samurai code, or code of the warrior, is comparable to the code of honor of the European feudal period and was based primarily upon the mastery of arms, principally the sword. The samurai sword was a family heirloom, carefully preserved and passed on to each succeeding generation. Even in modern times these swords have been carried into battle by officers and men of the Japanese army and navy.
The swords collected by American soldiers in the recent war were regarded in many different lights. Most soldiers thought they were collecting only souvenirs, and seldom did they ever suspect the true value of the swords.
Immediately after the cessation of hostilities swords in Japan were confiscated by the Allies as weapons. Later, however, those having artistic or historical value were returned to their original owners to be preserved as objets d’art. The samurai sword remains in Japan and throughout the world as an impressive example of specialized workmanship culminating in fine art.
When the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, the samurai sword lost its prestige as a weapon, but it still remains the most perfect steel sword in the world. The Damascus and Toledo swords of folklore or the Excalibur blade of English literature could in no way compare with the workmanship and the quality of steel that went into the manufacture of the samurai sword.
—John M. Yumoto
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. Randolph Bullock, Assistant Curator of Arms and Armor, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; and Mr. Edwin G. Beal, Jr., Chief, Japanese Section, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C., for furnishing lists of English and Japanese publications on the subject.
For assistance in preparing the text and illustrations I am much indebted to my teachers and friends, in particular to Dr. Junji Homma, Mr. Kanichi Sato, and Mr. Susumu Kashima, of the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Sword, National Museum, Tokyo, Japan; and Lieutenant Colonel George E. Slade, of the U.S. Army.
Gratitude is also due fellow members of the Northern California Sword Club.
1
JAPANESE HISTORY AND
THE SAMURAI SWORD
THE HISTORY of the samurai sword is closely related to the history of Japan. For that reason this brief résumé of Japanese history is included.
THE PERIODS OF JAPANESE HISTORY
In considering the history of Japan and the samurai sword, it is convenient to have reference points. It is possible to divide Japanese history into the following periods:
1. ANCIENT PERIOD (before A.D. 650). Historians disagree as to the exact date, but about the same time as the beginning of the Christian Era, Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan, set out from Kyushu through the Inland Sea of Kashiwara, in Yamato Province (Fig. 1), and subjugated the hostile tribes, thereby establishing the Japanese Empire. Later, in about A.D. 284, continental culture, in the form of Confucian classics, silk culture, and the art of weapon making, was introduced directly from China or Korea.
Fig. 1. Map of old Japanese provinces. (See page 187 for modern equivalents.)
It is believed that there were many Chinese and Korean smiths who came to Japan and made swords. Even so, there are very few swords in existence that were made during the period in Japan or imported from the continent. Since the few extant swords from this period are similar in appearance, it is difficult to determine the locale of manufacture. Some have been unearthed from ancient tombs. They were not properly tempered, and the majority were of the straight type.
2. NARA PERIOD (650 to 793). At the beginning of this period a permanent capital was established at Nara, in Yamato Province. Prior to this time, there had been no permanent capital, the center of government being determined by the current ruling emperor. Buddhism flourished, and this period is known as the “Golden Age” of religious art, architecture, painting, and sculpture. The Taika Reform (645), which marked the beginning of the Nara period, again established the imperial family as the absolute rulers of Japan, and new national laws were introduced. The art of sword making was still primitive and made but little progress. However, in order to equip the national army, there arose a great demand for a better sword.
3. HEIAN PERIOD (794 to 1191). The capital was moved from Nara to Heian, or present-day Kyoto, in Yamashiro Province; and power of administration was shifted from the royal family to the Fujiwara clan, who had managed to marry their daughters into the royal family and thus had obtained control of the government. During a period of eight reigns, a total of one hundred years, the Fujiwara clan ruled as regents, and there was relative peace in the land. But the extravagance of the Fujiwaras and their costly administration of the government placed an increasing burden on the peasantry and caused them to desert their farms and crafts and become lawless highwaymen. About the year 900, taking advantage of this situation, the two samurai clans of Minamoto and Taira came to power and replaced the Fujiwaras.
The urge for contact with China died down, perhaps because the Japanese no longer felt inferior to the Chinese. Instead, they devoted themselves, in their own way, to the improvement of their once-imported culture. The art of sword making made tremendous progress during this period, and Japanese smiths began to produce better and better swords. Samurai sword making reached its zenith during the latter half of this period.
4. KAMAKURA PERIOD (1192 to 1336). Establishment of the shogunate, or feudal government, at Kamakura, in Sagami (Soshu) Province, by the Minamoto clan marked the beginning of the Kamakura period and 675 years of feudalism under the shogunate military supreme command, which had both administrative and judicial power. In 1274 and 1281 the Mongols, in the backwash of their invasion of Europe, attempted to invade Japan. However, they were defeated by warriors from Kamakura with the help of two sudden typhoons, which the Japanese believed were sent by the gods.
These national emergencies demanded new and stronger types of swords. The school of smiths in Sagami Province perfected swords that have never been surpassed.
Following the invasions and as luxury was introduced into the formerly simple samurai life, the power of the shogunate declined. Finally, the Emperor Godaigo, with the aid of the Ashikaga clan, succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate capital and regaining control of the government.
5. MUROMACHI (ASHIKAGA) PERIOD (1337 to 1573). The Ashikaga clan betrayed the Emperor Godaigo, set up its own puppet government at Kyoto, and re-established the shogunate system. However, Godaigo escaped from the Ashikagas to the Hill of Yoshino, near Nara. For fifty-five years (1337 to 1392) there were two imperial courts in Japan. This was a dark period in Japanese history. Because the Ashikagas were never very strong, they were unable to control the provinces, and there was constant fighting between the feudal lords. This period of wars (the Sengoku period) lasted over a hundred years (1467 to 1574). The demand for swords increased, and smiths made them in great numbers throughout Japan. In Kyoto the arts flourished under the extravagant patronage of the Ashikaga shoguns, who imitated the Fujiwaras, even surpassing them in splendor and luxury.
6. AZUCHI-MOMOYAMA PERIOD (1574 to 1602). Oda Nobunaga, a samurai of low birth, came to Kyoto at the request of the emperor to restore order, and was appointed vice-shogun. Before completing his task of unifying Japan, Nobunaga was assassinated. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobunaga’s able lieutenant, completed the task
