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Masamune
, was a medieval Japanese blacksmith widely acclaimed as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as ''tachi'' and ''tantō'', in the ''Sōshū'' school. However, many of his forged ''tachi'' were made into ''katana'' by cutting the tang (''nakago'') in later times. For this reason, his only existing works are ''katana'' and ''tantō''.相州伝の名工「正宗」. Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Touken World. No exact dates are known for Masamune's life. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords between 1288 and 1328. Some stories list his family name as Okazaki, but some experts believe this is a fabrication to enhance the standing of the |
Japanese Sword
A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794 – 1185) to the present day when speaking of "Japanese swords". There are many types of Japanese swords that differ by size, shape, field of application and method of manufacture. Some of the more commonly known types of Japanese swords are the ''katana'', ''tachi'', '' odachi'', ''wakizashi'', and ''tantō''. Classification Classification by shape and usage In modern times the most commonly known type of Japanese sword is the ''Shinogi-Zukuri'' ''katana'', which is a single-edged and usually curved longsword traditionally worn by samurai from the 15th century onwards. Western historians have said that Japanese katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history, for their intended use. Other types of Japanese swords include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tachi
A is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and ''katana'' generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the ''mei'' (銘), or signature, on the tang. The ''tachi'' style of swords preceded the development of the ''katana'', which was not mentioned by name until near the end of the twelfth century. ''Tachi'' were the mainstream Japanese swords of the Kotō period between 900 and 1596. Even after the Muromachi period (1336–1573), when ''katana'' became the mainstream, ''tachi'' were often worn by high-ranking samurai. History The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods: * ''Jōkotō'' (ancient swords, until around 900) * ''Kotō'' (old swords from around 900–1596) * ''Shintō'' (new swords 1596–1780) * ''Shinshintō'' (new new swords 1781–1876) * ''Gendaitō'' (modern or contemporary sw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadamune
Hikoshirō Sadamune (相模國住人貞宗 - ''Sagami kuni junin Sadamune'') (born Einin 6, 1298; died Shōhei 4, 1349) also called Sōshū Sadamune was a swordsmith of the Sōshū school, originally from Gōshū (also known as Ōmi province) whose works are considered some of the finest blades ever created. His works are often compared with those of the other great Koto era (987-1596) swordsmiths including Sōshū Masamune, Toshiro Yoshimitsu, Go Yoshihiro, Bizen Nagamitsu, and Ike Muramasa. He was a son by blood or adoption of Sōshū Masamune considered by many to be the most famous of the Sōshū masters. After leaving Gōshū province to go to what is now Kanagawa Prefecture, Sadamune became a student of Masamune, sometime around the Namboku-chō era. As a mark of his completion of his teacher's training he inherited the ''mune'' part of his name Sadamune from Masamune. Sadamune was not one of the Great Juttetsu trained by Masamune, but his works were regarded to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikoshiro Sadamune
Hikoshirō Sadamune (相模國住人貞宗 - ''Sagami kuni junin Sadamune'') (born Einin 6, 1298; died Shōhei 4, 1349) also called Sōshū Sadamune was a swordsmith of the Japanese sword#Classification by school, Sōshū school, originally from Gōshū (also known as Ōmi province) whose works are considered some of the finest blades ever created. His works are often compared with those of the other great Koto era (987-1596) swordsmiths including Sōshū Masamune, Toshiro Yoshimitsu, Go Yoshihiro, Bizen Nagamitsu, and Ike Muramasa. He was a son by blood or adoption of Sōshū Masamune considered by many to be the most famous of the Sōshū masters. After leaving Gōshū province to go to what is now Kanagawa Prefecture, Sadamune became a student of Masamune, sometime around the Namboku-chō era. As a mark of his completion of his teacher's training he inherited the ''mune'' part of his name Sadamune from Masamune. Sadamune was not one of the Masamune#Students, Great Juttetsu tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantō
A is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords ( ''nihonto'') that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts (tantojutsu). The term has seen a resurgence in the West since the 1980s as a point style of modern tactical knives, designed for piercing or stabbing. Description The ''tantō'' is a single or double edged dagger with a length between 15 and 30 cm (1 Japanese shaku). The tantō was designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well. Tantō are generally forged in ''hira-zukuri'' (平造) style (without ridgeline), meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the ''shinogi-zukuri'' (鎬造) structure of a ''katana''. Some tantō have particularly thick cross-sections for armor-piercing duty, and are called '' yoroi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shogun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense. The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.Beasley, William G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Course of History, Viking Press 1988. p. 68. Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a Affinity (medieval), retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japan. Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the ''de facto'' leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Daijō-daijin, Chancellor of the Realm and Sesshō and Kampaku, Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shintōgo Kunimitsu
was a Japanese swordsmith and was especially famous for making Tantō. He is the founder of the Soshu-den tradition. Usually he used suguha Hamon. The oldest date of his work is 1293. He was active during the Einin was a after '' Shōō'' and before ''Shōan.'' This period spanned the years from August 1293 through April 1299. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1293 : The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. The ..., Shōwa and Enkyō periods, generally acknowledged to be the teacher of master swordsmiths Masamune, Yukiimitsu and Norishige. This is due to various similarities in style and workmanship that indicate that Masamune was almost certainly his student. An example of his work is known as 'Aizu Shintogo'. It is a tanto of 25.4 centimeters in length. He had several sons, who likely crafted a number of swords under his name. References "Token Bijutsu"Nihon Koto Shi (History of Koto) by Dr. Honma Junji Book: Japanese Swo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamon (swordsmithing)
In swordsmithing, (from Japanese, literally "edge pattern") is a visible effect created on the blade by the hardening process. The hamon is the outline of the hardened zone (''yakiba'') which contains the cutting edge (''ha''). Blades made in this manner are known as differentially hardened, with a harder cutting edge than spine (''mune'') (for example: spine 40 HRC vs edge 58 HRC). This difference in hardness results from clay being applied on the blade (''tsuchioki'') prior to the cooling process (quenching). Less or no clay allows the edge to cool faster, making it harder but more brittle, while more clay allows the center (''hira'') and spine to cool slower, thus retaining its resilience.''A History of Metallography'' By Cyril Stanley Smith -- MIT Press 1968 Page 40--57 Introduction The hamon of a blade is created during the quenching process (''yakiire''). During the differential heat treatment, the clay coating on the back of the sword reduces the cooling speed of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quenched
In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such as phase transformations, from occurring. It does this by reducing the window of time during which these undesired reactions are both thermodynamically favorable, and kinetically accessible; for instance, quenching can reduce the crystal grain size of both metallic and plastic materials, increasing their hardness. In metallurgy, quenching is most commonly used to harden steel by inducing a martensite transformation, where the steel must be rapidly cooled through its eutectoid point, the temperature at which austenite becomes unstable. In steel alloyed with metals such as nickel and manganese, the eutectoid temperature becomes much lower, but the kinetic barriers to phase transformation remain the same. This allows quenching to start at a lowe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hōki Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hōki bordered on Inaba, Mimasaka, Bitchū, Bingo, and Izumo Provinces. The ancient capital was in the area that is now Kurayoshi, and a major castle town was at Yonago. Maps of Japan and Hōki Province were reformed in the 1870s when the prefecture system was introduced. At the same time, the province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Hōki is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the United States and (b) between Japan and the United Kingdom.US Department of State. (1906) ''A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements'' (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759 Historical districts * Tottori Prefecture ** Aimi District (会見郡) - merged with Aseri District to become Saihaku District (西伯郡) on March 29, 1896 ** Aseri District ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to the Emperor of Japan, emperor and the ''kuge''. In the term, means 'large', and stands for , meaning 'private land'. From the ''shugo'' of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku period, Sengoku to the ''daimyo'' of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history. The backgrounds of ''daimyo'' also varied considerably; while some ''daimyo'' clans, notably the Mōri clan, Mōri, Shimazu clan, Shimazu and Hosokawa clan, Hosokawa, were cadet branches of the Imperial family or were descended from the ''kuge'', other ''daimyo'' were promoted from the ranks of the samurai, notably during the Edo period. ''Daimyo'' often hired samurai to guard their land, and they paid the samurai in land or food as relatively few could aff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
