Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword (32 page)

In part because of the temper line, Japanese swords have a distinctly different look to the blade than do European swords. But the most striking difference is due to the polishing process. In fact I cannot think of any sword that has the same beautiful sheen as does the katana. European blades were polished using buffing wheels and polishing compounds. Finer and finer grits were used until the desired finish was achieved. Sometimes this could be mirror finish, sometimes right below that, and, not infrequently, a very dull finish. After all, mirror polished blades show scratches quite easily. Mirror polishing literally consists of smearing the surface of the steel in such a way as to reflect light evenly. The Japanese took a completely different approach. They used stones for their polishing. The small stones, attached to the end of the fingers, created a surface that was quite flat. They did not smear the surface of the steel, but rather cut and smoothed the granular structure of the metal. This provides a truly beautiful finish, and it brings out the grain structure, and allows one to see the temper line clearly. Another aspect of sword polishing this way is that it actually sharpened the blade. Due to the cutting angle of the blade, when you polished completely, you also sharpened it. Swords were used only in battle and in duels, they were never, never used as merely a cutting instrument. Despite movies and books to the contrary, the samurai did not engage in deadly duels on a daily basis. The sword point was always sharp, and so were the thrusting weapons, the spear and naginata.

A word of caution here. Not all sword makers were good, not all sword makers were honest. Just because a katana is old does not make it a mystical sword, or even a very good one. In this it can be like a European sword. It can be very expensive, not because of its worth as a sword, but because of its age and maybe the name of the man who made it.

Japanese swords are usually quite sharp, and some of them are extremely sharp. This is achieved by very careful polishing and an almost non-existent cutting bevel. Most swords will have a wedge shape until very close to the edge, and then they will narrow abruptly. This produces a sharp edge, and the abrupt cutting bevel gives it strength. On many swords the cutting bevel is removed, and the resulting edge can be as sharp as the proverbial razor. This is a really terrible weapon when used against flesh and bone, and even padded armor, but it does have some problems when going up against some armor. The samurai were aware of this, and many battle swords were given an "appleseed" edge. This type of edge is popular today, and it is also called a "channel" edge, a "Moran" edge, or a "rolled edge." In this kind of edge the two flat sides of the blade are curved gently to the edge. This provides a very sharp edge, but one that is quite strong. (It was also used in China.) From the drawings you can see that the rolled edge and the abrupt cutting bevel are almost identical. With modern mechanized equipment a rolled edge is easy to attain. But without the use of modern equipment a rolled edge is somewhat harder to achieve.

An abrupt edge (top) and an appleseed or rolled edge (bottom).

But how effective was the new appleseed edge on a katana or tachi against Japanese armor? Well, remember not all armor was uniform. One thing that must be kept in mind is that the richest warriors got the best armor. For all of you egalitarians, I'm sorry, but that simply is the way it was.

In general, Japanese armor was lighter and more flexible than European plate armor. It was usually of lamellar construction and, although single steel plate breastplates were known, they were rarely used. Leather lamellae were not infrequent in Japanese armor. Leather, properly hardened and lacquered, is a pretty tough substance. It can resist a sword blow fairly well; not as well as steel, but then it is lighter and not as expensive as steel. Mail was also used. Japanese mail can follow the normal international mail pattern, but it also has many variations, with some being connected and frequently using double rings of butted mail. As the old saying goes, "you makes your choice and you takes your chances!"

Lamellar armor construction.

A katana with a rolled edge could cut mail if the blow was solid and square on. One that strikes at an angle is likely to skate or slide off. It is unlikely that a katana could cut through a steel plate, but that also depends on the thickness of the plate itself.

There are a few paintings that show a helmet being split by a katana. While I will grant the possibility, I will also add that it is highly unlikely. I have only examined a few original Japanese helmets. As with most metal helmets across the world, one of the helmets I examined had quite thin plates, but I was unable to determine if the plates had been tempered hard. If not, it would be possible to cut through. There was one that had to be close to 1/8 inch in thickness, and there was no way that anyone was going to cut through that helmet. These were the two extremes that I have been able to actually pick up and look at. The remainder fall between these two. It might be possible to cut
into
the helmet, but not through the helmet.

Since the samurai did not carry a shield, he relied on the armor for protection. Since he did not carry a shield, he was able to use both hands on the sword, and also to train to hit specific points on the armor that were areas of weakness. These areas of weakness would vary with the style of armor, but a warrior would be able to see them immediately. This might consist of an area protected only by mail, or a gap between sections of armor.

Remember also that the katana, while primarily a cutting sword, still has a very effective point, a point that could penetrate mail and possibly even thin plate. Certainly I have done this, and have seen other demonstrations of the effectiveness of this rounded and/or angled point.

There are good indications that after the Mongol invasions, the Japanese made their swords slightly heavier. The Khan's army was known to be heavily armored, and such armor would be more resistant to sword blows. Whether admitted or not, the two invasion attempts were quite scary for the Japanese, and they made every effort to see that they would come out on top if it happened again.

Combat without armor is a different issue entirely.

"Kendo" is the Japanese version of fencing. Proper kendo requires the attacker to call the target: wrist, throat, etc. The calling of the target is to sharpen the reflexes, and to put you in mind that you are fighting an armored warrior. Cuts to the leg are not used, as they are considered invalid in the use of the katana, as mentioned earlier.

Whereas European fencing contains attacks, blocks, parries, counterattacks and deceptive moves, and some nice sneaky tricks as well as set-up moves, Japanese fencing has very few of these. They do have their blocks and parries and deceptive moves, but the essence of combat is lightning swift strikes and full commitment to the attack. When two trained and competent samurai fought, the duel was quite brief. Movie fights, which show cut and parry, cut and parry, and all sorts of fancy and acrobatic moves, are there to entertain and to forward the plot of the movie. The reality was a quick and bloody fight. Very quick, and quite, quite, bloody.

The Japanese were great ones for testing their swords, but the way they did it would not be politically correct in today's world. One of the favorite methods was testing it on the bodies of the dead. The head was removed, and various cuts were made on the body to ascertain the cutting ability of the sword. There are written instructions on how to position the body for the various cuts. There were special handles for the swords, and specialists who did the cutting. Curiously, they would not do this if the body was tattooed. I have no idea why, but I have a feeling that had I lived in those times I would have been quite heavily tattooed.

If that method of testing your sword strikes you as a little strange, you ain't heard nothing yet. Testing on live criminals was rather common. There are instructions and drawings as to how the criminal is to be held for which particular cut. In
The Sword and the Same
the author tells of the chapters in the Yamada School of Tameshigiri. How to catch a live man and cut him through, how to position the body for various cuts: all rather straightforward, if rather unpleasant. Simple beheadings were not done. No, there were diagonal cuts to the left and right, horizontal cuts across the chest and abdomen, and even one across the hips.

There is the story of the puppet master who entertained by day and stole by night. When he was caught he was condemned to death. When he saw the executioner approaching with a sword, he asked him if he was going to test the blade on him. When told that he was, he replied. "That is too cruel, to test a sword on a living man."

"Nevertheless, that is what is going to happen," the executioner responded.

The prisoner answered, "If I had known this, I would have swallowed some rocks and ruined your fine sword."

No further comment is mentioned.

Some of the samurai had a disconcerting habit of testing their swords on simple peasants who happened to be passing by at the wrong moment. Frankly, I think that this is a little much. But nevertheless, it happened, and it happened more than once. There is the tale of the martial arts master who noticed a samurai lying in wait. He suddenly turned several back flips. As the samurai stared in astonishment, the master thumbed his nose at the samurai, and went about his business. But it wasn't just peasants. Sometimes the samurai made a mistake. The story is told of the master sword polisher who was found dead one morning. He'd been cut down by a samurai who was testing his sword. It created quite a stir, and I'm sure that the samurai were lectured and told to be more careful.

Not all of the Japanese approved of these practices. Many Japanese were opposed to this, and protested quite vigorously. After all, this is not a type of behavior that will win hearts and minds and influence people.

For those of you who wish to pursue the study of Japanese warriors and weapons, I have listed some books below. For a broad overview of feudal Japan there is no better book than
Secrets of the Samurai.
Don't let the title fool you. This is a scholarly work filled with vital information. It also contains some of the finest line drawings I have seen. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Bottomley, I. & A.P. Hopson,
Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan
. Crescent Books, New York, 1988.

Hakuseki, Arai, translated by Henri L. Joly and Inado Hogitaro,
The Sword Book in Honcho Gunkiko and the Book of the Same Ko Hi Sei Gi
. Holland Press, London, 1913.

Joly, Henri L.,
Japanese Sword Fittings.
Holland Press, London, 1912.

Knutsen
,
Roald M.,
Japanese Polearms
. Holland Press, London, 1963.

Nagayama, Kokan, translated by Kenji Mishini,
The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords.
Kodansha International, Tokyo, 1997.