Katana: 6 Things You Need to Know About Japanese Swords

by David McElhinney | CRAFT

Few countries are as synonymous with swords as Japan. Mention the words samurai or katana to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Japanese history and immediately a distinct image forms in their head. Maybe you’ll picture a man in flowing kimono or pleated samurai armor wielding a long, thin and curved blade. Perhaps he is charging towards an enemy, or maybe he’s practicing his sword technique by slicing and dicing stalks of bamboo.

But there was – and is – much more to Japanese swords than their purpose as instruments of death. They are part of a millennia-old culture of smithing and craftsmanship, and are just as prized for their aesthetic virtues and ceremonial value as for their ability to down foes.

Want to know more? Read on to find out everything you need to know about Japanese swords.

1. What are Japanese Swords?

Broadly speaking there are three categories of Japanese sword types: the katana, the wakizashi and the tanto.

Katana - The katana (刀, blade) is the most familiar of the three and the one we most associate with samurai. These Japanese long swords first appeared during the Muromachi period (1338-1573) and were approximately two shaku in length (24 inches or 60cm in today’s measurements). They were typically tucked into the belt and sheathed within a scabbard, only to be unleashed when the samurai was locked in a duel or fighting on foot.

The katana also symbolized status – it was proof that one was versed in bushido, the way of the warrior. Warriors of lower ranks were forbidden from using katana, while the highest-ranked samurai carried blades with ornate hamon (patterns on the cutting edge) or detailed engravings on the hilt and scabbard. During the Edo period (1603-1868) when Japan entered a prolonged period of peace, samurai would display their katana on wall mounts, showing guests their rank and family lineage.

Daisho (Pair of Swords), 15th Century, Met Museum

Wakizashi - A wakizashi (脇差, side-insert) is a Japanese short sword, the backup weapon of the samurai. Often paired with a katana, together known as daisho the wakizashi was useful when ambushed in close quarters or as a quick-access means of self-defense. Much like the katana, the wakizashi also signified a samurai’s status and would have been mounted in the family home during periods of peace.

Tanto - Tanto (短刀, short blade), or traditional Japanese daggers, first appeared during the Heian period (794 – 1185). These were last-resort weapons; the back up to the back up. Samurai may also have carried a tanto in civilian settings as an inconspicuous weapon for self-defense. With the inference on honor and moral conduct in bushido culture, daggers weren’t typically associated with assassination or covert killings. They were more likely to be used in seppuku, ritual suicide, to avoid defeat on the battlefield.

Other Types of Japanese Sword

There are some other types of samurai sword you may come across:

Taichi – Heian-period precursor to the katana, often used for slashing from horseback

Koshigatana – Meaning hip knife, these swords were similar to tanto daggers

Naginata – Polearm-style swords often used by onna-musha, noble female warriors

Kodachi – Meaning small tachi, these swords were predecessors of wakizashi

Nagamaki – A sword with an extra-long hilt, used to bring down horses in battle

2. A Short History of Japanese Swords

If there was an inflection point in the history of Japanese swords, it’s the point at which they went from being utilitarian weapons to prized works of art. Rather than being narrowed down to a single year or decade, this was a process that arose and evolved between the mid-Heian period (794–1185) and the end of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1574–1600). Swords crafted during these centuries are known as koto, or ancient swords, and many that remain intact have been designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.

The question, of course, is why was it important for a samurai’s sword to be beautiful?

When power was consolidated in the Heian courts of Kyoto, the nobility wanted to rule over a society where the martial and cultural arts were given equal value. Honor, duty and the ability to win battles remained important, but this was also a time when Japanese poetry and literature were entering formative periods of their development, and aestheticism and the visual arts were beginning to play more prominent roles in society.

Warriors could still be warriors, but there was no reason they needed to be brutes. That was the belief of the emerging samurai class, who viewed their swords as reflections of themselves; as symbols of their status and means of personal expression. As the need for elaborate weaponry grew, sword artisans began to concentrate in hub regions, like Echizen in Fukui Prefecture, Satsuma in Kagoshima Prefecture or Kaga in Ishikawa Prefecture, where they’d specialize in one of the gokaden – the five sword-making traditions.

The number of skilled swordsmiths multiplied across Japan to meet the growing demand for katana and wakizashi. Refining their craft over generations, these smiths put great emphasis on the quality of the steel, and incorporated intricate designs, engravings and embellishments into the blades and fittings. The tsuba (sword guard), kashira (pommel) and fuchi (hilt-collar) were often covered in symbolic designs, like family crests or seasonal flora.

By the time Japan reached the Edo period, and internecine warfare had become a thing of the past, swords were revered almost exclusively for their artistic value. Displaying a blade on a wall or tucking into an obi belt gave it a renewed sense of purpose, even if its days of slashing and killing were all but over.

3. How Are Japanese Swords Made?

Crafting a Japanese sword is a highly intricate process that takes years of practice to master. Here is a rough breakdown of the required steps:

Material Selection – Usually tamahagane, a type of steel produced from iron sand, is used. It is layered to achieve a specific composition that balances hardness and flexibility.

Smelting – Tamahagane is smelted in a traditional furnace called a tatara. This is a labor-intensive process involving multiple cycles to purify the steel.

Forging – The swordsmith uses a hammer and anvil to shape the steel into a rectangular bar, creating the foundation for and curvature of the blade.

Shaping – The rough shape of the sword is refined through a process called hizukuri, where it begins to resemble its final form.

Claying – A special clay mixture is applied to the blade. The thickness and pattern of the clay determine the rate at which the blade cools during the quenching process.

Quenching – The sword is heated and then rapidly quenched in water. This creates differential hardening, allowing the hamon to emerge.

Tempering – This relieves stress in the blade and brings about the desired hardness.

Polishing – This meticulous process reveals the blade’s true beauty, as imperfections are removed and intricate patterns begin to glimmer on the steel.

Mounting – The polished blade is then mounted in a hilt with fittings and a scabbard.

Final Inspection – The finished sword undergoes a final inspection to ensure its quality and sharpness.

4. Where Can I See Japanese Swords?

Many of the traditional heartlands of sword production in Japan are still in business today. In Seki, Gifu Prefecture, artisans have been making swords for more than 700 years. The Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum explores the history of smithing in the region through documentation, videos and koto sword displays. On January 2nd you can watch Uchizome-shiki, the first forging of the year, when smiths pound the raw steel with giant hammers.

Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, has an equally storied history of sword production. In the 1330s, master swordsmith Kuniyasu Chiyozuru traveled to Echizen looking for the perfect water for the metalworking process. Swords were his forte, but locals adopted Chiyozuru’s techniques to make sickles, hatchets and other farming tools, too. By 1874 this region accounted for 27.5% of the sickles sold in Japan, and today it makes some of the world’s most sought-after knives. At the Takefu Knife Village you can try hands-on experiences, like making paper knives or learning how to whet a blade.

In Satsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, sword making has been part of the local craft culture since the Heian period. Just ask Yamanouchi Fumiharu, a sword collector and the descendant of a samurai family that lived in the former Satsuma domain. He has around 270 swords in his possession, some of which date from the 900s, which are currently displayed in a private museum. Satsuma samurai swords are known for their relatively uniform design – they are straighter, thicker and longer than a standard katana, with a straight-line hamon on the blade. If you want to see these works of art in the flesh, head to the Myoenji Mairi event in nearby Kagoshima City, where people don samurai armor and carry old family swords as they march towards Tokushige Shrine in Hioki City.

Aside from these ancient smithing hubs, you can also see samurai swords in many of Japan’s history museums – the Samurai Museum or the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo, the Samurai Ninja Museum in Kyoto, and the Ninjabuki Museum in Kanazawa, to name but a few.

The market for Japanese weapons isn’t what it once was of course, but over the centuries of peace and modernization, many former swordsmiths transferred their skills to knife-making. The makers of the best Japanese knives today often have their roots in weaponry. To find out more, read How to Select the Best Japanese Knives.

5. Are Swords Still Used Today?

Japanese swords may not be used in military conquests anymore, but that doesn’t mean there’s no space for them in modern culture. We see versions of them used in martial arts, such as iaido and kenjutsu, or in competitive sports like kendo, where participants fight with bamboo swords.

The craftsmanship and significance of swords in Japanese history has also created a collectors culture. Antique swords and modern reproductions are sought out by enthusiasts, who appraise the weapons based on their materials, hamon patterns and overall aesthetics.

Japanese swords are used in various ceremonies and rituals, too. Iaido practitioners may perform demonstrations at important events, while traditional Japanese weddings sometimes include the symbolic exchange of a sword between families.

Elsewhere swords are used in samurai films, sword shows and exhibitions, and they’re commonly displayed in museums or family homes with a samurai lineage. A katana makes for a beautiful ornament, no doubt, but some also believe it also offers spiritual protection and wards off evil.

6. Where Can I Practice Japanese Sword Techniques?

If you want to channel your inner samurai, there are plenty of places to do it in Japan.

At Studio Kenyu in Matsumoto, near the grounds of the Black Crow Castle, you can don a yukata (light kimono), hakama (wide-leg pants) and obi (belt), and learn how to unsheathe a katana properly along with some striking techniques.

Kyoto may be the home of the cultural arts, but at the Samurai Ninja Museum they are more concerned with martial disciplines. You can take classes with a sword master here, who will teach you how to stand like a samurai, how to unsheathe and re-sheathe a katana safely, and how to slash with grace and elegance.

At Shijimaya in Kanazawa, a city with strong martial roots and a well-preserved samurai quarter, you can meet a descendant of one of the region’s most famous samurai lineages. After learning about the culture of blacksmithing in Kanazawa you can hold and pose with katana that were crafted in these lands centuries ago.