Exhibition Main Captions

Haku chan: So this is the Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum... But now I’m wondering, what actually are Japanese swords...?

Tora san: That’s a great question! 

Haku chan: Wuh.. Who are you?!

Tora san: My name’s Tora san, the sword-smithing tiger!
I’m here to tell you about the wonderful world of swords!

Haku chan: Really? Thanks Tora san!

Haku chan: Japanese swords are those weapons I often see in anime and games... right?

Tora san: Actually, that’s only a small part of it! Swords were once used as weapons, but they were also prized for their beauty, and are still seen as valuable artworks today! There are even people who collect them!

Haku chan: Hang on just a second! You can own a real Japanese sword??

Tora san: Yeah! As long as you do all the correct paperwork, it’s totally possible to buy one!

Haku chan: Cool! But aren’t they, like, really expensive?

Tora san: Hahaha, let’s just say that while some can be bought for pocket change, others can set you back billions of yen!

Haku chan: But, what are they even made of?

Tora san: Tamahagane! This special steel is made in a traditional tatara furnace. We have a piece right here!

Haku chan: Wow! It’s so pretty!

Tora san: It is isn’t it? High-quality tamahagane like this really sparkles! To make a sword, this material is heated, hammered out, repeatedly folded, and then then beaten to shape.

Haku chan: I wonder how long that takes...?

Tora san: Forging the blade can take two weeks, but add on the polishing and the making of the scabbard and fittings, and it can take up to two years!

Haku chan: Seriously?? That’s so much more work than I expected!

Haku chan: Are there more than one type of sword? Like long ones and short ones?

Tora san: There are indeed! There are actually four main types.

Tora san: First off, the tachi! Hung from a pair of cords from the belt, horse-mounted samurai always wore them with the edge facing down and that is also how we display them!

Haku chan: So they actually used them on horseback?

Tora san: Yeah! You can see how it’s long and has a deep curve, right? The length gave samurai the reach needed when on their horse, and the curve made them better at cutting!

Tora san: Next up... the katana! A lot of people think it refers to any Japanese sword, but it is actually a specific type! Thrust through the belt, it is worn and exhibited edge up!

Haku chan: I’ve seen this one in loads of movies!

Tora san: Less curved and slightly shorter than tachi, they were mostly used on foot!

Tora san: Our third type is the katana’s companion, usually worn alongside it, the wakizashi!

Haku chan: Doesn’t it look shorter than the katana?

Tora san: Well spotted! Being shorter, it could be drawn more quickly and used in tight spaces.
A set of wakizashi and katana, called a daishō (‘big and small’), was a mark of samurai rank!

Tora san: Last but not least, the tantō!

Haku chan: There are even swords as short as this!

Tora san: There are actually all sorts of tantō. For example, while some were small and for self-defence, other chunkier ones called yoroi-dōshi (armour piercers) were for battlefield use!

Haku chan: They really are amazing for something so small!

Tora san: Did you know there was even a tradition of giving a tantō as a ‘protective amulet’ to new-born children and to women on their wedding day!

 

Tora san: Generally a sword’s type is determined by length, like this:

60cm≦ .....Katana and tachi
30-60cm .....Wakizashi
30cm≧ .....Tantō

Haku chan: So the name changes depending on length!

Tora san: Usually, though some, such as naginata and yari, are defined more by their shape.

Tora san: This is a naginata! These were used attached to a long pole.

Haku chan: So that’s how they were used!...

Tora san: Naginata come in a whole range of shapes! Cool, right?

Haku chan: Hang on, what’s this?

Tora san: Naginata naoshi is the name given to naginata reshaped to be used as a tachi or katana!

Haku chan: So some surviving swords are not actually their original shape, interesting!

Tora san: Yari are the main type of Japanese spear!

Haku chan: So swordsmiths also made spears?

Tora san: Absolutely! In the Warring States Period, yari were made and used in huge numbers! 

 

Tora san: Did you understand all that?

Haku chan: Yeah! There are so many types of swords! But even though their shapes are different, everything else about them just looks the same to me...

Tora san: In that case, let me tell you about the key features of a Japanese sword!

Tora san: Whenever we examine a sword, we always look at the shape, the jigane, and the hamon, in that order (more about those last two in a second!).

1.  I already talked a bit about the shape, but in a nutshell, the length, width, degree of curvature, and point shape can tell us a lot about when a sword was made! 
2. Next up, jigane!
Tora san: Jigane, literally ‘ground steel’, is this darker part of the blade. It might look totally black, but it actually contains a wood-grain like pattern unique to each sword! 
Haku chan: So there is!
Tora san: Not only the grain, but the colour also differs! Be sure to compare the jigane of every sword you see!
3.  Lastly, the hamon!
Tora san: So the hamon is what we call the white part on the edge of the blade.
At their most basic, hamon can be divided into two types, suguha and midareba! 

Haku chan: Suguha and midareba?

Tora san: Suguha are straight patterns and midareba are variable ones. When it comes to midareba, there is endless variety!

Tora san: Do you have an idea now of where you should be looking?

Haku chan: I think so! Now when I look at them, I can see that they are all different!

Tora san: That’s right! Each one is unique! Which is your favourite? 
Let’s have a look together and find one that piques your interest!

Haku chan: Swords were made a really long time ago weren’t they?

Tora san: Actually, you might be surprised to hear that they are still made today!

Haku chan: Seriously?!

Tora san: Yeah! We can basically divide the history of Japanese swords into four main periods.

1. The earliest are kotō (old swords)!
Swords made between roughly 1000 and 1595 show the biggest regional differences! 
2. Next come shintō (new swords)!
These are from just before and during the Edo Period, between about 1595 and 1771! As things and people were able to travel more freely than before, many swordsmiths from across the country moved to Osaka and Tokyo to work. 
3. After that came the shinshintō (new new swords)!
Made at the end of Japan’s feudal period, between 1772 and 1876, like kotō, they were made in response to a renewed need for practical blades! 
4. Finally, there are gendaitō, ‘modern swords’!
Any sword made after 1876 and the revolution of the Meiji Era is classed as ‘modern’!

Today swords are actually almost entirely made as works of art! Craftsmen still continue to practice and pass on these tradition, and you can actually see them at it in our workshops!

Haku chan: No way! You can actually see people making swords?!

Tora san: Making a sword is complicated and has many steps. As you never know what they will be doing when you visit their workshops, it is always something to look forward to!

Haku chan: I know that swords have been made in Japan for at least 1000 years, but I’m just wondering, where were they made?

Tora san: All over, in almost every province!

Haku chan: Province? Not prefecture?

Tora san: In the past, Japan was actually divided into provinces, not prefectures like today!
Of these, those with the most master smiths and where the most swords were made, are called the Gokaden!

Haku chan: Gokaden?

Tora san: The ‘Five Traditions’, Yamato (Nara Prefecture), Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture), Bizen (Okayama Prefecture), Sōshū (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Mino (Gifu Prefecture)! Swords made in each have their own unique characteristics! Let’s look at them together! 

Tora san: First up is the oldest, Yamato! The style of Yamato blades, strong, practical, reliable, was influenced by the warrior monks who protected the province’s many temples! 

Haku chan: I can’t believe there were really warrior monks!

Tora san: These swords often have a masame (straight) jigane steel grain.

Haku chan: A straight jigane, got it!

Tora san: Exactly! As for the temper line, it was usually straight, though containing many small embellishments, such as nijūba and kuichigaiba, which reward closer inspection!

Tora san: The next one, springing up around 900 years ago around the imperial capital, Yamashiro blades had a suitably elegant shape! 

Haku chan: As you’d expect for swords made in such a peaceful centre of culture! 

Tora san: See how the steel is very fine-grained and the darker jigane sparkles all over? That sparkle is caused by jinie (coarse crystals in the jigane)! The temper line too is very graceful!

Tora san: And now for my home province! The Bizen Tradition was born about 900 years ago at almost the same time as the Yamashiro Tradition in what is now Okayama Prefecture!

Haku chan: Wow, so they used to make swords around here too!

Tora san: Bizen swords are known for their flamboyant temper lines and ‘utsuri’!

Haku chan: Utsuri?

Tora san: Step back and look at the jigane from a little further away. See how there’s a slightly paler area in the dark steel that almost resembles a second temper line? That’s utsuri!
Let’s see if we can spot it together!

Tora san: Fourth up, the Sōshū Tradition! Created around 800 years ago in the area that is today Kanagawa Prefecture, it was founded by Yamashiro and Bizen smiths who had been called there by the newly-founded ‘Kamakura Bakufu’, Japan’s first samurai government! 

Haku chan: Amazing! What do Sōshū swords look like?

Tora san: They have gently undulating temper lines filled with sparkling nie (coarse steel crystals)!

Haku chan: I can totally see it! It’s super pretty!

Tora san: Make sure to look closely! Their temper lines are full of little accents and embellishments that we call hataraki!

Tora san: Finally, Mino! This one began when smiths of the Yamato Tradition arrived in Mino Province during the Northern and Southern Courts Period about 700 years ago!

Haku chan: So even back then swordsmiths moved around!

Tora san: Yeah! The sword-makers of Mino are famous for making blades with wavy or pointed temper lines that could cut incredibly well due to their thin profiles!

Haku chan: Sharp and beautiful! Incredible!

Tora san: In the Warring States Period, the sword industry in Mino was up there with Bizen Province in terms of total output!

Tora san: Were you able to tell the difference between swords from different regions?

Haku chan: Absolutely! But no matter where they were made, they were absolutely stunning!
There was one thing I wanted to ask about though. On the part that goes inside the handle (tang) I could see writing. What is that?

Tora san: That’s the name of the person who made it! They sometimes also carved where and when it was made too. It’s basically the maker’s signature!

Haku chan: A signature huh? But I swear there were some that didn’t have one?

Tora san: Well spotted! Let me tell you a little bit more about the signatures on Japanese swords!

Haku chan: Wait! This one doesn’t have a signature!

Tora san: That’s right! A sword being unsigned, or ‘mumei’, is sometimes the result of it being shortened and the signature erased. This one however has been shortened more than most!

Haku chan: More than most?

Tora san: Though to reduce a sword’s length part of the tang is usually cut off, for a sword to lose its signature entirely requires significant shortening! Blades of the Northern and Southern Courts Period were especially long, so many underwent this process in later years!

Haku chan: I see!

Tora san: Of course, some swords, like our National Treasure the ‘Sanchōmō’ never had a signature to begin with! 

Haku chan: Isn’t the signature on this sword upside-down...?

Tora san: Nice eye! Orikaeshimei (folded signature) like this are seen where a sword is shortened, but just the part of the tang with the signature is cut out and folded over to preserve it!

Haku chan: That explains why the signature is upside-down! I’m glad they saved it!

Tora san: Sometimes you’ll see swords where part of the signature is missing, but this is in cases where they shortened the tang without attempting to preserve it! 

Haku chan: So there wasn’t only one way to shorten a sword!

Haku chan: And why does this signature look kind of golden?

Tora san: We call this a kinpunmei (gold powder signature)! When the Hon’ami family appraised an unsigned sword, they would write their opinion on the tang in lacquer and gold powder! 

Haku chan: Appraisal? Hon’ami?

Tora san: If there is no signature, it’s hard to tell what sword is by which smith, right? Appraisal is the process of examining a sword to work out where, when, and who it was made by! In the past, this was mostly done by appraisal experts, especially the Hon’ami family!

Haku chan: They could tell who made a sword just be looking at it?? Incredible!

Tora san: I’ve told you a lot about the blades, but let me tell you a little bit about ‘koshirae’, that is to say scabbards made to be worn out and about! 

Haku chan: So that’s what they’re called! They’re stunning!

Tora san: A sword and its koshirae are the product of a team effort by many different artisans! 

Swordsmith … Makes the blade
Polisher … Polishes the blade
Shiroganeshi … Makes the habaki (blade collar)
Kinkōshi … Makes the guard and other metal fittings
Scabbard maker … Carves the wooden scabbard
Lacquerer … Applies lacquer to the scabbard
Handle wrapper … Adds stingray skin to the handle and wraps it with cord

Haku chan: That’s a lot!

Tora san: You can find many of them in the museum workshops! Be sure to pay them a visit! 

Tora san: So after all that, what do you think about Japanese swords?

Haku chan: They’re surprisingly complicated, but I can see now how powerful and beautiful they are! 

Tora san: They are, aren’t they! We must never forget that the only reason they survive today is because people in the past looked after and cared for them!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the exhibition and found a new interest in swords!
It’s about time for me to go!

Haku chan: Thank you Tora san!

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