Kata Kiri Ha Zukuri

[bBark]

Hi, lately I have been interested in sugata, mainly how tanto sugata evolved, but I came across kata kiri ha zukuri and it got me curious. I am mainly curious about what the practical reasons would be for a sword in such a form as opposed to shinogi zukuri or other more common forms. I get the impression that it wouldn't be as efficient as a weapon.

 

If anyone could help provide some insight into it I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Thank you,

 

Brendon

 

Also, I apologize if there is already a thread discussing this, I used the search and was not able to find anything.

[SAS]

I have the impression it was a way of trying to increase the strength of the blade without making it excessively heavier; found usually in earlier blades and later copies of them.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Brendon,

 

The classic tanto form that predominates is hira zukuri - shinogi zukuri tanto are normally the tips of broken katana or wakizashi that have been salvaged or copies made by someone who doesn't know better. 

 

Other tanto forms popped up from time to time, but whilst most of the time form follows function, the Japanese were as prone as other nations to being turned on by novelty and the desire to sell/ own something out of the ordinary or may simply experimented with the less usual blade forms. Some links here to articles on tanto blade forms, cutting efficiency and the durability of swords:

 

http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tanto.htm

 

http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/niku.htm

 

http://www.nihontocraft.com/Suishinshi_Masahide.html

 

There are other articles on these sites that you might find interesting if you have a hunt around. 

[bBark]

Thank you for all the information. The use of kata kiri ha zukuri to reduce weight makes sense but I would imagine that a bohi would work just as well. My personal suspicion was that it might have been seen as fashionable since it was something that came from the mainland China.

 

Thank for for the links too, the last article especially was an interesting and informative read. Nanbokucho tanto are the ones that I have the most difficulty with given how large they got. Where would one draw the line between tanto and wakizashi for the period? I would assume form and intended use would dictate that outside of modern conventions defining swords based on length.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Brendon,

 

The subject of the naming of blades is not as straightforward as "tanto, wakizashi, katana/tachi". Blades of different lengths had different names at various points in Japanese history. During the Kamakura period a "koshigatana" was worn - this is the forerunner of the tanto. Also, a blade called a "uchigatana" could be worn, these could be a little longer than the koshigatana and had koshirae with a tsuba and either were paired with a tachi. A longer version of the koshigatana could also be worn as a single weapon and was worn edge up and pushed through the sash as per the wakizashi. 

 

In the Nambokucho period, the tanto became a "sunnobi tanto" (a longer tanto) and was again paired with a tachi. In the Muromachi period there was a movement towards wearing two swords pushed through the sash and edge upwards as there was a move away from mounted archery in war and towards spearmen. In the Muromachi period the uchigatana surfaced again as a spearman's side arm. In the early 1500s there was a trend towards the use of katate uchi, a katana length blade used with a shorter tsuka (essentially still an uchigatana in terms of how it was worn) and with one hand. Later on this reverted to a sword for two-handed use worn edge upwards through the sash - the katana.

 

This might be paired with a short sword, but the use of the katana and wakizashi as a badge of office or status didn't really take off until the Edo period. The demarcations of blade lengths we have today are largely based on the Edo Bakufu's regulations.

 

Sorry, that's a bad precis of Markus Sesko's encyclopaedia of Japanese swords with a mixture of my own knowledge thrown in. It may not be 100% correct, so apologies for any errors, but it is quite a convoluted part of this subject.

[bBark]

The classification of swords based on the context of the time they were made/used is something that I am trying better to understand. When I look at the modern classifications everything seems quite straightforward and simple (possibly for the sake of shinsa) but as you mentioned, not everything falls perfectly into such a convenient and straightforward system.

 

Sunnobi tanto are interesting as an example because any with nagasa over 30.3 cm would be categorized as wakizashi within the current system but the intended use could be in line with a tanto given the context of the swords creation. I think that's what I find the most difficult with sugata and length: understanding the contemporary use/intent. How does one decide between sunnobi tanto or ko-wakizashi?