It is clear that there are as many collectors as there are tastes, and the Japanese saying “Jūnin toiro” (ten people, ten colors) would be the equivalent of “to each his own” in Spanish. Some collectors are particularly meticulous about aspects of the blade, such as the hamon or jihada. Read more…
Yamada Asaemon was the title held by the heads of the Japanese Yamada family, who served the shogunate as sword inspectors and executioners during the Edo period. As early as the 16th century, individuals were renowned for their tameshigiri technique, such as General Tani Moriyoshi (谷 衛 好) and his Read more…
Hamon is the pattern we see on the edge of the blade of any Nihonto and is not merely aesthetic, but is due to the differential clay tempering that is applied to the weapons in the forging process. Japanese katanas are unique in a way because of the forging process, where apart from the materials the system is extremely laborious.
The term Nihonto is used to refer to authentic Japanese weapons made with handcrafted manufacturing processes by specialised craftsmen using specific materials such as Tamahagane steel, a special steel with a low carbon content (around 1 -1.5 %).