Parts of the Japanese Sword

Parts of the Japanese Sword

Saya (Sheath. Usually made of honoki wood, a type of magnolia)
-Koiguchi (Saya opening. Carps mouth. Sometimes reinforced)
-Kurigata (Cord knob. Used to fasten the sageo to the saya)
-Sageo (The cord used to affix the katana to the obi, to tie the tsuka and sword into the saya for transport, etc)
-Kojiri (Cap at the end of the saya, used to protect the wood from damage. Sometimes horn, sometimes metal)

Tsuka (Handle. Core is also ideally honoki)
-Kashira/Fuchi (Pommel/upper grip ring. Often matching in theme)
-Tsuka-ito (Handle wrap. Ideally silk, sometimes leather. More often than not, it is cotton, immitation leather, or nylon on modern made blades)
-Samegawa (Rayskin between the tsuka core and ito. NOT MANTA RAY! Usually cow nosed ray, or a type of Japanese skate or one of the many species of shark in Japanese waters. Applied traditionally in panels or a full wrap)
-Mekugi (Security pin/rivet. Usually bamboo, though metal versions called neji menuki/mekugi, which act like Chicago screws, were sometimes used instead. Well made tsuka need one or none, as the friction of the nakago and tsuka core is enough to lock it in. Two or more is unneccessary, unless the tsuka is very poorly made. Tapered, so inswertion is directional)
-Menuki (Handle ornaments. Originally used to hide mekugi, they are now mostly for decoration, though some ryu-ha have menuki placed in the palm of the hands when gripped so that the tsuka fills the palm cavity better)

Tsuba/seppa (Handguard, used to keep the users hand from coming in contact with the blade, and not to block enemy blows/Washers to fill up space unused by tsuka and tsuba)
-Nakago-ana (Hole in the tsuba and seppa through which the nakago passes)
-Hitsu-ana (Small holes on either side of the nakago-ana and seppa-dai through which kozuka and kogai pass)
-Seppa-dai (Surface of the tsuba on which the seppa rest)

Habaki (Blade collar. Protects the ha-machi, holds the blade firmly in the saya when sheathed, keeps te fittings from sliding up onto the blade. The true heart of the sword)

Toshin (Bare blade itself)
-Shinogi (Ridgeline. Found on all Japanese style blades except for hirazukuri)
-Shinogi-ji (Facet of the side of the blade found between the shinogi and the mune. Often burnished)
-Ji (Facet of the side of the blade found between the shinogi and the ha. Blade activity is most aparent here)
-Kissaki (Tip of the blade)
-Ko-shinogi (Small portion of the shinogi found in the kissaki area. The curve bringing the shinogi to the mune)
-Yokote (Line, either geometric or polished on, separating the kissaki from the rest of the blade in shinogizukuri blades)
-Ha (Cutting edge)
-Mune (Spine. Softer than the edge. Often burnished)
-Ha-machi/mune-machi (Notch where the edge/spine drop down to meet the nakago)
-Hamon (Hardened edge. Different crystal structure from the spine, created through the clay coat and quench heat treatment)
-Ji-hada (Pattern or grain in the steel brought out by forge fold and weld techniques. Many of styles)
-Nakago (Tang)
-Mei (Signature or makers mark. Not all blades have mei [mumei], some have fake mei [gimei])
-Yasuri-mei (File marks)
-Tameshi-mei (Record of cutting test. Few blades have them. A very interesting piece of history, as some are records of tests conducted on human bodies)
-Mekugi-ana (Hole through which the mekugi fits. Found on both nakago and tsuka. Tapered)

Kozuka (Small utility knife sometimes found in the side of the saya facing the body when the blade is worn. Kozuka can reffer to the unit as a whole or just the handle)
-Kogatana (The kozuka blade. Some were made in much the same way as the katana blade. Forge folded and welded, differentially hardened, and sometimes even signed)

Kogai (A tool of many speculated uses. Hair pin, ear pick, armor pick, spit, writing tool, marker for kills, etc.)
-Wari-kogai (Split kogai used as hashi [chopsticks])

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Katana
• nihonto
• parts
• koshirae
• shinogu
• kissaki
• hamon
• saya
• tsuka

[bbgun4081]

so your katana isn't a full tang since the tip isn't part of the blade

[Hyoujinsama]

@bbgun4081 Not full tang because the tip...isn't part of the blade? ...Huh? I have no idea what you're trying to say.

[Hyoujinsama]

Manta are not stingray. They are ray, but only one kind. There are a thousand other kinds of ray, many of which are stingray.

Manta (Manta birostris) are open water fish.

Stingray, more specifically Pitted Stingray (Dasyatis matsubarai), are what are used.

[mike5311971]

my swords are full tang full battle ready made from japan

[CH4P35]

Great job! Do you have any tamahagane katana's?

[UrbanMusashi13]

@cail8891 This is true, as I pointed out to Hyoujinsama, however, the fact nihounto are not technically full tang does not detract from a properly made katanas' performance level. :P

[UrbanMusashi13]

I looked to you a lot of times when I needed some answers concerning nihounto. This video is no exception pertaining to the accurate knowledge you possess on Japanese swords. Thank you for the lessons Hyoujinsama! :D

[UrbanMusashi13]

@Hyoujinsama Yeah, bbgun is retarded, however, I would like to add that true nihounto are not ever actually "full tang" because the blade tang does not extend completely through the handle as they do with medievel swords. However, this is not to say that nihounto tangs are any less secured or "at one" with the handle. :P

[1duspiores]

@odulev your mean:)

[andrewjflemming]

Do you know of any good sites that sell fully functional Katans

[warlord1121]

@SideSwipez77 none whatsoever, it is simply a filler, it makes the sword lighter so it's easier to swing

[odulev]

DRAGON BALL Z """""""""" YAJIROBE""""""""""""""" HAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahahahaa­hhahaahahahahahahahahahaahhaah­ah

[SideSwipez77]

so bo-hi has nothing to do with blocking?