Japanese swords -Do not berak, Do not be bent, Cut well-

Hello, everyone.

This time, let’s focus on a Japanese sword. I think many foreigners would be familiar with a Japanese sword because it appears Hollywood movie these days. However, I reckon few people know how Japanese swords are made. So, I will introduce how they are made.

Before showing you how to make Japanese swords, let’s have basic information about it. First of all, Japanese swords have been made since Kofun period. Kofun period means 400 years from three century and thus, it is about 1800 years ago. So, Japanese swords have a long history. Moreover, there are many kinds of Japanese swords andthey are caterorized by its shape, period and so on. Furthermore, the characteristic of Japanese swords is “Do not break・Do not be bent・Cut well”. In order to produce these characteristics, there are a lot of processes.

Let’s move on how to make Japanese swords then.

There are 16 processes to make Japanese swords. This time I explain important 7 processes to you.

1. Oroshigane

This means a process of making many types of steels appropriate for Japanese swords. It is very important to retain a suitable amount of carbon.

2. Tsumiwakashi

This process is for refining steel. In this process, steel is wrapped with a wet paper and put in fire.

3. Tanren

In this process, steel is beaten any times and this makes steel stronger.

4. Tsukurikomi

This is a key process for the characteristic of Japanese swords (Do not break・Do not be bent) . In this process, relatively hard steel is covered with soft steel. By doing this, the outside of sword is tough but, the core is soft, and therefore swords are not broken and bent.

5. Hizukuri

In this process, steel is beaten for shaping Japanese sword.

6. Yakiire

In this process, swords covered with clay are put in fire in order not to crack and make swords stronger.

7. Kazitogi

In this process, swords are sharpened. This work is the last work of making swords.

As I introduced, there are a lot of processes to make Japanese swords. These complex processes makes a unique Japanese swords.