Thu, 22 March 2018 01:20 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Anonymous
Karma:
Originally posted by: Bobbie Sellers

On 03/21/2018 06:29 PM, Manbow Papa wrote:
> "Toji no Miko" is one of my favorite anime in this season. The divine
> swords miko use have a nickname. Kanami's Chidori, Hiyori's
> Kogarasumaru, Mai's Magoroku-kanemoto, Kaoru's Nenekirimaru etc.
>
> There are some 2.5 million Japanese sword registered in Japan and about
> half of Japan's national treasures and intangible cultural assets are
> sword. Some master pieces of the sword have a nickname. For example,
> five master pieces of Muromachi period are Doujigiri, Onimaru, Mikazuki,
> Oodenta and Juzumaru.
>
> Usually, though, a sword is called by the swordsmith's name. Masamune is
> the most famous swordsmith worked in Kamakura of Sagami from late
> Kamakura period to early Nanboku-cho (14 ct). He started Soushuuden
> school, one of Gokaden [The Five Schools]. The other schools are
> Yamashiroden, Yamatoden, Bizenden and Minoden. They were in different
> countries in Japan.
>
> How the Japanese sword evelved, then?
>
> The oldest Japanese sword I have ever seen is "Kin-saku-mei Tekken" at
> the museum of Sakitama Kofun Park in Saitama prefecture. It's a rusty
> straight sword of 73.5cm in length. The sword was stored in the stone
> room of Inariyama-Kofun, a huge ancient tomb. Its surface has gold text
> saying like "commemoration for Owake's contribution (long duty) as the
> guard leader of Yuuryaku-tenno, AD.471". Sword is one of Sanshu-no-jingi
> [three sacred treasures] that are sign/evidence of Imperial Throne. And
> it's often found in a Kofun as a part of grave goods. About 200,000
> Kofun were built from 3 ct to late 7 ct for Tenno (Japan's Emperor) and
> powerfull families all over Japan.
>
> A katana (curved Japanese sword) found in the treasure house of Kasuga
> Jinja in 1939 has been identified one of the oldest katana remains to
> date. It's likely made in late Heian period (11 ct) when katana got
> current style. It's 82.4cm in length. Its swordsmith might be famous
> Yasutsuna of Houki (now, Tottori prefecture) who made Doujigiri
> mentioned above. Curved swords were first made in Mokusa (or Maikusa) of
> Ichinoseki that was Oushuu Fujiwara clan's territory at the time. It
> means that katana needed at least six centuries to evolve. It's amazing
> that the 1,000-year old katana of Kasuga Jinja looks so bright and
> perfect after whetting.
>
> In Edo period, large conflicts between feudal lords were eliminated and
> samurai became a bureaucrat than a warrior. Katana became only a symbol
> of samurai. The skill of making katana and the iron manufacturing
> process for Tamahagane, pure iron for katana, were largely lost in 300
> years hiatus.
>
> After the Meiji restoration, Japanese government made and distributed a
> lot of military swords to officers as a spiritual symbol of guardian.
>
> Today, some swordsmiths try to reproduce ancient katana and they
> sometimes get good results. Still, they have never made a katana as good
> as the best ones from Kamakura period. The only Tamahagane manufacturer
> is Hitachi Metals in Shimane prefecture. They preserves and uses
> traditional Tatara process. Tamahagane is so pure and precious as it
> looks much like shining platinum with a few small brilliant blue and
> magenta patches on the surface.
>

So the legendary "Grasscutter" mentioned in the old stories was likely
a straight sword? Tamahagane sound lovely for a weapon designed
to dismember one or more persons.

We see occasionally a Public Broadcasting System show about
Japanese sword making. The sword-smith has an American apprentice
trying to gain skill and knowledge. It requires massive physical
effort which is intensely ritualized. During the Edo period one
of the sword smitheries was devoted to the making and repairing
of the Shogunal firearms but the majority of the swords had been
confiscated from the little samurai who were mainly farmers. The
very class from which Hideyoshi arose.

Only Musashi learned to fight with both swords, but
still he did some of his greatest feats with a solid oak sword.
Because a skilled and educated person could be killed with the
solid oak this form of practice weapon went out of style and
the modern practice weapon of bamboo strips came into use.

All of my information comes from these books:
"Miyamoto Musashi" His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu, a
martial artist himself who relates all the accounts known of
Musashi's life and works, the extant versions of his various
martial arts, rules and how the tradition, the school, the ryu,
was transmitted.
[and]
Giving up the Gun by Noel Perrin subtitled "Japan's Reversion
to the sword, 1545-1879" It is clear that this would only work in
nations with a small well defined warrior class and a dictatorship
as through as the Tokugawa shogunate. The means and men who built
the guns were controlled as well as the guns being confiscated from
most holders. Some of the gun makers converted back to sword
making.

And the Shinsengummi came up with plenty of swords and
highly skilled fighters in the 1860s as the fought the shishi in
an attempt to maintain the Tokugawa shogunate.

bliss

--
bliss dash SF 4 ever at dslextreme dot com
Re: [Semi-OT] Katana and its nickname [message #365553 is a reply to message #365515] Fri, 23 March 2018 10:21 Go to previous message
Manbow Papa is currently offline  Manbow Papa
Messages: 113
Registered: March 2012
Karma: 0
Senior Member
On 2018/03/22 14:20, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
<snip>
>
>     So the legendary "Grasscutter" mentioned in the old stories was
> likely a straight sword?

Yes, it is. There is a replica of Kusanagi-no-tsurugi. But it's a casted
sword and doesn't have sharp edge that is typical to an ancient Chinese
sword. According to the legend, Susanowo pulled out Kusanagi-no-tsurugi
from the dead python's tail. The sword he used to kill the monster is
Ama-no-Haba-kiri. Haba is the monster's name. The sword was renamed as
Futsu-no-mitama when it was enshrined in Kashima-jinja in Ibaraki
prefecture. The sword was thought to have made in Nara or Heian period
(8 ct?). It's 271cm long and the longest Japanese straight sword we can
see today. The longest curved sword is Nenekirimaru that is enshrined in
Futara-jinja in Nikko. It's 216.7cm long and weighs 24kg. It's also
Kaoru's sword in the anime.

<snip>

> During the Edo period one
> of the sword smitheries was devoted to the making and repairing
> of the Shogunal firearms but the majority of the swords had been
> confiscated from the little samurai who were mainly farmers. The
> very class from which Hideyoshi arose.

Guns and swords were severely restricted during the Edo period. There
were swordsmith's side business such like knives, scissors, chisels,
planes, hoes etc though. They sometimes made metal goods. Many
swordsmiths lived and worked in Sakai. Now, the city is well-known for
its best quality cooking knives.

>
>     Only Musashi learned to fight with both swords, but
> still he did some of his greatest feats with a solid oak sword.
> Because a skilled and educated person could be killed with the
> solid oak this form of practice weapon went out of style and
> the modern practice weapon of bamboo strips came into use.

Finghting with katana needs a lot of practice, i.e. Kendo. If you will
never use katana for fighting, a bamboo blade is enough for the
practice. Whether a blade is bamboo or wood, there are many differences
to real kanata. KONDO Isami, the leader of Shinsen-gumi, was a master of
Tennen-rishin school. The school occasinally employed real katana for
practice to get used to the real fight. At the Ikedaya incident, several
Shinsengumi members defeated 20+ enemies because not only the members
were highly skilled but also enemies didn't get used to fight by real
katana.

>
>     All of my information comes from these books:
>   "Miyamoto Musashi" His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu,  a
> martial artist himself who relates all the accounts known of
> Musashi's life and works, the extant versions of his various
> martial arts, rules and how the tradition, the school, the ryu,
> was transmitted.
>  [and]
>    Giving up the Gun by Noel Perrin subtitled "Japan's Reversion
> to the sword, 1545-1879"  It is clear that this would only work in
> nations with a small well defined warrior class and a dictatorship
> as through as the Tokugawa shogunate.  The means and men who built
> the guns were controlled as well as the guns being confiscated from
> most holders.  Some of the gun makers converted back to sword
> making.
>
>     And the Shinsengummi came up with plenty of swords and
> highly skilled fighters in the 1860s as the fought the shishi in
> an attempt to maintain the Tokugawa shogunate.
>
>     bliss
>

Anyway, durling the Edo priod, many popular arts, hobbies and
entertainments unique to Japan were created. If you see a pile of Ukiyoe
you could imagine what kind of daily life commoners had at the time.

--
/ Ishikawa Kazuo /
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