I squeeze the sword -
He is a loyal friend to thunder -
And ready for battle
Courageous and stubborn.
Others in vain
They spend their days
Brave in spirit
They will not understand.
Cao Ji, translated by L. E. Cherkassky
Not so long ago, an article appeared on VO about samurai swords and I liked how brief and exhaustive everything was written in it. However, the topic is so vast and entertaining that it probably makes sense to continue it in the direction of deepening and considering from different angles. Well, to begin with, we will try to find out why it is so interesting.
Chinese swords found in Japanese kofun burials. Interesting ring on the handle. In Europe, ring-shaped pommels in the Middle Ages had swords from Ireland. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
First of all, the European sword has nothing to compare otherwise. Comparative information is the most interesting. Second: they did not collide on the battlefield, so any comparison remains sufficiently speculative, which means … accessible to everyone. Finally, the people of the West have always been attracted by the culture of the East, as its complete opposite. In addition, there are also a number of attendant circumstances.
• The Japanese sword was used relatively recently.
• Japanese swords have come down to us in very good condition, while European ones have been poorly preserved. Not so with samurai swords: a sword aged several centuries looks like new to the layman.
• The traditional art of Japanese blacksmiths-gunsmiths has been preserved since the Middle Ages. The European skill has essentially been lost.
• The techniques of fighting with Japanese swords have also survived to this day. We can only judge about the European art of fencing from books.
Wakizashi short sword. Please note that the sword hilt is not braided, but the manuca detail is still present on it. (Tokyo National Museum)
Everything else - if we talk about a sword as a weapon - is identical! Both in Japan and in Europe, the sword was never the main weapon of a knight. In Japan, at first the bow was the main weapon of the samurai. The very term "war, to fight" meant "to shoot from a bow". Then the spear became such a weapon, as in Europe. The Knight of the West had a spear as the main weapon, and only when it broke did he take up … a battle whip, an ax, a six-fighter, and only then - a sword. And the samurai did the same, it was not for nothing that the emperor's guards were armed with the iron clubs of kanabo - "there is no reception against the scrap." That is, the sword was a kind of sacred weapon that was cherished and revered. True, in Japan the veneration of the sword went much further than in Europe.
A tachi sword, mounted in the hugokurashi-no-tachi style. (Tokyo National Museum)
In Europe, shrines were put into the handles of swords: "the hair of an angel", "the tooth of John the Baptist" or "the nail of the life-giving Cross of the Lord." But they worshiped them, and the sword only played the role of the "ark". The Japanese, being Shintoists, believed that the world was inhabited by spirits - kami. And each sword has its own kami! Accordingly, the owner of the sword, too, sooner or later became a kami and lived in his sword, so the sword should be treated with great respect, for it was the "house of spirits."
The sword blade of the tachi master Nagamitsu. (Tokyo National Museum)
Now let's turn to the historiography of the subject, that is, to the basis of the basics.
Perhaps the first author who turned to the military history of samurai in the USSR was A. B. Spevakovsky, who published in 1981 the book "Samurai - the military estate of Japan" (M., Main edition of oriental literature of the "Science" publishing house). The book is very interesting, although it contains a lot of inaccuracies regarding weapons. Since the 90s of the last century, the works of K. S. Nosov, who himself is engaged in martial arts with Japanese weapons, is a doctor of sciences and publishes his books not only in our country, but also abroad. The latest of his books on the subject is The Weapons of the Samurai (2016).
Tachi sword blade of master Sukezane. (Tokyo National Museum)
Peru A. Bazhenov owns the monograph "The History of the Japanese Sword" (2001, "Baltika / Entente"), which for 15 years collected material for it in the funds of the Moscow Kremlin Armory, the Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps (VIMAIViVS), Central Naval Museum (TsVMM), he owns the art of forging, and which was invited many times by the country's leading museums to compile catalogs of Japanese weapons. This is a very solid study to which it is difficult to add anything.
Tati master Tomonari from the province of Bitzen, XI century. (Tokyo National Museum)
More narrow themes of the Japanese sword are devoted to the work of E. Skraivetsky “Tsuba. Legends on Metal "(2006)," Kozuka. The Little Companion of the Japanese Sword "(2009), published by the Atlant Publishing House.
Tachi by Shizu Kaneji, 14th century. (Tokyo National Museum)
Japanese swords are described in the translated book of the Japanese historian M. Kure “Samurai. An Illustrated History”((Translated from English by U. Saptsina). M.: AST: Astrel, 2007), and there are also interesting photographs of them. English historians Thomas Richardson and Anthony Bryant wrote about Japanese swords (their books translated into Russian can be found on the Web). But there are also works in English that have not been translated into Russian. For example, Clements J. Medieval Swordsmanship. Illustrated Methods and Techniques. Boulder. USA. Paladin Press, 1998. True, the topic of the Japanese sword is not the main one in this work, but comparative information is given. Even D. Nicolas in his fundamental research: Nicolle D. Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era, 1050 - 1350. UK. L.: Greenhill Books. Vol.1, 2, it has been written about them, albeit a little.
Well, and of course, we should mention the books of Stephen Turnbull, published in our translation in large editions and ultimately combined in the 696-page edition of Samurai. Military History of Japan "(Moscow: Eksmo, 2013). True, he has too "chatty" style of presentation and the captions under the photographs do not indicate their source and current location. For example, how do you like this signature - "From the scroll in Yoshizaki." And where is this scroll located and how can I look at it myself? Alas, this is an obvious drawback of the modern historical school, and not only foreign - there some authors already write under the photographs even like this: the source is Flicr - but also of our domestic science and historical journalism.
That is, today for those who would like to study the Japanese sword (well, at least for the sake of interest, so as not to fall into dementia ahead of time) there are all the conditions and a lot of all kinds of literature. Unfortunately, not always in our country, in the same museums, conditions are created for the work of researchers of the same Japanese swords that are kept in their back rooms. I know a museum that houses a unique Japanese ceremonial sword with a sheath and a cloisonné enamel hilt (!). But … how to shoot it in such a way as to present it in all its glory? It is both difficult and expensive. I know museums where the same Bazhenov will never be invited, and where there are interesting swords, one might say, lost for research.
A katana sword blade by the renowned master Muramasa, 15th century. (Tokyo National Museum)
Konstantin Nosov, in his work on samurai weapons, points out that there are four typologies of Japanese swords based on their chronology. And in all classifications, the years are different. But most researchers distinguish as the most ancient "the era of the ancient sword" - jokoto, up to about 795 - 900 years. Then comes the koto - the era of "old swords" - 795-1596. (900 - 1530), then Shinto - "new swords" - 1596 - 1624. (or 1596 - 1781), which was followed by the period of shinsinto - "new new swords" - 1624 - 1876. (or 1781 - 1876). By the way, the year 1876 was not chosen by chance. This year, wearing them was banned in Japan, but the history of the Japanese sword did not end there and a new period began - gendaito - "newest swords" and shinshakuto - "modern swords" made by today's masters.
Master Masamune's katana with an inscription in gold. Kamakura era, XIV century, length 70.8 cm. (Tokyo National Museum)
However, all researchers are unanimous that the ancient swords of the jokoto period had a straight single-edged blade and a handle for one hand. The swords were thin, somewhat tapering to the point and with pommels that changed from century to century. Garda as such was absent. It is possible that some of them, found in Japan, were brought from China, but the fact that there was a copying of Chinese samples is undoubtedly.
Then the tsurugi or ken swords appeared, which had a double-sided sharpening, a diamond-shaped blade section. Its length for these swords varied from 60 to 70 cm.
Then, in the Heian era (794 - 1191), when endless internecine wars began and the samurai caste appeared, curved swords gradually replaced straight swords, and it is known that these swords, called tachi, had blades up to 120 cm long.
At the same time, there was a significant improvement in blacksmithing. True, this can only be judged by a few rare specimens, including swords from the beginning of the Heian era. They had an almost symmetrical double-edged edge, characteristic of ken swords, but already had curved single-edged blades. The Japanese call this form "kissaki moroha-zukuri", "kogarasu-maru" or "kogarasu-zukuri". The name of the blacksmith Yasazun is known, who is considered the father of the "typical Japanese" sword and who worked around 900.
Kosi-gatana with a claw in a scabbard. The era of Nambokuto-Muromachi, XIV - XV centuries. (Tokyo National Museum)
In 1868, Emperor Meiji stripped the shogun of executive power and began to rule on his own. The country began to introduce innovations borrowed from European culture. Well, when in 1876 the samurai were deprived of the right to carry their swords, a bad time came for the blacksmiths-gunsmiths, many of whom lost their jobs. Swords were no longer appreciated as they were in the past, and a very large number of them were simply sold abroad by the Japanese.
During the Showa period (1926 - 1989) under the slogan "Showa" ("Enlightened World"). the Japanese began to gradually return to their former traditions in culture and the art of blacksmiths-gunsmiths revived again. Well, in recent decades, their craft is experiencing a clear heyday. Both in Europe and in the United States, it has become fashionable to collect Japanese swords and learn to wield them, and collecting tsubas has turned, if not into general, then into a very widespread hobby. Suffice it to recall that souvenir Japanese swords can be found in almost every Russian gift or souvenir shop. True, these are "not really swords" and not even swords at all, but the trend itself is very indicative.
Here we meet with one very important difference between the European sword and the Japanese one. In the European, the shank of the blade, passed through the handle, was riveted, which made it impossible to replace the handle, crosshair and pommel. That is, such a replacement required reworking the entire sword. Obsolete from a military or aesthetic point of view, swords were usually reforged, or they were given for storage in chapels or monasteries. In particular, it was in one of the chapels that the legendary Jeanne D'Arc found a sword with three crosses on a blade, which people immediately began to say that this was the very sword with which Karl Martell defeated the Arabs at Poitiers. The sword had to be cleaned of rust and polished again, as well as a new handle attached to it. That is, this sword was clearly stored in an inappropriate manner.
Tanto by Master Sadayoshi. (Tokyo National Museum)
Nothing like this could happen with a Japanese sword. The fact is that all of his mounts on the blade are removable. Replacing them is very easy. That is, the blade can be adjusted to the requirement of any fashion, although it itself will remain unchanged! At different times, there were many varieties of sword mounts, many of which were even regulated by the orders of the shogun himself. That is, again, all the swords of the samurai of the Heian era and subsequent times were swords of horsemen - that is, tachi, and they were always worn on the thigh on the left with the blade down on the cords of the upholstery. There were only two fasteners for cords (or belts). The frame was determined by the status of the samurai. For example, the generals had swords in the frame of shirizaya-no-tachi, with a scabbard, two-thirds covered with the skin of a tiger or boar.
Tanto by master Ishida Sadamune. (Tokyo National Museum)
So the frame of the sword also allows you to determine the time of making the blade, but the main thing is what is written on its shank, where the master usually engraved his name. There are six main ways to mount a frame. But the most common is the Buke-zukuri mount of the Shinto era, which was now worn tucked into the belt rather than on the side with cords. The buke-zukuri sword had the following frame:
• A wooden handle covered with stingray leather, connected with a bamboo hairpin (not a rivet!) With a flat shank and usually (and only occasionally for a tanto dagger) wrapped with cords (silk, leather or cotton).
• Cap for the head of the handle (kasira) and the ring for its fastening (feet).
• Additional decoration of the handle (menuki) - small figures - inserted into the handle braid or fixed on it without the braid.
• Garda (tsuba). Actually, this is not a guard at all, but quite the opposite - a rest for the hand, so that it does not slip onto the blade.
• Sheath - saya (most often they were made of magnolia wood, but bone is also known) varnished and usually decorated with inlay. It was also customary to provide the scabbard with a "container" for three items not found in European swords:
• additional knife (ko-gatans); which could be used as a universal or throwing one (in Western literature, the term "kozuka" is used to denote it, but in fact the kozuka is just the handle of a ko-gatana);
• pin (claw); which could perform a variety of functions: serve as a hair pin and … to stick it into the body of a killed enemy or into a severed head, and thereby notify whose "trophy" it is;
• chopsticks (vari-bassi); however, not wooden, but metal; they correspond in shape to the kogai, but are divided lengthwise.
The handles of all these accessories protrude from the holes in the legs and pass through the holes in the tsuba. In Europe during the late Middle Ages, cases with accessories, which included a knife, were also often attached. So there is definitely a similarity here.
Wakizashi by Ishida Sadamune. (Tokyo National Museum)
It should also be noted that the difference between the European sword and the Japanese one is that the latter had more ornate metal parts of the mount, such as the head cap, the fastening ring of the handle, the overlays on the handle and the tsubu (in theory, these Japanese words should not be declined, but it is still better adhere to the norms of the Russian language than the Japanese!), as well as kogai and ko-gatanu. Of course, swords that are very simple in decoration are also known in Japan. However, the Europeans in general still lose to them. The ornaments of the Japanese sword were kept in the same style, and they were made by the same master (except for the ko-gatana blade, which was forged by that blacksmith-gunsmith, which the blade itself did). Usually, an alloy of copper and gold (shakudo) was used, which was then inked by etching. It is clear that a large area of tsuba made it possible to create a small masterpiece from it, and it is not surprising that real jewelers worked on them, and now it is a separate branch of collecting.
Another wakizashi short sword from the Tokyo National Museum.
The entire mount of the Japanese sword was designed in such a way that it was easy to disassemble. Therefore, any glorified blade, if necessary, could be decorated with fashionable jewelry or, on the contrary, disguised. It is not surprising, therefore, that very old blades could often have a new mount. Well, if the sword was not supposed to be worn, the mount was removed from it and replaced with a special mount for storage. That is why Japanese swords, or rather their blades, are still in such good condition.
