These swords, believed to be among the finest in production at the time, were designed for one very important reason: the Mongols. The first swords that could be considered katana originated in Japan some thirteen-hundred years ago, during the 8th century, though the word “katana” wasn’t used to describe them until the 12th century. Once this process was completed, it was repeated, sometimes up to six times! The resulting product was both effortlessly light and stiffly durable, a testament to the work put into them. These layers were then melted down until they fused together into a single piece. To create katana, smiths first refined the metal they were working on with into purest steel, called hagane HAGANE 鋼 'steel' learn more., or “blade metal.” Once the hagane was produced, the steel ingots were hammered into thin sheets and folded on top of each other, creating thousands of minutely thin layers. The forging of the blade itself was the most labor-intensive process. One person worked on the handle, another person worked on the pommel, another on the handguard, and finally, a master craftsman worked on the blade. To forge a katana could take anywhere from days to months of concentrated labor, usually performed by several specialists working in tandem. The katana, besides being a deadly weapon, was also a marvel of metalworking. It was considered deeply dishonorable for a samurai to lose any part of his daisho. The two blades were, of course, invaluable tools on the battlefield, but they also represented a samurai’s honor. A daisho set typically included both a katana and a smaller sword called a wakizashi WAKIZASHI 脇差 or 脇指 'medium-length sword' learn more. Samurai traditionally wielded katana as part of a set of blades called a daisho DAISHO 大小 'big and small' learn more. With the introduction of iaijutsu, battles were often decided by a single stroke of the blade. Among the most influential was the quick and lethal iaijutsu IAIJUTSU 居合術 'the art of drawing a katana' learn more., an entire martial art dedicated to the action of drawing the sword. The word kenjutsu KENJUTSU 剣術 'the art of swords' learn more. This flexibility led to a number of different sword styles being developed. Katana swords were versatile weapons, and could be wielded with either one or two hands. Ultimately, however, the qualities that make a katana Japanese are indeed distinct in their origin. While these swords differed substantially from modern katana, it is thought that Japanese smiths learned their art by crafting swords based on these Chinese models. Some believe that the modern katana is a modified form of Chinese jian and dao swords, which were introduced to Japan many centuries before the katana. Secondly, it’s not really clear if the “Japanese katana” is entirely Japanese. There is no “Japanese katakana sword”, but there are Japanese katana swords! While katakana and katana have similar names, they are completely different things. Katakana, meanwhile, is one of three widely-used Japanese writing systems. Its name is sometimes said to mean “cutting-side up,” referring to the way that samurai wielded katanas in contrast to other kinds of swords. Righting The Recordįirstly, let’s clear up a little misconception. Let’s take a deeper look into what makes them so special. The legendary Japanese katana swords have enthralled people around the world for centuries. For centuries, master Japanese craftsmen have used remarkable techniques to forge these extraordinary blades. The Japanese katana KATANA 刀 'sword' learn more.

Katana japanese swords