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The Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai (日本美術刀剣保存協会, 'The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords', NBTHK) is a public interest incorporated foundation established in February 1948 to preserve and promote Japanese swords that have artistic value. They run a Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo and have a secretariat in the ...
In modern times the most commonly known type of Japanese sword is the Shinogi-Zukuri katana, which is a single-edged and usually curved sabre traditionally worn by samurai from the 15th century onwards. [15] Western historians have said that Japanese katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history, for their intended use.
Ueda Masaaki (quoted by Saeki, 1977) is rather an exception among Japanese historians because he “has maintained that the Seven-branched sword was ‘bestowed’ on the Wa ruler by the king of Baekje.” [citation needed] Ueda “based his interpretation on the argument that the term ‘候王 koo’ [huwang] appearing in the inscription ...
The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897, [1] [2] although the definition and the criteria have changed since the introduction of the term. The swords and sword mountings in the list adhere to the current definition, and have been designated national treasures according to the Law for the ...
Japanese swordsmithing is the labour-intensive bladesmithing process developed in Japan beginning in the sixth century for forging traditionally made bladed weapons [1] [2] including katana, wakizashi, tantō, yari, naginata, nagamaki, tachi, nodachi, ōdachi, kodachi, and ya.
The word katana first appears in Japanese in the Nihon Shoki of 720. The term is a compound of kata ("one side, one-sided") + na ("blade"), [6] [7] [8] in contrast to the double-sided tsurugi. The katana belongs to the nihontō family of swords, and is distinguished by a blade length (nagasa) of more than 2 shaku, approximately 60 cm (24 in). [9]
Katana, length 66.4 cm, curvature 1.5 cm, bottom width 2.8 cm, shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, and chū-kissaki nobi [4] (see also Glossary of Japanese swords). The front side contains a sign of Muramasa and a mantra sign myōhō renge kyō (妙法蓮華経) (a mantra from Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō or the Lotus Sutra of Nichiren Buddhism). [4]
The dōtanuki has appeared in several entertainment outlets, featured as a blade wider and thicker than any normal build of katana. Ogami Ittō in the manga Lone Wolf and Cub had a dōtanuki (using the spelling 胴太貫 “torso–thick–penetrate”) as his principal weapon. The katana named Gassan in Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur III is a ...