This time, I introduce the name of the blade. The name of the sword is well known to see the book, but the name is too small to be so detailed and not well understood…
However, it is safe to see this! If you only know this, you will be able to understand the parts of okay carefully.
Table of contents
1. Whole blade.
1-1. Blade
1-2. Mune/Mine
1-3. Hamachi/Mune-machi
1-4. Nakago
1-5. Ho (Shinogi)
2. Upper body (kami)
2-1. Flat ground (hiraji)
2-2. Tip
3. Extra edition
3-1. About warping
3-2. About gutter
1. Whole blade
1-1. Blade Japanese swords are made of iron called tamahagane. Tamahagane is a highly pure iron that becomes hard to break and strong when heated, and is also easy to work with, making it a miraculous iron that is perfect as a material for Japanese swords. It is made using an ancient Japanese iron manufacturing method called the “tatara method,” which uses the heat of charcoal combustion to extract iron from iron sand over time. The blade becomes hard steel by quenching it, and then it is made by polishing it. Polishing means sharpening a sword. The swordsmith does the simple sharpening and shaping the sword himself, but leaves the serious sharpening to the sharpener.
1-2. Ridge/mine The ridge is the part of the blade on the opposite side of the blade that does not have a blade. In period dramas, you often see “Mine-uchi,” in which master swordsmen strike their opponent without cutting them, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s Mine-uchi!” and incapacitating them. The ridge is thick and looks sturdy at first glance, but the sword is extremely fragile depending on the area, and will easily break if a shock is applied to the ridge or flat (the side of the sword). I probably didn’t do much hitting the peaks either. No matter how skilled he was with the sword, he probably didn’t have the luxury of fighting with a peak attack.
1-3. Hamachi/Munemachi Broadly speaking, the blade of a sword can be divided into the stem (Nakago) and the upper body (Kami), and the dividing line between the stem and the upper body is called the “ward” (Machi). The blade side of this ward is called Hamachi, and the ridge side is called Munemachi.
1-4.Nakago The stalk is below the blade, and it enters the handle. That’s right. An inscription is engraved here. The name of the craftsman, the owner, and the date of production are engraved. However, 7 to 80 percent of the existing swords are inscribed and inscribed. In the case of a sword, the blade is on the left side of the stem when the blade is placed above, and this is called the difference table and it is the front side of the sword. In the stem of the stem, there is a hole called the meguigai hole, and the stick and the handle are fixed here by passing a small stick made of bamboo called a bamboo. In the case of a sword, two swords can be said by two swords. It is a safety measure to prevent the blade from jumping.
1-5.Shinogi The sho is a line that runs through the blade from the stem, creating the boundary between the blade and the ridge. If you look at the sword in cross section, you can see that the cylindrical part bulges out into a chevron shape. Making this hoe has the effect of making the sword stronger and less likely to break. The thickness of the blade when viewed from the ridge side is called “kasane”, and this is measured by measuring the ridge and the rim respectively, and is sometimes referred to as “the kasane is high” or “the kasane is low”. I will. To break it down further, the line is called “Shinogi-suji”, and the flat part from the “Shinogi-ji” to the ridge is called “Shinogi-ji”. It is closer to the side, and the width of the land is narrower.
2. Upper body
2-1.Hiraji The tip of the blade is called the hasaki, and the flat part from the tip to the tip is called the hiraji. The pattern on the surface of a sword made by forging tamahagane is called “jigane” (jigane), and seeing the flat ground where the jigane can be seen is an important point when appreciating a sword. The appearance, blade pattern, and base metal are highlights that allow you to identify the era in which the sword was made and enjoy the individuality of the swordsmith.
2-2. Tip If we break down the tip of the knife into smaller parts, yokote refers to the width from the hook to the tip of the blade. Koshinogi is the part from the yokote to the end. The area where the three points of yokote, ho, and koho intersect is called mitsugashira, and is said to be the area where extreme care must be taken when sharpening. If you don’t adjust the shape of the koho and let the yokote line come out naturally rather than forcing it out, it will look concave when finished, so the three heads can be said to be the most delicate part. Kisaki refers to the part from the yokote to the tip, and is also called the “hat”.
3. Extra edition
3-1.About warping The distance between the line connecting the ridge and the cutting edge and the ridge is called the warp. The curvature is one of the major characteristics of Japanese swords, and the curvature reduces the recoil when slashing an opponent. There is a saying that “curvature does not match”. This word is used to mean that you are not compatible with the other person due to differences in personality or way of thinking, but this word comes from the fact that if the curvature of the sword and the curvature of the sheath do not match, the sword will not fit properly into the sheath. Masu. If the curvature of the sword and the curvature of the sheath are significantly different, the sword will stop halfway when sheathed. Even if the curvature is correct and you can store it, after many years of use, the inside of the scabbard gets scraped and gaps gradually form inside the scabbard, and when the sword is stored inside, the blade hits the scabbard and makes a rattling sound. Masu. This is called “sheath ringing” and it is not good if the sound continues as it is, so the sheath needs to be repaired. By the way, the scabbard ring has another meaning. It refers to when the tip of the sword hits the carp opening of the scabbard and makes a hissing sound when you pull it out. This is a sign that the sword is not being pulled out properly and will damage the carp mouth. For those who hear this sound, I would like to be able to remove the sword so that it does not sound.
3-2. About gutters Many people may be surprised to hear that when you swing a sword in Iaido, etc., it makes a loud, high-pitched sound, but that sound is due to the “hi” carved on the sword. sounds by. A gutter is a groove carved into the blade of a sword, and the sound generated by the air resistance caused by this gutter is the true name of that swishing sound, and is called “hino-nari.” There are various reasons why we carve gutters. The main reason is to make the sword lighter. By carving the gutter, the sword becomes 10% lighter. The average weight of a sword is about 1.2kg, so that means it’s 120g lighter.
In addition, the gutter is also called the “blood flow”, and there is a theory that when someone is cut, the blood runs down the gutter to prevent blood from getting on the blade of the sword as much as possible. Hino-nari doesn’t sound good unless the blade line (trajectory of the blade) is straight when you swing the sword, so using a sword with a groove will help you practice keeping the blade line straight.
Iaido enthusiasts tend to prefer using swords with grooves, as the grooves make the performance look more appealing. Imitation swords used in Iaido almost always have a gutter. Hinomari swords also have disadvantages. When you cut something and the blade becomes bent, if the sword does not have a groove in it, you can send it to a sharpener for repair and it will be completely fixed, but if a sword with a groove in it bends, the blade will become twisted. It seems that even if I send it in for repair, it won’t be able to be restored to its original state.
A sword can cut things by having a straight blade. If you cut something without passing the blade through it, the sword will easily bend, so those who like to cut through the tatami-omote (battō-do method) tend to use swords without a groove. I have the impression that the vast majority of swords that are introduced as famous in museums and books do not have a gutter. What did you think? I would appreciate it if you could somehow understand the parts of the sword. If you become interested in swords and deepen your understanding of the parts of the sword, I think that will be reflected in the sword fighting movements. Please use it as a reference!
[References] Weekly Japanese Sword Diagostini Japan Brutus Magazine House Co., Ltd.
