The nihonto, or Japanese sword, is an object that comprises over 1,000 years of samurai culture. This is sometimes said to be the essence of the interaction of the five Chinese elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. As a result of their transformations, a wonderful weapon is created, which has been crucial for survival in dangerous situations for centuries.

The first swords in Japan, called kara-tachi, were steel swords of the Chinese type. According to legend, around the 8th century, the blacksmith Amakuni from the Yamato province in Honshu created the classic shape of a single-edged, slightly curved sword, which is still in use today.

Over the centuries, fighting techniques have changed, so the sword has also changed. Originally attached to armor with the cutting edge downwards, a long (usually about 80 cm), slender tachi was replaced from the 14th century by a shorter (about 70 cm) katana, carried cutting edge upthrust the belt. The sword, thanks to the Japanese combat experiences, became more massive and wider. Its role as the last weapon of the samurai, after shooting arrows and shattering spears in numerous battles of the Sengoku Jidai (States at War) era, made it in the next epoch a symbol of power. In the Edo era (after 1603), a shorter (approx. 45 cm) wakizashi sword was added to the katana. This pair of weapons worn in public became a kind of symbol of belonging to the samurai class. Over time, the length of swords worn by members of the warrior class was limited (in 1638) and, in addition to being a symbol of power, they became an element of richly decorated men’s “jewelry” (late Edo period) – a demonstration of social position and wealth. The Haito-rei Edict of 1876 prohibited Japanese people, except the army and police, from wearing swords in public during the Meiji era. Back then, many sword heads were hidden in staffs (shikomizue) and used only that way.

 

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Classical Japanese fencing is divided into sports (kendo), meditative (iaijutsu) and military (battodo). The sword also returned to the warfields of the 20th century as a gunto – the regulation weapon of commanders.

After Japan’s defeat, the Americans occupying the islands confiscated several million swords and banned their production. Only in the mid-1950s, thanks to the tradition of swordmaker families, the art of nihonto forging was recreated. Today, the Japanese sword is not only a weapon with all its functional features, but also a work of art of subtle beauty, one of the symbols of Japan.

The exhibition of antique Japanese weapons from the collection of General S. Petelicki and the collection of members of the Japanese Sword Society of Poland presents 17 swords and 9 tsubas – decorative cross-guards. Despite the small size of the exhibition, the sword specimens represent the full history of the Japanese art of sword forging. They are presented in chronological order, according to the eras they come from.