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yamatodamashii
3rd October 2000, 21:49
I remember reading in a book about Nihonto that there was a very old type of katana with a straight blade and Damascus-like finish. Has anyone ever heard of this type of katana before? What is it called, and how much might it cost to get one (a new one...)?

Earl Hartman
3rd October 2000, 22:01
I don't know about the Damasus-like finish, but the Japanese use the words "tsurugi" or "choku-to" to refer to straight swords. Such swords are never referred to as "katana". They are very old, and were patterned on the Chinese model. They were long ago discarded in favor of the curved sword, which is what most people mean when they say "Nihon-to".

I have no idea if they are available today.

Earl

yamatodamashii
3rd October 2000, 22:31
Thank you, gentlemen:

Actually, I was already familiar with the term "chokuto"; it was the damascus finish specifically that I was interested in. If it helps, I seem to recall that it was also sharpened halfway down the back of the blade (making it even closer to a Chinese jien)...

Thanks for the quick replies!

ChrisL
3rd October 2000, 23:40
It sounds like you are talking about the <i>kogarasu-zukuri</i> (I think it's also called <i>kissaki-moroha</i> or something like that) style of blade. Janty posted a link to a replica that Bugei sells. Supposedly, there are very few (literally a handful) of these in existence, and if my memory of obscure history doesn't fail me, they date back to the Heian period, circa 800-900 C.E.

I dunno about any differences in the steel manufacture between this kind of blade and contemporaneous tachi.

[Edited by ChrisL on 10-03-2000 at 05:43 PM]

yamatodamashii
4th October 2000, 12:32
Thanks again--that looks an AWFUL lot like the illustration I recall...

ghp
5th October 2000, 03:08
Chris,


Supposedly, there are very few (literally a handful) of these in existence, and if my memory of obscure history doesn't fail me, they date back to the Heian period, circa 800-900 C.E.

The 1930s smith, Horii (in Hokkaido, Japan Steel Works), was commission by the Japanese Government to forge about 10 or 12 of the kogarasu-zukuri swords. The blades were intended to be presented to the General Staff of the various branches of the military. Sadly, he died in the middle of the contract, but his son (just retired a few years ago) completed the contract. The younger brother now runs the forge, which is on the premises of the Japan Steel Works. JSW maintains the forge as a cultural link to the steel industry. The museum in Muroran, Hokkaido, has one of the kogarasu-zukuri blades on display (I saw a photo of it in JSW's brochure). One or two are known to be in private collections in Europe and/or the UK.

The Horii smiths are my wife's relatives and I have a standing invitation to visit the forge when I'm in Hokkaido again. [Nya-nya na nya-nya :D]

Regards,
Guy

Earl Hartman
5th October 2000, 03:38
Guy:

Its "Nya-nya-NYA-nya-nya", not "Nya-nya-NA-nya-nya". Don't you know anything?

Or are you just speaking Hokkaido-ben instead of hyojungo?

Earl

ghp
5th October 2000, 04:30
Earl,


Or are you just speaking Hokkaido-ben instead of hyojungo?

So da mon! Sheesh ... I can't do anything right. As a symbol of my gratefulness, I offer this photo of you, circa 1000 ce :

http://www.regia.org/images/Oban9721%20Guards&Captivesa.jpg
"Earl (front) wondering what to do when you have a flat tyre on your dragon ship"

Regards,
Guy

[no, the image is not Earl]