{"id":1569,"date":"2010-07-22T12:55:50","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T03:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-07-22\/1569"},"modified":"2010-07-22T12:55:50","modified_gmt":"2010-07-22T03:55:50","slug":"a-few-japanese-swords-of-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-07-22\/1569","title":{"rendered":"A Few Japanese Swords of Note"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 3200 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nPriceless<\/span>\nJapanese sword dating from 600+ years ago\n<\/div>\n\n

A friend of mine collects Japanese swords. He doesn't have very many...\nfive or six.. but makes up for lack of quantity with quality: each one\nis priceless (where “priceless” means “has a price,<\/span> but it's much, much, much more than I<\/i> could afford”). One is a<\/span> designated “<\/span>Japanese National Treasure<\/i>”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

I don't know much about Japanese swords, or swords of any type, and I'm\nnot real keen on the whole concept of tools designed for killing, but I\nremember<\/span> being impressed by a paragraph<\/span> I read<\/span> long ago in, I think,<\/span> a\nLonely<\/span> Planet guide, describing the painstaking method of construction of\npounding two pieces of different iron together, drawing out and doubling\nthe result over on itself to make four layers, then pounding them together\nback into one. This is repeated again, yielding an eight-layer\nconstruction. Again yields 16, then 32 layers. After 10<\/span> cycles there are\nover 2,000 layers, and from this somehow comes the strength.<\/p>\n\n

A skilled craftsman might be able to make two a year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Unlike what you might see in movies, these early-period Japanese swords\nare fairly plain, dispensing with flash and drawing their appeal from raw,\ntimeless craftsmanship.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1600 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nSimple Wooden Hilt<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

My ignorance of the subject is readily apparent in how little I remember<\/span>\nof what he described. He provided<\/span> animated descriptions of each sword's\nhistory, but it was all I could<\/span> do to keep up with the basic terms (e.g.\nfor hilt, blade, blade\nlock<\/a>, blade\nguard<\/a>, blade backbone\ndesign<\/a>, etc.... there's a huge<\/span> list here<\/a> that I would<\/span>\nhave done well to study before my visit).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 450 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nSmall Details<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Most of his swords have simple wooden handles and scabbards dating much\nmore recently than the blades themselves, maybe from only 150-250 years\nago, to when experts of the time authenticated each blade's provenance.\nRather than issue certificates, the expert providing the authentication\nwould sign his name and other information to the blade, on the unpolished\npart hidden by the handle when the handle is attached.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nAuthentication<\/span>\nitself dating back hundreds of years\n<\/div>\n\n

The engraving above is the name of the blade's maker,\nRaikunimitsu<\/i> (\u6765\u56fd\u5149),<\/span> who lived in the 1300s. (The name of the\nperson authenticating the blade in the 1600s-1800s, is engraved on the\nother side, I think.<\/span>). My friend<\/span> had lots of books about the swords he had,\nand I took<\/span> pictures of some of the names to try to help me keep them\nstraight...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 640 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\n\u6765\u56fd\u5149<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The blade is held on to the handle by a single<\/span> wooden (or bamboo) pin...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 6400 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nConnected<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The golden piece between the handle and the blade, called a habaki<\/a>, is itself a\nwork<\/span> of art, and locks the sword into the scabbard when the blade is\nsheathed. One is the<\/span> subject of the Golden “What am\nI?” Quiz<\/a> from the other day, which many people got right. I would<\/span> have\nnever had a clue<\/span> until recently.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nAbout to Dismantle<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 5600 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nBusiness End<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

For the most part I was trying to concentrate on taking interesting\npictures, using my Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5<\/a>\nlens for its close-up abilities, and found it rather difficult because it takes\na full<\/span> turn of the lens barrel to change the focus just a few<\/span> inches, and\nthings were constantly in motion. The light<\/span> was horrible (it was absolutely\npouring rain outside, but I wanted<\/span> to stick to natural light) and I hadn't<\/span>\nbrought a tripod,<\/span> so it was challenging. But fun.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nNational Treasure<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I think this one was made in 1332, and is a designated<\/span> “<\/span>National Treasure of Japan”<\/span>. I wish I<\/span> had kept notes.<\/p>\n\n

Instead, I tried<\/span> to take interesting photographs, but failed miserably,\nmostly. I had higher<\/span> hopes for an on-edge shot, but while it didn't come\nout as I had<\/span> hoped, it's still sort of interesting in its simplicity.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2200 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nCutting Edge<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The blade is facing straight up over the blue felt, while the camera\nlooks straight down. I tried<\/span> to get the very edge of the blade in focus,\nbut again, working with both the camera and the blade held by hand, it\nproved to be too challenging.<\/p>\n\n

Still, the result has some interesting character, and each attempt has\nits own feel as the overall mood changes with the focus distance, where we\nheld the blade, and the dynamically-changing light from the thunderstormy\noutside.<\/p>\n\n

The version that had the best (relatively speaking) edge focus was\nfeatured in the previous post's Just Arrived After\na Long<\/span> Flight “What am I?” Quiz<\/a>. I'd showed<\/span> my mom upon arriving from a\nflight<\/span> from Japan, and her first impression from across the room was that\nit was a shot<\/span> out the window of the airplane. So, I decided<\/span> to post it with\na title<\/span> designed to mislead. Didn't trick many.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 3200 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nHilt, Habaki, and Blade<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 280 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nWriteup About This Sword<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 2800 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nFeels Front Heavy<\/span>\nmuch like the camera I'm holding in the other hand\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nThe “Hamon<\/a>” Pattern<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 6400 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nSigned<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I think this is the name of the maker, as added by an authenticator,\nsome time in the mid 1800s. Like I said,<\/span> I wish I<\/span> had kept notes.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nWhere the Polish Ends<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2000 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nSword Banzuke<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

A banzuke<\/a> is the\nranking chart of sumo wrestlers prepared before each tournament, and\noccasionally I've seen the phrase borrowed for other kinds of rank\nlistings. I guess<\/span> such borrowing is not a recent<\/span> phenomena because one of\nhis books shows a list<\/span> from 1778, banzuke style, of important swords. One of his<\/span> is listed in the upper left.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2500 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

He had one sword that was very different from the others, that I'll\nwrite about another day.<\/p>\n\n

All and all, I'm left with<\/span> the feeling that I squandered<\/span> a great<\/span>\nopportunity. I was already<\/span> lamenting my poor preparation while I was<\/span> there,\nso we agreed that I'd bring a tripod<\/span> the next time I visit,<\/span> but I also<\/span>\nreally need to bring a notebook.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend of mine collects Japanese swords. He doesn't have very many... five or six.. but makes up for lack of quantity with quality: each one is priceless (where \"priceless\" means \"has a price, but it's much, much, much more than I could afford\"). One is a designated \"Japanese National Treasure\".<\/p>

I don't know much about Japanese swords, or swords of any type, and I'm not real keen on the whole concept of tools designed for killing, but I remember being impressed by a paragraph I read long ago in, I think, a Lonely Planet guide, describing the painstaking method [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}