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Different Japanese Arts : SWORDS ( nihonto ) History Swords originated in Japan in the 8th century. It dates back to the earliest development of steel in Japan. The sword is the one of the three Imperial Regalia in Japan, one of the three objects that are handed down to the rulers of Japan. The other two are the jewel and the mirror. It therefore holds a lot of significance for them. The earliest sword-smiths lived an austere and religious life in Japan. They were yamabushi members of the Shugendo sect. The Japanese had achieved technical mastery in steel-making more than 12 centuries back. The steel of the swords therefore has impressive shapes, lines and texture. It is said that Amakani - the gifted sword maker was the one to develop the classically styled Japanese sword which was long, single edged with a two handed grip. Prior to Amakani (720 AD), the swords were copied from Japanese and Korean designs. The Making of the Swords Iron working technology was introduced to Japan from about the 3rd to the 5th century AD. The two prominent methods included forging and tempering and polishing. Forging involved hammering forged steel some 10 to 20 times into plates. This hardened into steel, which was then welded onto the surface of the less brittle inner steel called shingane. This repeated folding and welding gave the Japanese blade one of its unique qualities - a texture (jihada) like that of the grain of wood. The hamon, or temper pattern of the blade, is one of the most noticeable and beautiful features of the sword and also an important means of identifying its origin. By the early Kamakura period (1185-1333), this hamon was made to exhibit many shapes and forms. Generally a specific type of temper or group of types was employed by an individual school or smith. Jokoto (Ancient Sword) period The swords of the Jokoto period have come down to us from the ancient burial mounds of the Kofun period (ca 300-710). These swords are badly rusted. But the swords preserved in the 18th century Shosoin imperial art repositary in Nara have been kept in near perfect condition for centuries. Ancient swords were straight, with a very small and sharply angled slanted point (boshi) swords of the Nara period (710-794) and Heian period (794-1185) were rather short and lightweight. Koto (Old sword period) As a result of the prolonged strife and the feudal combat, the production of the swords increased in the Muromachi period (1333-1568). An increase in the quantity lead to the decrease in the quality. Swords became heavier and less curved, wider and considerably shorter. Katana, the new blade was upward of 60 centimeters (2ft) in length. A shorter blade, wakizashi, soon accompanied it. Shinto (New Sword) Period During the Azuchi-Momoyama (1568-1600) and Edo (1600-1868) periods individual sword smiths founded new schools, and an interest developed in the largely lost skills of the Kamakura period. They attempted to copy the swords of the past but were restricted by the requirements of hand-to-hand combat. Many swords had extraordinarily brilliant tempering patterns, a substantial structure of well-hammered and well-tempered steel, and beautiful chiseled engravings (horimono) and grooves. Sword guards (tsuba) and other fittings (koshirae) for the samurai's long and short swords and for daggers became highly ornate. Modern period In 1868 the emperor Meiji promulgated regulations forbidding the making or wearing of swords but permitted a small number of smiths to continue their work in order to keep the art alive. A further quickening of interest occurred during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and before and during World War II. For the most part these later military swords are not genuine art swords (nihonto) but are made from machine-made steel. After World War II, the Allied Occupation forces ordered all swords destroyed, but the order was modified to exclude swords of artistic, religious, or spiritual significance belonging to museums, shrines, or private collections.
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