A History
From c. 600 to 1876

Ancient period

The earliest swords in Japan were of the chokutō or straight sword variety, and, at this time (c. 600) all excellent swords were imported from China.

Craftsmen from China and Korea also came to Japan.

Four styles of construction evolved during this period:

• hira-zukuri: flat blades with no ridge line (shinogi)

• kiriha-zukuri: blades with a ridge line near the cutting edge

• kissaki-moroha-zukuri: blades double-edged only towards the point

• moroha-zukuri: double-edged blades: swords with blades in this style were known as tsurugi

These swords were used more for stabbing than for slicing (as later swords were used), and were all hung from the waist rather than thrust through the sash.

There was also a type of short sword called warabi-te-gatana which was very similar to the later dagger.

Heian period (782-1184)

The shift from the straight sword to the curved type, so characteristic of the samurai sword, came some time in the middle of the Heian period. The reason for this change is obscure, but it was at this time that fighting by foot soldiers was superseded by mounted combat in which a striking sword rather than a stabbing sword was necessary.

And the warrior class began to gain power in Japan, culminating in 1156 when the Heike clan, under the leadership of Taira Kiyomori, succeeded in putting down a rebellion and took over the reins of government in Kyoto.

The Japanese sword (nihon-tō or nippon-tō), with its curvature was perfected and came into general use because of its superior practical qualities, due, in part, to the progress in sword making techniques. By the end of the Heian period, the curved nihon-tō reached a point of perfection in the shinogi-zukuri style of construction, with the ridge line near the back of the blade (cf. kiriha-zukuri).

The majority of nihon-tō blades to survive from this period are tachi, long swords (c. 0.65 – 0.8 metre) whose tapered blades curve sharply near the hilt but are almost completely straight towards the point. Few daggers (tanto) or short swords (mostly wakizashi) survive; although many were undoubtedly made, they were not of the same quality as the tachi.

Kamakura period (1185-1332)

Early Kamakura period swords were quite similar to those of the previous period. Sword mountings and fitings also saw considerable progress during this period.

The warrior government flurished during the middle Kamakura period. An official code of warrior ethics was set up in 1232. This stressed training in the martial arts, especially archery and horseback riding, along with frugality and strength of character.

Of course, the art of swordmaking saw great prosperity at this time. Blades became broader, thicker, and stronger. The true Kamakura period style began with the works of Shintōgo Kunimitsu, and set the pattern for the swords of ages to come.

The swords of the late Kamakura period became more gorgeous and blades became the same width throughout their entire length. Daggers became straighter, broader and slightly longer than those of the previous period. The blades of halberds (naginata) became curved.

Nanbokuchō period (1333-1391)

This period was not a very important one in the fields of art and culture, but it was during this period that all weapons reached greatly exaggerated proportions—and there are blades still in existence that are more than one metre in length.

Muromachi period (1392-1572)

In this period, the large blades of the Nanbokuchō period were abandoned and the older styles popular during the Kamakura period regained popularity.

It was during this period, as battle tactics changed from single mounted combat to group fighting on foot, the tachi began to disappear and the katana took its place. Unlike the tachi, which is carried edge down, in a slung scabbard, the katana is worn through the sash (obi), edge up. Katana generally have a shallower, but more even, curvature than tachi.

Momoyama period (1573-1599)

In 1588, Hideyoshi issued an order that all swords owned by farmers were to be collected and that no farmer would be allowed to own such weapons in the future. This, of course, had a great influence on the making of swords, since they were no longer necessary in the great numbers they had been during the previous period of civil wars. Thus the quality greatly improved, and gorgeous swords of high artistic quality in the style of the Kamakura and Nanbokuchō periods were produced. This was the Shin-tō (New Sword) period (1597-1780).

Edo period (1600-1867)

During the strong Tokugawa shōgunate, the whole society was based upon warrior-like ideals and the demand for swords was great. Swords of this period are characterised by a great deal of bravado with gold inlay and other decorative ornaments.

Later in the Edo period the production of blades came almost to a standstill. However, the production of sword mountings and fittings became a prosperous business: the sword had now become a matter of social status and part of the costume rather than an actual combat weapon.

Toward the end of the Tokogawa period many schools for warriors were set up in varius parts of Japan and there was a revival in the demand for swords. This was the Shin-shin-tō (New New Sword) period (1781-1876).

Meiji Restoration (1868-1912)

The history of the sword in Japan was brought to a close in 1876. Commodore Perry came to Japan with his “black ships” in 1853 and a period of unrest and internal strife began that lasted until the Meiji Restoration. Four years later, the Emperor issued an order allowing men to give up the carrying of the sword, and then, in 1876, the strict order for all citizens to give up the carrying of swords entirely.