A or is a
Japanese sword. The word is used in the West to refer to a specific type of Japanese straight, double-edged sword used in antiquity (as opposed to curved, single-edged swords such as the
katana). In
Japanese the term ''tsurugi'' or ''ken'' (
:ja:剣) is used as a term for all sorts of international long, double-edged swords.
History
The term ''tsurugi'' (剣) designates a straight, double-edged, bladed weapon from Japan. It is a sword, which means that this weapon has two edges, one on each side of its blade, unlike the ''
tachi'', ''
katana'', ''
wakizashi'' or ''
odachi'', which have only one cutting edge, on one of the two sides of the blade.
The oldest bronze sword excavated in Japan is a Chinese style dagger from around 800 BC in the
Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD). A large number of bronze ''tsurugi'' made around 200 B.C. in the Yayoi period were excavated from several sites, and it is thought that ''tsurugi'' were mass-produced in Japan in this period. Bronze ''tsurugi'' of this period were mainly used for religious services. The Yayoi period was the transition period from bronze to iron.
[Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p30. ] However, the iron ''tsurugi'' were usually forged from the 5th century (
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...
) to the 9th century (
Heian period).
From the 10th century, the development of the curved ''
tachi'' began, from which the ''
katana'' emerged. For a long time, ''tsurugi'' were made as weapons or for religious services, but before the 10th century, they completely disappeared as weapons and came to be made only as offerings to
Shinto shrines and
Buddhist temples. One of the most famous ''tsurugi'' is the one made in the
Heian period (794－1185) owned by
Kongō-ji and stored by
Kyoto National Museum. It is made to imitate the sword ''
Fudo Myōō'' holds in his right hand, and the hilt is in the shape of a
vajra, a Buddhist altar tool.
現世稀なる文化財.
Kongo-ji
File:Tsurugi forged by Fujiwara Kunimichi.jpg, The Tsurugi was forged by Fujiwara Kunimichi in 1654 during the Edo period. It was made into an offering to Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory chara ...
, the main enshrined '' kami'' of Yasaka Shrine.
File:Tsurugi forged by Fujiwara Nobutaka.jpg, Tsurugi forged by Fujiwara Nobutaka. 17th century, Edo period. Kyushu National Museum
File:Yellow-Fudo-manshu.jpg, An example of '' Fudo Myōō'' with a sword. 12th century, Heian period. Manshu-in, Kyoto
Nowadays it is mainly associated with very remote historical times, as well as legends and mythology. There are some similarities with some variants of Chinese Jian (called Chugokuken (中国剣) in Japanese).
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi
The most famous example is the legendary sword " Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi" which is one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan
The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel). .
Tsurugi-tachi
The Tsurugi-tachi -剣太刀, a straight sword with only one side of the blade sharpened throughout, was similar to the Tsurugi or Ken. The other (back) side was only worked into a second cutting edge in the front part near the tip.
Literature
* Toshiro Suga: ''Ken, die Wurzeln des Aikido / Ken, les racines de l'Aïkido von Toshiro Suga (DVD).'' Hagenow Ondefo-Verl., 2006, ISBN 978-3-939703-40-2.
See also
* Japanese sword mountings
References
Ancient swords of Japan
Japanese swords
{{Sword-stub