ABOUT KATANAS AND OTHER ORIENTAL SWORDS Q: What is a Japanese sword anyway?
Japanese swords have a history of almost two thousand years. It is very difficult to sum up everything in a short paragraph. Weapon making as a formal process is thought to have been introduced to Japan from China and Korea around 284 AD. Early swords tended to be straight but very few have survived Japan’s humid climate. Sword making was still primitive in nature during the 700s not taking on an advanced form until around the middle of the Heian Period (794-1191). The most famous Japanese smiths were active from around 900 to 1450. Like in other cultures Japanese swords developed to meet specific challenges on the battlefield. As we know them today, a Japanese sword is a curved, single edged, folded steel, tempered weapon coming in a variety of lengths. They were at various times worn slung below a belt, tucked through a sash (obi) often with a shorter sword, or suspended from a belt in modern military fashion. There are a myriad of technical terms varying by epoch, mounting of the bl
