Samurai Sword History

Samurai sword history is roughly divided into four main time periods - Koto (the old sword period, pre 1596), Shinto/Shinshinto (1597 to 1876) Gendai (1877 to the end of world war II) and Shinsaku (modern).

But the earliest origins of this fascinating weapons can be traced back some 1300 years...

The first Japanese swords were basically variations of the Chinese Jian (called Chokuto) - in other words a straight, double edged iron blade.

However sometime during the early Heian period, around 700AD, the first uniquely Japanese swords that were the forerunners of the 'modern' Katana began to evolve.

Initially the first curved Japanese swords were curved at the tang only. But by the end of the 10th century fully curved swords were commonplace. It was during this time that Japan began to abandon such close cultural ties with China, it's society stabilized into class divisions, and the military guards of the capital and the gentlemen of the provinces became the first Samurai...

While no one can pinpoint exactly when the first true Samurai swords came about (after all, written records of Samurai sword history were few and far between during this early period) Japanese myths like to attribute the turning point of Samurai sword history to a smith by the name of Amakuni...

The Legend of Amakuni
- Father of the Samurai Sword

Amakuni Yasutsuna and his son, Amakura, were the head smiths employed by the Emperor to make swords for his armies.

One day, so this legend of Samurai sword history goes, after returning from battle the Emperor and his warriors passed by Amakuni's forge without so much as a word, instead of greeting him warmly as they usually did. With great shame and horror, Amakuni's heart sunk when he noticed that as the warriors came back, most of their swords had been broken or badly damaged in the heat of battle.

Amakuni and his son inspected the damaged and broken blades and realized that their failure was the result of incorrect forging. Vowing then and there to create the perfect sword, and win back the Emperors lost favor, Amakuni and his son locked themselves in the forge and prayed feverishly to the Shinto gods for inspiration.

On the seventh night, the divine came to them both in a dream - a glowing image of a single edged, slightly curved blade...

As soon as the first rays of the sun infiltrated the forge, each knowing without a word exactly what they must do, they set about creating the sword revealed to them by the Kami.

When Amakuni first presented his divinely inspired sword to the emperor, the other sword smiths thought him quite mad. But he persisted, further refining the methods he had developed, until finally, when the warriors returned from battle the following year, not a single sword was broken. The Emperor came up to the smith, and as he passed he said with a smile "You are an expert sword maker. None of the Swords you made failed in battle."

Amakuni had won back the Emperors favor and later died a happy and contended old man...

The Golden Age of Samurai Sword History

The Kamakura (1192 to 1336) and Muromachi (1337 to 1573) periods were without a doubt the Golden Age of Samurai sword history. After the great Mongol invasion of Japan, which was only narrowly averted by the weather (the Kamikaze/Divine winds) the need for a strong national defense force was apparent and in response new sword smithies appeared all over the countryside.

It was during the last part of the Kamakura that Samurai sword history celebrates one of the most famous and respected smiths came to prominence, the almost legendary Masamune...

The Legendary Masamune

Masamune (also known as Goro Nyudo) was believed to have hailed from Sagami Province and is credited with creating the Soshu tradition of sword making, which involved creating a unique hamon (temper line) of martensitic crystals embedded in pearlite matrix (called Nie), thought to resemble stars in the night sky. Samurai sword history regards Masamune's swords as some of the most beautifully crafted Katana ever made, and his surviving swords are all priceless national treasures.

In Japanese sword folklore, his swords are often contrasted with those of later smith known as Muramasa (approx 1500AD) - with Muramasa's swords being regarded as violent, brutish and evil while the swords of Masamune were considered to be deeply spiritual, pure and benevolent.

One story that best illustrates the differences between these Smiths is a legend that sees Muramasa as Masamune's student (which actually was impossible, as Samurai sword history records these two smiths as being born almost 200 years apart!) challenging his 'master' to see who could make a finer sword.

To test the swords, each sword was held into the current of a stream. Muramasa's sword was said to have cut a leaf in half that simply touched the blade from the current alone. But the master Masamune's sword did not cut a thing, with the leaves miraculously avoiding it at the last second, as if to show it possessed a benevolent power that would not harm anything that was innocent or undeserving - even a simple leaf...

The Dark Age of Samurai Sword History

During the 100 year wars of the later Muromachi period, Samurai Sword History records such thirst for weapons to be churned out as quickly as possible that the skills of the sword smiths from the Golden age were lost forever. In 1543 the gun was introduced into Japan, and as many sword smiths now became gunsmiths, the skills of earlier generations deteriorated further still...

Only once these wars were finally over and the great Shogun Hideyoshi unified the country and disarmed the peasantry did Samurai sword history take a turn for the better. Only then, with the Katana being exclusively carried by the privileged Samurai class did the quality of the Japanese sword rise again, though never to the same level as those of the golden age of Samurai sword history.

What followed was 400 years of peace where the gun was rejected and the sword elevated to a fine art. The blades made in this peaceful time of Samurai sword history were known as Shinto (literally "new sword") and were often much more ornate and decorative than practical.

In 1876, the Samurai class was officially disbanded and all civilians were ordered to give up carrying swords after encounters with the West made Japan embark on a period of rapid modernization. However, not all the Samurai went quietly, leading to the Satsuma rebellion (of which the movie "The Last Samurai" is loosely inspired by) which was savagely put down.

This was a very dark time in Samurai sword history, as the remaining few sword smiths were literally put out of business. The rapidly growing, modernized Japanese army was at first armed with western style cavalry swords, however as their nationalism grew, thousands upon thousands of Gunto were churned out to arm Japanese officers until the end of World War II...

The Modern Era - Samurai Sword History in the Making...

Since the end of World War II, there have been a handful of smiths both in and outside of Japan attempting to recreate the forging techniques used throughout Samurai sword history.

In recent years there have even been stripped down to the basics, affordable, and very functional replicas created for a hungry Western audience, with the most basic 'entry level' Katana including Paul Chen's Practical Plus Katana, the Kaze by Cheness Cutlery or the official SBG Katana (pictured above).

However, most interestingly of all, instead of simply going back to the traditions of the past some innovative smiths are taking Samurai sword history forward to the next logical level.

One of the most striking examples of this evolutionary trend is the L6 Bainite Katana made by Howard Clark, a virtually indestructible sword forged using thoroughly modern methods that is in such demand by sword enthusiasts, Howard has not been taking any new orders since 2003...

So while the Samurai are long gone, Samurai sword history continues into a future that seeks to both recover and preserve the old ways, and discover the new.

And with such a resurgence of interest, there is little doubt that a new golden age is dawning...