Locked Doors and Lethal Beauty: An Introduction to the World of Nihonto
By Michael Shane
Juyo Tosogu daisho koshirae by Omori Mitsutoki.
Courtesy of Darcy Brockbank; used with permission.
The Japanese sword is a miracle.
It is a miracle that the manufacture of these weapons was perfected beginning a thousand years ago – without metallurgical science or technology. And it is a miracle that today these blades survive at all, much less that many of them live on in healthy condition. That these majestic weapons have been safeguarded and cared for generation after generation — sometimes for centuries — indicates a level of appreciation beyond mere preservation. Nihonto are sacred objects.
The power and allure of the Japanese sword begins with the creation myth of Japan itself (国産み / Kuniumi). According to the story, two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, stirred up the primordial ocean with a spear or naginata. The droplets of sea water that fell from their blade formed the islands of Japan. And so, from the moment “Japan” came into this world, the forged blade has been a revered object, treasured for its beauty, imbued with divine power, and woven into the Japanese soul.
The sword has so thoroughly permeated Japan’s culture that the Japanese language is filled with sword-inspired idioms. For example, the phrase “shinken shōbu” (真剣勝負) is used to refer to a situation or contest with no margin for error – a struggle as serious as life and death. Originally, it referred to a contest fought with live blades instead of bokken. The term “tsubazeriai” refers to an argument in which neither side is willing to budge or compromise. And the list goes on.
The study of both nihonto and budo are lifetime pursuits.
When we study nihonto we confront a fundamentally Japanese dichotomy: that which is beautiful is also deadly. Beauty and violence exist in tandem and cannot be separated. The graceful curvature, perfectly balanced geometry, and uniquely tempered steel of the Japanese sword make it a more effective tool for killing. For budoka it’s a familiar paradox; we study killing techniques that we will never use in order to gain access to the real knowledge we seek.
In this way, the study of both nihonto and budo are lifetime pursuits. You can work intensely and still find yourself waiting on the doorstep of a house filled with locked rooms. Every once in a while you may catch a glimpse inside, but without a guide from within, most visitors (and we are but visitors) don’t make it past the front yard.
While one can absorb the history, mythology, romance, and beauty of the Japanese sword, scholarly appreciation of these objects is rooted in classification. In order to begin to understand these blades, we must first apply a taxonomy to millions of blades created across a thousand years by different people in different local geographies, with different materials and varied techniques.
With the right training, the student can examine a blade in hand and attribute it to a tradition, school, and even a specific maker, regardless of whether or not the blade is signed.
Imagine a sommelier sits across from you, an unidentified glass of white wine on the table. The sommelier examines the wine visually, smells it, and finally tastes it. After a short pause, the sommelier tells you without hesitation that based on “its medium concentration of color, lack of evidence of gas or flocculation, aroma of lime zest, crushed apples, and underripe mango; its notes of crushed chalk and white lilies; its lack of oak, essence of brand new garden hose, medium plus acidity, medium alcohol, and medium plus complexity that what you have here is a wine from a temperate climate in the New World that is under three years of age. Therefore, the sommelier says, it must be a Riesling from Clare Valley, Australia.” (The author is not a sommelier — this passage comes from the documentary Somm.)
An advanced student of nihonto can do the same thing. With the right training, the student can examine a blade in hand and attribute it to a tradition, school, and even a specific maker, regardless of whether or not the blade is signed. This exercise is called kantei. Although every aspect of the sword provides a clue that leads one on a path towards attribution, simply naming the maker of a blade is not the sole purpose of kantei. Rather, kantei is a process of analysis that places a blade in context.
Tokubetsu Juyo Token katana attributed to Soshu Yukimitsu.
Courtesy of Darcy Brockbank; used with permission.
Once the approximate age and tradition of a blade have been established, other factors come to the fore. They include a blade’s curvature (sori), length (nagasa), the temper pattern (hamon), the hamon within the kissaki (boshi), characteristics in the body steel (jigane / jihada), the disposition of the tang (nakago), and other defining features, or hataraki, found in the steel. The next level of knowledge – the part that requires a lifetime of study – involves understanding the implications and hidden meanings of attributions, as there are layers of meaning inside kantei, especially where older, unsigned (mumei) blades are concerned.
When combined with an understanding of Japan’s history, the steel reveals stories of victory and defeat, commerce, politics, combat, and migration. In this way, nihonto are more than weapons or even art objects. Each blade is a historical record, one data point among millions that collectively tell the story of the last millennium on the Japanese archipelago.
The steel reveals stories of victory and defeat, commerce, politics, combat, and migration.
And so the division of the last thousand years into distinct periods of time is a crucial sorting mechanism for nihonto because as the battlefield evolved, so did the Japanese sword, most notably in its shape and proportions, or sugata. Therefore the sugata is often the first thing one considers when estimating the age of a sword. Eras of sword making overlap with Japanese historical periods, which are standardized.
Once assigned to an era found below, a blade can begin to tell us its story.
Courtesy of Markus Sesko (https://markussesko.com/); used with permission.
Koto [古刀] (literally, “old sword”; 987-1596 CE):
Mitsukawa-hada of a Juyo Token katana attributed to Saeki Norishige.
Courtesy of Darcy Brockbank; used with permission.
The Koto era begins with the emergence of the curved Japanese tachi and lasts through Japan’s most war torn years. It overlaps with the Heian, Kamakura, Nanbokucho, and Muromachi periods, the heyday of Japanese swordmaking – and fighting. Most Koto swords were tachi, which are long blades, worn edge down and primarily designed for fighting from horseback. In later eras, as mounted combat fell out of fashion, surviving tachi were shortened to be worn as katana. This shortening process, called suriage, often resulted in a blade’s signature being lost because most blades were shortened from the nakago. Therefore the majority of Koto blades that survive today are suriage and mumei. During this violent period before the unification of Japan, swordsmiths lived and worked at locations where the availability of high quality raw materials (iron sand and charcoal for making tamahagane) and buyers formed a lucrative nexus. These special places and the commercial forces at work give us one of the most important descriptors for nihonto, the Gokaden (literally, five traditions). Each of the Gokaden is named after its province of origin: Yamato, Yamashiro, Bizen, Soshu, and Mino. Although these traditions were not all active concurrently, swordsmiths in each province developed unique methods of workmanship that form the basis for the classification of Koto blades. Later these dominant styles would transcend their distinct geographies to become shorthand for basic styles of sword making.
Shinto [新刀] (literally, “new sword”; 1597 - 1760 CE):
The Shinto era brought relative peace to Japan with the promulgation of the shogunate, and from then on swords were used more as bureaucratic accessories than tools for battlefield combat. The modernization of Japanese society under the shogunate included developments like a nationwide transportation network, which freed smiths from being tied to a specific source of raw materials or customers and subsequently blurred the lines between the Gokaden, leading to the emergence of new markets and styles. During this peaceful time merchants and other moneyed citizens are allowed to wear one sword, which propels the creation of elaborate tosogu (sword fittings) to the level of high art. However, as war became a memory and buyers prioritized fashion over function, the techniques for making swords designed for actual combat were lost over time, as were the highest quality raw materials. The Shinto era overlaps with the Edo period.
Juyo Token katana from the mid-1300s attributed to Naoe Shizu | Juyo Token katana from the mid-1600s by Hizen Tadayoshi with a two body cutting test | Juyo Token tanto by Awataguchi Yoshimitsu
Shinshinto [新々刀] (literally, “new new sword”; 1760 - 1876 CE):
The nadir of the shogunate defines the Shinshinto era, as well as a concerted effort on the part of swordsmiths to recapture the magic and glory of their Koto forebears, a mission that in some ways continues today. The era ends with the fall of the shogunate, the ban on wearing swords, and the abolishment of the samurai class. Japan’s headlong dash towards westernization crushed the swordmaking economy and nearly wiped out its artisans and supply chain for good. The Shinshinto era lasts from the end of the Edo period until the Meiji restoration.
Gendaito [現代刀] (literally, “modern sword”; 1877 - 1945 CE):
Despite the efforts of the Meiji emperor, who was an avid sword lover, this was a difficult time for swordsmiths. World Wars I and II led to increased demand for swords, but these were mostly machine made (“showato”) and of poor quality, although they are sought after and appreciated by collectors of militaria. A small group of smiths continued to produce swords using traditional methods, but their output was generally unremarkable compared to previous eras.
Boshi of a Juyo Token katana attributed to Rai Kunimitsu.
Courtesy of Darcy Brockbank); used with permission.
National Geographic Magazine, March, 1992.
Shinsakuto [新作刀] (literally, “newly made sword”; 1946 CE - present):
Following Japan’s defeat at the end of World War II, the occupying Allied Forces banned swords entirely as part of an effort to purge Japan of all military culture. A great number of blades were confiscated and destroyed, regardless of whether they were machine made showato or 700 year old masterpieces.
A group of sword scholars eventually convinced General MacArthur that the traditionally made Japanese sword was an invaluable cultural asset that had to be protected. They established the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (日本美術刀剣保存協会), the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword, in 1948. Today the NBTHK is the world’s leading organization dedicated to protecting, documenting, and validating nihonto. Their heroic efforts led to the modern swordmaking and registration systems in Japan, under which licensed smiths may create a limited number of blades per year. Beginning in 1951, Japan’s daimyo families began to submit their world class collections for registration in order to show the Japanese populace that the new registration system was not a government scheme designed to confiscate swords.
This is why the work of the NBTHK is so important, and why familiarity with its system for rating swords is integral to the study of nihonto. Although the practice of appraising swords and issuing folded paper documents (origami) goes back centuries, the modern NBTHK system for rating and attribution is a valuable shorthand for nihontophiles today. For those who are not world class sword scholars or kantei champions (that would be most of us), the judgments of the NBTHK offer an authoritative, trustworthy route to context, especially if one takes the time to understand the idiosyncrasies and linguistic nuances to be found in the papers. The NBTHK is not the only organization that issues papers for nihonto and tosogu, but it is the most influential.
Modern NBTHK papers are issued in four tiers for both nihonto and tosogu:
Familiarity with the NBTHK system for rating swords is integral to the study of nihonto.
This tiered system is a ladder that blades (and fittings) must climb step by step. An item must have obtained Tokubetsu Hozon before it can be considered for Juyo status and likewise must be Juyo before it can try for Tokubetsu Juyo. Until 1972, Juyo Token was the highest level paper offered by the NBTHK. Tokubetsu Juyo was introduced to further highlight the very best blades.
While it’s true that a given blade must meet certain standards to obtain papers, to earn Juyo and Tokubetsu Juyo papers, blades must also compete with each other. So if you submit your Norishige katana for Juyo shinsa but someone else’s Norishige is longer, healthier, and generally a more impressive example of the smith’s best work, your extremely rare and valuable blade can easily fail to obtain Juyo Token status. Fortunately, you can always try again next year (or every two years, in the case of Tokubetsu Juyo).
Kokuho Mikazuki Munechika
Over the last seven decades, the NBTHK has papered approximately two million blades. Of those, only about 10,000 are rated Juyo Token, and a mere ~1,100 are Tokubetsu Juyo Token. So swords ranked Juyo and above represent a tiny fraction of the nihonto that exist today – perhaps just 0.005%. Many collectors outside of Japan study a Juyo-level blade in hand but once in their lifetime. To experience a blade of this level in person even once is an incredible privilege.
Even the chance to see one through glass is something that a sword collector will often remember for the rest of his life.
Beyond the papers of the NBTHK lie the special ratings conferred by Japan’s Ministry of Education. These are the most important blades extant today, and although some of them can be bought and sold, it is illegal to export any of them outside of Japan. There are a few different ratings at this level, but the most well-known is Kokuho, or national treasure. These swords are legendary blades that are priceless artifacts of Japanese history. Darcy Brockbank, a Canadian sword scholar and dealer of top level blades, was right when he said that “even the chance to see one through glass is something that a sword collector will often remember for the rest of his life.”
Ultimately though, any opportunity to study an old blade or fitting in hand, regardless of its attribution or rating, is a special moment. Although two million swords is by any measure a lot (and there are more that remain unpapered and unidentified), they represent just a fraction of the nihonto that have ever existed. Except for masterpieces and heirlooms handed down through generations, blades were a consumable tool in old Japan, especially before the Shinto era.
The nihonto we study now have survived the violence of medieval Japan, regime change, societal transformation and political upheaval, natural disasters, and two world wars. When we study nihonto, we hold in our hands miracles that pre-date Mozart, Da Vinci, and the Declaration of Independence – in some cases by centuries — and we are truly lucky that any of them survive at all.
This article provides an introduction to the world of nihonto, but it is not exhaustive. If you’d like to learn more, you will find below a short list of books, websites, and videos, that will, with some study, get you started and bring you right up to the door of that mysterious house. I hope to see you there.
Additional Nihonto Resources
Books:
The Connoisseur’s Book of Japanese Swords, by Kokan Nagayama
The Art of the Japanese Sword: The Craft of Swordmaking and its Appreciation, by Yoshindo Yoshihara, Leon Kapp, and Hiroko Kapp
The Art of the Japanese Sword As Taught by the Experts, by Kunihara Kawachi and Masao Manabe
Websites:
Darcy Brockbank: https://yuhindo.com/
Markus Sesko: https://markussesko.com
Videos:
The Secret World of the Japanese Swordsmith (https://youtu.be/gxwWf-MfZVk)
Japanese Swordmaking / Portland Art Museum (https://youtu.be/2WkWNDDrQO4)
ANA Interview with Yoshindo Yoshihara (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlduZ_qmxP4)
For The Love of the Samurai Sword, a sword polishing documentary (https://youtu.be/2x5WzIu5iXU)
Sundays at The Met: How to Polish a Japanese Sword (https://youtu.be/ut1Okf0AYRg)
Sundays at The Met: The Japanese Sword and the Japanese Aesthetic (https://youtu.be/L8BW86UrO1k)
Modern tanto koshirae made by Brian Tschernega and Gen Saratani.
Courtesy of Darcy Brockbank; used with permission.
