It's traditional to bow to a sword before a viewing, though if the occasion is informal it'll probably look strange. Japanese swords have a lot of details that are hard to catch without proper lighting, so you need a good, strong light source. Now that you know if it's a nihonto or gunto, next is viewing the blade's personality. It's really too bad, because somewhere out there is a Japanese national treasure called the Honjo Masamune, which was taken by a G.I. The only way to tell is the signature, which most people can't read. You would normally be able to tell them apart from the steel's grain or the temper line, but unfortunately, most swords that made their way abroad are in such poor condition the metal's features have faded. Still, some WWII swords were family swords modified for military fittings. The cheapest gunto also have serial numbers on the blade, which immediately tells you they were mass produced. So if the scabbard has hangers, it is probably a gunto. Japanese WWII soldiers hung their swords at their hips, but edge-down from loops on the scabbard. Tachi look pretty similar to katana, but were worn horizontally, edge-down behind a samurai's back. Gunto are actually not based on katana, but an older kind of sword called a tachi. If you're not in Japan, though, one way to tell is the scabbard. If you try to bring a gunto into the country, it will be confiscated and you will be deported as if you tried bringing in an AK-47. There have been cases of American gunto owners wanting to reunite a Japanese soldier's sword with his family, but unfortunately the law makes that almost impossible. Since the mass-produced gunto have no artistic value, the Japanese government classifies them as weapons. If the sword is in Japan it is definitely a nihonto. If you can't do these things, it's still not very difficult. If you can read Japanese and know how to open the grip, the signature on the tang (the part of the blade inside the handle) will tell you exactly what it is. Telling a gunto from a high quality blade is usually easy. Although some gunto were either handcrafted or partially handcrafted, most were assembled in factories from standard bar stock. (meaning either "saber" or "service sword") were the swords of Japanese WWII officers. While being able to properly appraise a sword can take a lifetime, fortunately, you can see what makes a sword unique just by knowing what to look for. Japanese swords are works of art, but to the untrained eye one isn't much different from another. Japanese sword, we couldn't do much more than hold it cross-eyed and bleat out "nice sword." Why some consider a Masamune on par with a da Vinci eludes us. For most of us who get the chance to handle a finely crafted nihonto 日本刀 ( にほんと )
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |