a b History of Japanese swords "Muromachi period － Azuchi-Momoyama period". Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Touken World. Priest, Graham; Damon Young (21 August 2013). Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness. Open Court. p.209. ISBN 978-0-8126-9723-0.

UPS Worldwide - For anywhere outside the UK, we can post the same day but delivery times are dependent on the destination. Approximate delivery times are as follows: Pronounced [katana], the kun'yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji 刀, originally meaning single edged blade (of any length) in Chinese, the word has been adopted as a loanword by the Portuguese. [12] In Portuguese the designation (spelled catana) means "large knife" or machete. [12] Description [ edit ] Mei (signature) and Nakago ( tang) of an Edo period katana Junko Oishi. "Analyzing the words of Wae-geom and Wae-geom-sa in Classical Korean literatures". p.72. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022 . Retrieved 9 December 2022. Oscar Ratti; Adele Westbrook (1991). Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan. Tuttle Publishing. p.484. ISBN 978-0-8048-1684-7.

Many swordsmiths after the Edo period have tried to reproduce the sword of the Kamakura period which is considered as the best sword in the history of Japanese swords, but they have failed. Then, in 2014, Kunihira Kawachi succeeded in reproducing it and won the Masamune Prize, the highest honor as a swordsmith. No one could win the Masamune Prize unless he made an extraordinary achievement, and in the section of tachi and katana, no one had won for 18 years before Kawauchi. [37] Types [ edit ] Sun-Jin Kim (1996). Tuttle Dictionary Martial Arts Korea, China & Japan. Tuttle Publishing. p.61. ISBN 978-0-8048-2016-5. Yumoto, John (13 December 2013). The Samurai Sword: A Handbook. Tuttle Publishing. pp.6, 70. ISBN 978-1-4629-0706-9.

Iwasaki, Kosuke (1934), "Muramasa's curse (村正の祟りについて)", Japanese sword course, volume 8, Historical Anecdotes and Practical Appreciation. (日本刀講座 第8巻 歴史及説話・実用及鑑賞), Yuzankaku, pp.91–118, doi: 10.11501/1265855 In Japan, Japanese swords are rated by authorities of each period, and some of the authority of the rating is still valid today.Traditionally, yumi (bows) were the main weapon of war in Japan, and tachi and naginata were used only for close combat. The Ōnin War in the late 15th century in the Muromachi period expanded into a large-scale domestic war, in which employed farmers called ashigaru were mobilized in large numbers. They fought on foot using katana shorter than tachi. In the Sengoku period (period of warring states) in the late Muromachi period, the war became bigger and ashigaru fought in a close formation using yari (spears) lent to them. Furthermore, in the late 16th century, tanegashima (muskets) were introduced from Portugal, and Japanese swordsmiths mass-produced improved products, with ashigaru fighting with leased guns. On the battlefield in Japan, guns and spears became main weapons in addition to bows. Due to the changes in fighting styles in these wars, the tachi and naginata became obsolete among samurai, and the katana, which was easy to carry, became the mainstream. The dazzling looking tachi gradually became a symbol of the authority of high-ranking samurai. [22] [20] [19] Typical features of Japanese swords represented by katana and tachi are a three-dimensional cross-sectional shape of an elongated pentagonal to hexagonal blade called shinogi-zukuri, a style in which the blade and the tang ( nakago) are integrated and fixed to the hilt ( tsuka) with a pin called mekugi, and a gentle curve. In the Muromachi period, especially the Sengoku period, people such as farmers, townspeople, and monks could have a sword. However, in 1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned farmers from owning weapons and conducted a sword hunt to forcibly remove swords from anyone identifying as a farmer. [24] Katana were used by samurai both in the battlefield and for practicing several martial arts, and modern martial artists still use a variety of katana. Martial arts in which training with katana is used include aikidō, iaijutsu, battōjutsu, iaidō, kenjutsu, kendō, ninjutsu and Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū. [75] [76] [77]

Kapp, Leon; Hiroko Kapp; Yoshindo Yoshihara (January 2002). Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present. Kodansha International. pp.58–70. ISBN 978-4-7700-1962-2. Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0, 刀 ( katana) entry available online hereYamada Asaemon V, who was the official sword cutting ability examiner and executioner of the Tokugawa shogunate, published a book " Kaiho Kenjaku" (懐宝剣尺) in 1797 in which he ranked the cutting ability of swords. The book lists 228 swordsmiths, whose forged swords are called " Wazamono" (業物) and the highest " Saijo Ō Wazamono" (最上大業物) has 12 selected. In the reprinting in 1805, one swordsmith was added to the highest grade, and in the major revised edition in 1830 " Kokon Kajibiko" (古今鍛冶備考), two swordsmiths were added to the highest grade, and in the end, 15 swordsmiths were ranked as the highest grade. The katana forged by Nagasone Kotetsu, one of the top-rated swordsmith, became very popular at the time when the book was published, and many counterfeits were made. In these books, the three swordsmiths treated specially in " Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō" and Muramasa, who was famous at that time for forging swords with high cutting ability, were not mentioned. The reasons for this are considered to be that Yamada was afraid of challenging the authority of the shogun, that he could not use the precious sword possessed by the daimyo in the examination, and that he was considerate of the legend of Muramasa's curse. [46] [72] A katana forged by Magoroku Kanemoto. ( Saijo Ō Wazamono) Late Muromachi period. (top) Katana mounting, Early Edo period. (bottom) Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 刀 ( katana) entry available online here