Used to describe all sword mountings which do not have a guard, tsuba, between the handle, tsuka, and the scabbard, saya.
Glossary
Click on the term for more information.
Aranie
Course nie.
Arato
The first stone in the series of natural water stones, used to shape and polish the blade.
Ashi
Literally mean “legs”, lines of martensitic structure projecting into the ha perpendicular to the hamon.
Ashigaru
足軽
An infantryman, not of the samurai class, generally armed with a yari, which formed the bulk of the large armies of the Warring Provinces Period (sengoku jidai).
Ayasugi-hada
A grain structure in the steel of the ji that has regular wavy texture, resembling the grain of the wood from the sugi (cryptomeria) tree.
Bo-hi
A single large groove running down the length of the blade.
Bonji
Decorative carvings on the side of the blade of stylized Sanskrit characters.
Boshi
The section of hamon that is in the point, kissaki, of the blade.
Chisa-
“small” Used as a prefix: chisa-katana “small katana“.
Chu-
“medium” Often used in Japanese sword terminology: chu-kissaki “medium point”, chu-suguha “medium width suguha hamon“.
Chu-kissaki
A point of medium length, approximately the width of the blade near the point.
Daisho
A pair of long and short swords (usually a katana and wakizashi), worn edge upwards and thrust through the belt, that came into widespread use during the Momoyama Period (1573-99). Often mounted with matching and/or complimentary koshirae. Literally, “big-little”.
Denkaitetsu
Electrolytic sponge-iron, a super pure form of iron, a by product of electric hearth furnace. Some Japanese swordsmiths, using the process of oroshigane, alloy carbon with this iron to form a bloom of steel with nearly the same chemical composition and appearance of tamahagane.
Dojo
Training hall or school. Literally translates from Japanese as “place of the way”. Traditionally, where martial arts and other paths of personal development are practiced in Japan.