Jokoto Period (Ancient Times [<800])
	Koto Period (Old Times [800-1596])
	Shinto Period (New Sword [1596-1781])
	Shin-Shinto Period (New-New Sword [1781-1876])
	Gendaito Period (Modern Sword [1876-1945])
	Meiji Period [1876-1912] Taisho Period [1912-1926] Showa Period [1926-1945]
	Shinsakuto (Newly Made Sword [1953-present])

The Jokoto (or Chokuto) Period (Ancient Times) < 800


The Age of the Straight-bladed Sword

In Japan, the iron swords and swordsmanship are dated back to the Shindai, the mythological age of the gods.

The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon Shoki (History of Japan), both the earliest surviving form of Japanese literature (8th century A.D.), show some evidence that both the iron sword and swordsmanship played a highly significant roles in the founding of the Japanese nation.

The oldest Japanese swords found to date are at least from the second century B.C. They are generally straight-bladed swords with both single and double cutting edges and curved point sections. They range from two to four feet in length and various shapes of hilts indicate the lack of a Japanese standard sword. They are modest tools made for practical combative uses.
 

 

The Japanese refer to these ancient straight-bladed swords as tsurugi or as ken. These early swords were apparently carried slung from the waist by cords or some other materials.

The smiths who made swords in Japan during the end of the sixth century included Chinese, Korean and native Japanese artisans. By the mid-seventh century many persons in a wide range of social classes customarily wore swords and thus stimulated the production of such weapons. Quality blades began to make their appearance at this time. The swords imported from China were, at the time, considered by the Japanese to be superior weapons. It is not until the time of sword blades attributed to Amakuni (~700) and bearing his signature that the reputation of the Japanese sword began to outstrip that of China.


The Advent of the Curved Sword (The Tachi)

As early as the 8th century, the straight-bladed sword began to change to one with more curvature in a longer and a stronger blade with a single cutting edge. The Kogarasu-maru (Little Crow), a sword attributed to the master Amakuni (702), is an example of the firsts curve swords. In its curved form, the sword is known to the Japanese as tachi.

Because many years of battlefield experience proved that the curved form of sword was better suited to the needs of the Japanese fighting man, the tachi (curved long sword) became the principal weapon of the bushi (warrior). It was specially suited for the horse-mounted combat of the late 8th century. The mounted and armored warrior was able to better cut, slashes and thrust against an armored enemy. The curved blade was also less susceptible to damage and break when used from a mounted position. The mounted warrior carried his sword sheathed and slung from the waist with the cutting edge downward, this feature facilitated the ground-to-sky draw that was so useful and necessary to the horse-mounted warrior. Some tachi blades measuring almost four feet in length.

Through the great skill of Yasutsuna Saburo-dayu (749?-811), a swordsmith working in Hoki Province, the tachi became the primary weapon of choice during combat. The most famous of Yasutsuna's blades, the Doji-giri (Monster Cutter), was allegedly made for Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811), the general who was dispatched by the imperial court to subdue the aboriginals of the northern border.

The Koto Period (Old Times) 800-1596


The majority of references date this period from 900 to 1596 which is the beginning of the Keicho-reign era and about the time swords were confiscated from farmers and commoners.

The Koto period led to the founding of the Gokaden, the "Five Traditions" of japanese swordmaking, which are today identified as the basis of the geographical areas in which they once operated (see map):

The numerous smiths of these traditions produced about eighty percent (80 %) of all swords of that period.  Each of the "Five Traditions" had its own pecularity, which resulted in special techniques and refinements in the forging and tempering of blades. 

The Japanese thereafter refered to their swords with nationalistic pride in the expression Nihon-to (Japanese sword), a term still in use today.

The Sword at its Zenith of Excellence

It was during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) that the japanese swordsmiths achieved the highest level of technical excellence. Their outstanding expertise was made possible by the ongoing war between two influential martial families of the time, the Minamoto and the Taira.

This dramatic conflict and continued presence of the warriors on the battlefield made it possible to test and evaluate swords under the severest conditions.

Gotoba, a cloistered emperor (1198-1221),  was also an accomplished smith who, together with:

          - Hisakuni of Yamashiro (1149-1216) - Awataguchi style
          - Norimune of Bizen (1152-1214) - Ichimonji style

produced what are today considered to be the best examples of quality Japanese swords.

At Kamakura the Yamato, Yamashiro, and Bizen traditions tended to combine into what is called today Soshu (Sagami) tradition of swordmaking. The most famous of Soshu Smiths was Goro Nyudo Masamune (fl. c. 1326). For many Japanese, Masamune's name is synonymous with the highest level of individual perfection in the making of sword blades.

The Katana

In the next era, the Nambokucho (1336-1392), warriors fighting on foot came to the conclusion that a lighter and shorter curved blade could be manipulated with greater speed and, if propely used, was capable of almost the same lethal penetration as that of the heavier swords. 

This stimulated a more systematic study of swordsmanship along lines of finesse in technique. By this time, the long sword (tachi), which had been carried sheated and slung, cutting edge downword, was superseded by a shorter weapon worn cutting edge uppermost, thrust through the sash. In its new form and wearing position the sword was called katana.

Three contemporary smiths (fl. c. 1390) were Morimitsu, Yasumitsu, and Moromitsu of the Bizen tradition. They lived in the village of Osafune in Bizen Province and produces excellent blades.


The Sword in the Age of the Warring Provinces.

It is not until the fifteenth century in the warring provinces, that the bushi practiced swordsmanship in a systematic manner with a code of ethics.

The various martial traditions (ryu) made their first appearance at this time. The kenjutsu  dealt with the art of using an unsheated sword while iai-jutsu concerned the act of simultaneously drawing and striking the enemy from a blade still inside its scabbard.

During this period, numerous smiths forged as many blades as was possible in the shortest period of time, for business was plentiful. Their products were generally substandard in terms of metallurgical skill, artistic design, and combative function. In general they were known as kazu-uchi-mono (mass-produced things).

The best smiths of the time were:

In 1600, one of the greatest blade-making centres, Osafune, was destroyed in a flood.



The Shinto Period (New Sword) 1596-1781


The Shinto, or new sword, period brought with it a steady decline in the combative effectiveness of blades. The swords of this period were deemed "new" at the time of their making because forging techniques underwent radical changes.

Whereas Gokaden smiths used local ores processed by themselves, in the Shinto period most of them used metal obtained from a central source located in the modern Shimane prefecture. Adoption of methods of european technology also meant that swords could be mass-produced. Many smiths forged blades of vastly inferior quality.

In the Shinto period, three smiths were granted authority to engrave a sixteen-petal chrysanthemum on the tangs of blades they forged:

The Shin Shinto Period (New-New Sword) 1781-1876


This period terminates at the restoration of the emperor Mutsuhito in 1868 and in 1876 wearing the sword was prohibited by law. The demands for swords dropped rapidly and many smiths started forging knifes and forks. 


The Gendaito Period (Modern Sword) 1876-1945


This period is sometimes reffered to as the Rokuden (Sixth Tradition). Modern blade dating should be by nengo, i.e. Meiji, Taisho and Showa.

During the Gendaito period, not all swords were made by the orthodox methods of hand forging-shaping and the water-quench tempering process. Two types of Japanese swords made in this period are not propely classified as Nihon-to:

The Murata-to type of weapon owes its name to that of its developer, who manufactured blades in response to the demand that occured just prior to and during the Russo-Japanese War. Machine-made but nevertheless of good quality, the Murata-to can be recognized by the high degree of metallic sheen in its blade.

The Showa-to is also a machine-made weapon, but it is vastly inferior to the Murata-to because of its generally poor-quality steel. The Showa-to can easily be identified by the presence of a serial number and a cherry-blossom design engraved on his tang. The Showa-to was used in great numbers by japanese army officiers during the Japan's era of imperial expansion in Asia and the Pacific (1926-1945).

Both the Murata-to and the Showa-to are one-piece blades and are usually oil-tempered.



The Shinsakuto Period (Newly Made Sword) 1953-present


Contemporary blades made after 1953 when the post-war blade manufacture prohibition was rescinded. They have an emphasis on 'art' rather than 'use'.