Glossary of the Japanese sword

More than 620 terms, arranged in nineteen categories that follow the order of the guide (history, blade types, shape, measurements, forging, grain, the hamon and its activity, bōshi, tang, carvings, flaws, polishing and care, mounting, fittings, kantei, papers, ranks and periods), and alphabetically within each one. This is the vocabulary used to describe blades and to write Japanese certificates: with it you can read a full description and see what it claims and what it leaves out. Long vowels carry a macron, as in jūyō or tokubetsu; where a term has two spellings or a synonym, the kanji column gives first the form this guide uses.

History and the samurai

Term	Kanji	Definition
ashigaru	足軽	Foot soldier, the lowest rung of the warrior class.
bakufu	幕府	The shōgun’s government.
buke	武家	The warrior houses, as opposed to the court nobility.
bushi	武士	Warrior; today used as a synonym of samurai.
bushidō	武士道	"Way of the warrior": an ethical ideal first written down in the early 17th century and idealised in the Meiji era.
chitsuroku shobun	秩禄処分	The abolition of the samurai’s hereditary stipends, in 1876.
chōheirei	徴兵令	The conscription law of 1873, which ended the samurai’s monopoly on warfare.
daimyō	大名	A feudal lord with a domain of 10,000 koku of rice or more.
denchū-zashi	殿中差	A short protocol blade worn with court dress (hitatare) at Edo-period ceremonies.
Emishi	蝦夷	Peoples of northern Honshū who resisted the court in ancient times.
goban kaji	御番鍛冶	Smiths who, according to tradition, served the retired emperor Go-Toba in monthly shifts.
gokenin	御家人	A retainer of the shōgun; in the Edo period, a direct one without the right of audience.
gōshi	郷士	A rural warrior, with surname and sword, who lived in the countryside rather than the castle town.
gunchūjō	軍忠状	A report of war merits submitted by a warrior to claim a reward.
gyobutsu	御物	An object owned by the Imperial Household, outside the national-treasure system.
haitōrei	廃刀令	The 1876 edict banning the public wearing of swords; it marks the start of the gendaitō period.
hatamoto	旗本	In the Edo period, a direct retainer of the shōgun entitled to an audience.
heinō bunri	兵農分離	The separation of warriors and farmers into two distinct classes, in the late 16th century.
kachi	徒士	A low-ranking foot warrior.
katanagari	刀狩	"Sword hunt": the disarming of the peasantry ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1588.
kiku gosaku	菊御作	Blades attributed to Go-Toba himself, marked with a chrysanthemum on the tang.
kirisute gomen	切捨御免	A late term for a samurai’s heavily restricted right to kill a commoner for an affront.
Kokaji	小鍛冶	A nō play in which Munechika forges a sword with the help of a divine fox.
Kōyō gunkan	甲陽軍鑑	A military chronicle of the Takeda house, from around 1616, one of the first texts to use the word bushidō.
kubitori	首取り	Taking the enemy’s head as proof of merit in battle.
kuge	公家	The court nobility of Kyoto.
Kyōhō meibutsuchō	享保名物帳	A catalogue of famous swords compiled by the Hon'ami around 1719 at the request of the shōgun Yoshimune.
kyūba no michi	弓馬の道	"Way of bow and horse": the old warrior ideal, from before the sword became the main weapon.
mamorigatana	守り刀	A personal protective sword, kept more as an amulet than as a weapon.
Masamune jittetsu	正宗十哲	Masamune’s "ten disciples", a late list grouping smiths who were not all his pupils; also transcribed juttetsu.
Masamune massatsuron	正宗抹殺論	An 1896 thesis denying that Masamune had been the great smith of tradition.
meibutsu	名物	A famous sword with its own name; strictly, those listed in the Kyōhō meibutsuchō.
myōji taitō	苗字帯刀	The right to bear a surname and a sword, a privilege of the warrior class also granted to some distinguished commoners.
nue	鵺	The chimera in the legend of Minamoto no Yorimasa, who shot it down with his bow.
otoshi-zashi	落とし差し	Wearing the katana in the obi at a steep angle, with the scabbard tip pointing down.
rōnin	浪人	A masterless samurai.
saburau	侍ふ・候ふ	An old verb, "to serve, to attend", from which the word samurai derives.
samurai	侍	"One who serves": a warrior; in the Edo period, one of high rank within the warrior class.
settō	節刀	A sword the emperor handed to a general as a token of his commission.
shinōkōshō	士農工商	The four estates of Edo society: warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants.
shishi	志士	Political activists of the Bakumatsu, supporters of the emperor against the shogunate.
shizoku	士族	The legal status of former samurai between 1869 and 1947.
shōgun	将軍・征夷大将軍	Supreme military ruler, governing in the emperor’s name; the full title is sei-i taishōgun.
Shuten Dōji	酒呑童子	The ogre of Mount Ōe whom, according to legend, Minamoto no Yorimitsu killed with the Dōjigiri.
sotsuzoku	卒族	The legal status of former common soldiers, from 1869 to 1872.
tenka goken	天下五剣	The "five swords under heaven": Dōjigiri, Onimaru, Mikazuki, Ōdenta and Juzumaru.
tenka sansaku	天下三作	The "three great" smiths: Masamune, Awataguchi Yoshimitsu and Gō Yoshihiro.
teoi chūmon	手負注文	A list of the wounded that accompanied those reports; it is the basis of studies on which weapons caused wounds in battle.
teuchi	手討	The period term for that same right to kill for an affront.
uchimono	打物	"Thing for striking": the hand-held blade, such as the tachi, as opposed to the bow.
uchimono kihei	打物騎兵	A mounted warrior who fights with a blade rather than a bow.
yōtō	妖刀	"Cursed sword": the ill-omened reputation attached to Muramasa’s work.

Blade types

Term	Kanji	Definition
chokutō	直刀	A straight, single-edged sword from before curvature appeared; typical of the Kofun and Nara periods.
daishō	大小	A matched pair of long and short swords in en-suite mountings, worn by Edo-period samurai.
hyōjō no tachi / gijō no tachi	兵仗太刀・儀仗太刀	The battle tachi, as opposed to the ceremonial court tachi.
kaiken	懐剣	A dagger carried inside the clothing; in the Edo period, above all that of women of samurai families.
katana	刀	A curved blade of 60.6 cm nagasa or more, worn through the sash edge upwards.
katate-uchi	片手打ち	A short katana of the late Muromachi period, made to be wielded with one hand.
ken / tsurugi	剣	A straight, double-edged blade, of ritual origin and linked to esoteric Buddhism.
kenukigata tachi	毛抜形太刀	A tachi with blade and hilt in a single piece and a tweezer-shaped opening in the hilt; 10th century.
kinnōtō	勤王刀・勤皇刀	A long, almost straight blade carried by the shishi of the Bakumatsu.
kodachi	小太刀	A short blade with the shape and mounting of a tachi.
koshigatana	腰刀	A guardless dagger worn at the belt by a warrior carrying a tachi.
nagamaki-naoshi	長巻直し	A nagamaki shortened and converted into a sword.
naginata	薙刀	A polearm with a long curved blade, used by foot soldiers and warrior monks (sōhei).
naginata-naoshi	薙刀直し	A naginata blade converted into sword format, by shortening the shaft and reworking the tang.
ōdachi / nodachi	大太刀・野太刀	An unusually long tachi, uncommon and hard to carry; worn over the shoulder or carried by hand.
sasuga	刺刀	The foot warrior’s dagger; one of the possible origins of the uchigatana.
sunnobi-tantō	寸延短刀	A tantō somewhat longer than usual, just over one shaku (about 30 cm).
tachi	太刀	A long sword slung edge-downwards from the belt, characteristic of the kotō period.
tantō	短刀	A blade under 30.3 cm nagasa.
uchigatana	打刀	A long sword worn thrust through the obi with the edge upwards; from the Muromachi period it displaces the tachi, and it is what we now call a katana.
wakizashi	脇差	A blade between 30.3 and 60.6 cm nagasa, the short sword of the daishō.
warabitetō	蕨手刀	A sword whose hilt ends in a scroll like a fern shoot, associated with the Emishi of the north.
yari	槍	A Japanese spear with a straight blade, in single-point or branched forms.

Sugata: shape and curvature

Term	Kanji	Definition
chū-kissaki	中切先	A medium-length point, the most common across every period.
Enbun-Jōji-sugata	延文・貞治姿	The oversized shape of the mid-Nanbokuchō: very long, wide blades, thin in section and with a large point.
fukura	ふくら・脹	The curve of the edge within the kissaki.
fukura tsuku / fukura kareru	ふくら付く・ふくら枯れる	A full, rounded fukura / a scant, almost straight fukura.
funbari	踏ん張り	The widening of the blade in the first few centimetres above the machi, narrowing sharply above it; it survives only on an unshortened (ubu) blade.
fusegokoro / utsumuku	伏せごころ・俯く	The upper part of the blade "bows" forward and loses its curvature near the point.
hira-sankaku	平三角	A flattened-triangle cross-section found on some yari blades: one flat face and the other with a ridge. It is that of the hira-sankaku-zukuri.
hira-sankaku-zukuri	平三角造	A flattened triangular cross-section, found on some yari blades.
hira-zukuri	平造	A flat cross-section, with neither shinogi nor yokote; common on tantō, very rare on long blades.
ikubi-kissaki	猪首切先	A short, wide point, "boar’s neck"; from the mid-Kamakura period, on the sturdy blades of the Ichimonji, Osafune Mitsutada or Niji Kunitoshi.
kamasu-kissaki	魳切先	A point with almost no fukura, straight like a barracuda’s head; typical of very early kotō, though a restoration can also leave it this way.
kanmuri-otoshi-zukuri	冠落造	A cross-section with the shinogi-ji thinned near the point, as if a layer had been shaved off.
katakiriha-zukuri	片切刃造	A cross-section with one flat face, like that of the hira-zukuri, and the other of the kiriha-zukuri kind.
kiriha-zukuri	切刃造	A cross-section with the shinogi very close to the edge: a short bevel and a very wide shinogi-ji.
kissaki	切先	The point of the blade, from the yokote to the tip.
kissaki-moroha-zukuri	鋒両刃造・鋒諸刃造	A blade double-edged in its upper half and single-edged below, like the Kogarasumaru; also written with the second spelling.
kogarasu-zukuri	小烏造・小烏丸造	Another name for kissaki-moroha-zukuri, after the sword Kogarasumaru.
ko-kissaki	小切先	A small point, typical of early blades; the compact point of Kanbun-shintō tends towards it.
koshizori	腰反り	Curvature centred near the tsuka, the commonest form on kotō-period tachi.
kyōzori	京反り	Another name for toriizori, associated with Kyoto.
mitsukado / mitsugashira	三つ角・三つ頭	The point where the yokote, the shinogi and the ko-shinogi meet.
moroha-zukuri	諸刃造	A blade double-edged along its whole length, like the ken.
muzori	無反り	A blade with no curvature.
ō-kissaki	大切先	A long point, characteristic of late Kamakura and Nanbokuchō, and revived in the shinshintō period.
osoraku-zukuri	恐らく造	A blade with an outsized kissaki; mostly on tantō and ko-wakizashi.
ryō-shinogi	両鎬	A diamond cross-section found on some yari blades, with a ridge on both faces and an edge on both sides.
sakizori	先反り	Curvature that deepens towards the point; typical of the Muromachi-period uchigatana.
shinogi-zukuri	鎬造	A cross-section with a defined shinogi, the commonest on tachi and katana since the kotō period.
shōbu-zukuri	菖蒲造	A cross-section without a yokote, the shinogi running to the point as on an iris leaf.
sori	反り	Curvature: the greatest distance between the back and the chord joining machi and point.
sugata	姿	The overall shape and silhouette of the blade; the first thing read in any kantei.
taihai	体配	A synonym of sugata in Japanese texts.
takenokozori	筍反り	Uchizori with very little fukura, recalling a bamboo shoot; associated with Norishige.
toriizori	鳥居反り・中反り	Curvature with its deepest point at mid-blade, like the crossbeam of a torii; also nakazori. Typical of mid and late Kamakura, the Nanbokuchō and much of the shintō period.
ubu-ha	生ぶ刃	The stretch of edge next to the machi that is left unsharpened.
uchizori	内反り	Curvature towards the edge rather than the back; typical of Kamakura-period tantō, though it can also result from the wear of many polishes.
unokubi-zukuri	鵜首造	A cross-section narrowed at the back just before the point, like a cormorant's neck.
wazori	輪反り	Another name for toriizori, for its even, arc-like curve.

Blade measurements

Term	Kanji	Definition
ha	刃	The hardened cutting edge, opposite the mune.
hamaguri-ba	蛤刃	An edge with full niku right to the cutting line, rounded "like a clam": it holds up better than a wedge-ground edge.
ha-niku	刃肉	The niku of the edge area.
hira-niku	平肉	The niku of the faces (hira).
ji	地	The surface of the blade between the shinogi and the hamon, where the steel is read.
jōsun	常寸	The standard length for a type of blade; for a tantō, about 25–26 cm.
kaku-mune	角棟	A flat back with no ridge; found on some early blades.
kasane	重ね	Thickness of the blade measured across the mune; quoted at the machi and the yokote.
machi	区	The notches on edge and back that divide the blade from the tang.
mihaba	身幅	Width of the blade, from edge to back; measured at the machi and the yokote.
monouchi	物打	The cutting stretch just below the yokote; where flaws show up first.
motohaba	元幅	Width of the blade at the machi; set against the sakihaba, it shows how much the blade narrows towards the point.
motokasane	元重ね	Thickness of the blade at the machi, measured at the mune.
mune	棟	The back of the blade; its commonest shapes are iori, mitsu and maru.
nagasa	長さ	Blade length in a straight line from the mune-machi to the tip.
niku	肉	"Flesh": the convexity of the blade’s faces towards the edge.
niku-oki	肉置	How the niku is distributed across the blade.
oroshi	卸	The sloping faces of the iori-mune on either side of its ridge.
sakihaba	先幅	The width of the blade at the yokote.
sakikasane	先重ね	Thickness of the blade at the yokote, measured at the mune.
shinogi	鎬	The longitudinal ridge dividing the blade; it runs nearer the back than the edge.
shinogi-ji	鎬地	The flat between the shinogi and the mune, where grooves are cut.
yokote	横手	The transverse line, square to the shinogi, separating the kissaki from the rest of the blade.

Forging and construction

Term	Kanji	Definition
age-gitae	上鍛え	The final stage of folding, which yields the finished steel for the skin or the edge.
aitori	合い取り	A gentle tempering after the quench, which relieves stresses.
gyaku-kōbuse	逆甲伏せ	Soft steel wrapped around a hard edge: kōbuse the other way round.
hagane	刃鉄・刃金	Edge steel, high in carbon.
hizukuri	火造り	Hammering the bar into the shape of the blade.
honsanmai	本三枚	A hard edge, a soft core and two sides of skin steel.
hōchōtetsu	包丁鉄	Soft tatara iron, low in carbon; used for cores.
ichimonji-gitae	一文字鍛え	Folding the block always in the same direction.
jūgo-mai kōbuse	十五枚甲伏	A fifteen-layer kōbuse attributed to Ōmura Kaboku.
jūmonji-gitae	十文字鍛え	Folding the block in alternating directions, lengthwise and crosswise.
kageuchi	影打	The other blades of that commission, which remain as "shadows" of the chosen one.
kawagane	皮鉄	The harder surface steel that wraps the blade's soft core in traditional forging.
kera	鉧	The mass of uneven steel taken from the tatara at the end of a smelt; the tamahagane is separated from it.
kera-oshi	鉧押し	The tatara method designed to yield steel directly rather than cast iron.
kōbuse	甲伏せ	A skin of hard steel folded into a U around a soft core; also read kobuse.
kowari	小割り	Breaking the plates into small pieces and sorting them.
makuri	捲り	A skin wrapped around the core and closed along the back.
mejiro	目白	First-grade tamahagane in small pieces, under 2 cm.
mizuheshi	水へし・水減し	Hammering red-hot tamahagane flat and quenching it in water so it can be broken and sorted by carbon content.
muku / maru-gitae	無垢・丸鍛え	A blade of a single steel, with no separate core; it has been documented in fine early blades.
munegane	棟鉄・棟金	Back steel.
murage	村下	The master who runs the tatara and decides every step of the smelt.
Nittōho tatara	日刀保たたら	The tatara the NBTHK has run in Okuizumo since 1977 to supply smiths with steel.
orikaeshi-tanren	折り返し鍛錬	The repeated folding and re-welding of the block, which evens out the carbon and drives out impurities.
oroshigane	卸し鉄・卸鉄	Steel the smith prepares in his own forge, adjusting the carbon of old iron or low-grade tamahagane.
sanmai	三枚	"Three layers": a hard steel in the centre between two softer sides.
satetsu	砂鉄	Iron sand, the raw material of the tatara.
sentei hozon gijutsu	選定保存技術	A Selected Conservation Technique designated by the Japanese state; tamahagane making has been one since 1977.
shihōzume	四方詰め	Honsanmai with a separate steel on the back as well.
shingane	心鉄・芯鉄	The soft steel core left wrapped inside the forged blade.
shin’uchi	真打	The best of several blades forged for the same commission, the one delivered: even when forged alike, the quench never turns out the same twice.
shita-gitae	下鍛え	The first stage of folding, on the base block of steel.
sunobe	素延べ	Drawing out the bar by hammer to the length of the blade; also, a blade made without folding.
tamahagane	玉鋼	The finest grade of tatara steel; the name dates from the Meiji era. Today it is supplied only to licensed smiths.
tatara	たたら・鑪・蹈鞴	A low clay furnace in which iron sand is smelted with charcoal to produce steel.
teko	てこ・梃子	A steel paddle with a handle on which the steel is stacked and worked.
tsuchioki	土置き	Applying the tempering clay: thin over the edge and thicker over the rest of the blade.
tsukurikomi	造込み	The blade’s internal structure: how steels of different hardness are combined in it.
tsumiwakashi	積み沸かし	Stacking the chosen pieces on the teko and welding them into a single block.
wari-hagane	割刃金	A hard edge set into a slit cut in the body of the blade.
yaki-ire	焼き入れ	The quench: heating the blade and cooling it suddenly in water; this creates the hamon and gives the blade part of its curvature.
yokoza / sakite	横座・先手	The master who guides with the small hammer / the assistant who strikes with the large one.
zuku	銑	Cast iron: iron with more carbon than steel (over 1.7 %), also produced by the tatara.

Hada: the grain of the steel

Term	Kanji	Definition
ayasugi-hada	綾杉肌	A wavy grain in parallel bands, the visual signature of the Gassan school.
chikei	地景	Dark, gleaming lines that appear in the ji of finely worked steel.
itame-hada	板目肌	Steel grain in irregular figures like sawn board; the commonest pattern.
jifu	地斑	Dark, irregular patches that appear in the ji of some Bizen steel.
jihada	地肌	The pattern of the folded steel visible in the ji after polishing.
kitae	鍛え	The process of forging and repeated folding of the steel that builds the blade.
konuka-hada	小糠肌	An extremely fine, near-uniform grain, "like rice bran"; typical of the Hizen school, which imitated Awataguchi's nashiji-hada.
masame-hada	柾目肌	A grain of straight lines parallel to the edge, uncommon on long blades.
matsukawa-hada	松皮肌	A large, strongly marked grain, like pine bark, with abundant chikei; that of Norishige. Also read shōhi-hada.
mokume-hada	杢目肌	Steel grain in knots and circles, like burl grain in wood.
muji-hada	無地肌	A grain almost invisible to the naked eye after polishing, very fine and even.
namazu-hada / sumigane	鯰肌・澄鉄	Patches of dark, clear steel with no visible grain, on Aoe blades.
nashiji-hada	梨子地肌	A very fine, dense ko-itame covered in ji-nie, like the grainy skin of a pear; the characteristic steel of Awataguchi.
Rai-hada	来肌	Patches of looser steel, unlike the rest, found on blades of the Rai school; accepted as a school trait.

Hamon: the tempered edge line

Term	Kanji	Definition
ara-nie	荒沸	Coarse nie, visible to the naked eye without a loupe.
chōji	丁子	A hamon shaped like clove buds, scalloped; typical of Ko-Bizen and Ichimonji work.
chū-suguha	中直刃	A suguha of medium width.
Fujimi-Saigyō	富士見西行	"Saigyō gazing at Fuji": a lone peak like Mount Fuji beside a smaller double one; of the Mishina and Kunisuke.
fukuro-chōji	袋丁子	Swollen, "bag-shaped" chōji; of Ichimonji and Mitsutada.
gunome	互の目	A hamon of similarly sized semicircles, one after another.
gunome-midare	互の目乱れ	Irregular gunome, with semicircles of varying size and rhythm.
habuchi	刃縁	The boundary between the hardened zone and the ji, seen as a line.
hamon	刃文	The visible border between the hardened edge steel and the body of the blade.
hiro-suguha	広直刃	A wide suguha.
hitatsura	皆焼	A temper covering almost the whole blade, including the ji; found in late Sōshū work (Hiromitsu, Akihiro).
hoso-suguha	細直刃	A narrow suguha.
ito-suguha	糸直刃	An extremely narrow suguha, like a thread.
jūka-chōji	重花丁子	Chōji in overlapping clusters, like double flowers; found in Fukuoka Ichimonji work.
juzuba	数珠刃	Round, even gunome, like the beads of a rosary; of Kotetsu and his circle.
kataochi-gunome	片落ち互の目	Asymmetric gunome, with one side of each semicircle steeper than the other.
kawazu-no-ko chōji	蛙子丁子	Chōji with a round head and a long neck, "tadpole"; of Mitsutada and the Kamakura Ichimonji.
ko-chōji	小丁子	Chōji of small size and tight rhythm.
ko-gunome / ō-gunome	小互の目・大互の目	Gunome with small / large elements.
ko-midare	小乱れ	A small, low midare, among the oldest; that of Ko-Bizen and the late Heian period.
ko-nie	小沸	Fine, dense nie, visible only up close.
konotegashiwa	児手柏	A blade with a different hamon on each face, like the two sides of an oriental arborvitae leaf.
koshiba	腰刃	One or a few very tall elements at the start of the hamon. It appears on Kamakura blades such as the Onimaru and those of the Fukuoka Ichimonji; according to workshop tradition, on them it is a natural effect of the steel, which the Seki smiths later imitated with clay.
Kyō-yakidashi	京焼出し	A start in suguha that changes abruptly into the main hamon, in the Kyoto manner.
midareba	乱刃	Any irregular hamon, as opposed to suguha.
Mino-yakidashi	美濃焼出し	A start with a koshiba, a tall element at the beginning of the hamon.
nie	沸	Crystals visible one by one, like stars, in the hamon or the ji.
nie-deki	沸出来	A temper dominated by nie particles.
nioi	匂	A mist of extremely fine martensite particles, seen as a continuous haze.
nioi-deki	匂出来	A temper dominated by the nioi mist.
nioiguchi	匂口	The transition from hamon to blade body; crisp or misty depending on the school.
notare	湾れ	A hamon of broad, gentle waves without sharp peaks.
ō-chōji	大丁子	Chōji of large size, with broad, very visible scallops.
Ōsaka-yakidashi	大坂焼出し	A straight or gently undulating start that widens gradually into the main hamon.
saka-chōji	逆丁子	Chōji slanting towards the point; of Katayama Ichimonji and Aoe.
sanbonsugi	三本杉	Pointed gunome in groups of three, "three cedars"; the hallmark of the Kanemoto line of Seki. The more regular it is, the later the generation.
sudareba	簾刃	A hamon with parallel strokes recalling a bamboo blind; created by Yoshimichi of the Mishina school.
suguha	直刃	A straight hamon with no appreciable undulation; it demands very even hardening.
suguha-hotsure	直刃ほつれ	A suguha with its border frayed by nie.
togari-gunome	尖り互の目	Gunome with sharp peaks; a Sue-Seki trait.
tōran-ba	濤瀾刃	A hamon of large chained waves; found in Osaka shintō work, the Sukehiro school.
uma-no-ha midare	馬の歯乱れ	Large, regular gunome, "horse’s teeth"; of the Sōshū tradition.
yahazu-midare	矢筈乱れ	A hamon with notches shaped like an arrow's nock, repeated along the edge.
yakiba	焼刃	The hardened zone of the blade, between the edge and the hamon.
yakidashi	焼出し	The start of the temper above the machi.
yaki-otoshi	焼き落とし	The temper starts not at the machi but somewhat above it; common on very old and on retempered blades, and a school trait of Bungo Yukihira.

Hataraki and utsuri: activity in the temper

Term	Kanji	Definition
antai	暗帯	The dark band separating the hamon from the utsuri.
ashi	足	A fine hardening line crossing the hamon towards the edge, like a foot.
bō-utsuri	棒映り	A straight band of utsuri, parallel to the edge; of late Kamakura Osafune and Ōei-Bizen.
dan-utsuri	段映り	Several utsuri stacked in bands; of Aoe.
ginsuji	銀筋	Like kinsuji, but with a duller shine; the line between the two is subjective.
hakikake	掃掛け	Short, fine strokes of nie, as if from a broom, running from the habuchi into the ji.
hataraki	働き	"Activity": the secondary effects of nie and nioi within the hamon, along its border and in the ji.
hotsure	解れ	A habuchi frayed by nie; common in Yamato work.
imozuru	芋蔓	"Sweet-potato vine": a thick, murky inazuma; typical of Satsuma blades.
inazuma	稲妻	A zigzag line of nie inside the hamon, like a bolt of lightning.
jifu-utsuri	地斑映り	Utsuri in patches; of Ko-Bizen and Aoe, rare after the Nanbokuchō.
kazunoko-nie	数の子沸	Clusters of coarse nie, like herring roe; typical of Satsuma.
kinsuji	金筋	A narrow bright line of nie inside the hamon, like a thread of gold.
kuichigaiba	喰違刃	The habuchi breaks and continues in parallel, offset; common in Yamato work.
midare-utsuri	乱れ映り	An undulating, irregular utsuri, which may appear over a suguha; of Kamakura-period Bizen.
mizukage	水影	A shadow like utsuri rising diagonally from the start of the temper near the machi. It is taken as a sign of retempering, but it also appears on original blades and does not prove it on its own.
muneyaki	棟焼	Hardening along the back of the blade.
nie-utsuri	沸映り	Utsuri made of ji-nie, in clouds; of the Rai school and nie-deki blades.
nijūba	二重刃	A second habuchi running parallel to the first.
saka-ashi	逆足	An ashi slanting towards the point.
shirake-utsuri	白け映り	A whitish, diffuse utsuri with no defined shape; of Mino and provincial Muromachi schools.
sunagashi	砂流し	Long streaks inside the hamon, like sand swept by a broom.
tama	玉	A detached ball of hardening in the ji; in tōran-ba it represents the spray of the waves.
tobiyaki	飛焼	An isolated patch of hardening in the ji, outside the hamon line.
uchinoke	打ちのけ	A small arc of nie over the hamon, detached from it like a crescent moon.
utsuri	映り	A whitish, misty reflection in the ji between the hamon and the shinogi, separated from the hamon by a dark band. It is an effect of the quench, not of polishing, and its exact structure is still being studied.
yō	葉	A small, detached stroke of nioi inside the hamon, like an ashi cut off from the temper line, shaped like a leaf.
yubashiri	湯走り	Patches of ji-nie in the ji near the hamon, like drops; more diffuse than tobiyaki.

Bōshi: the temper of the point

Term	Kanji	Definition
bōshi	帽子・鋩子	The hamon inside the kissaki; its shape and turn-back are key to attributing a blade.
ichimai	一枚	A bōshi in which the whole kissaki is hardened, with no visible turn-back; seen above all on hitatsura blades and in the Sōshū tradition.
jizō-bōshi	地蔵帽子	A bōshi that narrows and turns back with a rounded tip, like the profile of Jizō’s head; typical of Mino.
kaen-bōshi	火焔帽子	A flame-shaped bōshi, with the turn-back broken into irregular points.
kaeri	返り	The turn-back of the bōshi from the tip towards the back.
ko-maru	小丸	A small, round turn-back; the most common.
midare-komi	乱れ込み	A bōshi entering the kissaki with the same irregular undulation as the hamon on the body.
ō-maru	大丸	A wide, round turn-back.
rōsoku-bōshi	蝋燭帽子	A midare-komi with a sharp turn-back, like a candle wick; of Kanemitsu and Ōei-Bizen.
sansaku-bōshi	三作帽子	Straight after the yokote, undulating along the fukura and with a short ko-maru; that of the three Osafune masters, Nagamitsu, Kagemitsu and Sanenaga.
tome	止め	The point where the bōshi’s turn-back ends.
tora no o	虎の尾	"Tiger’s tail": a long turn-back running parallel to the back and ending abruptly; of Ko-Mihara.
yakizume	焼詰め	A bōshi with no turn-back, ending right at the point without returning towards the back.

Nakago: the tang and the signature

Term	Kanji	Definition
chūmon-mei	注文銘	An inscription recording who commissioned the blade.
daijō	大掾	The senior grade of the jō title of the old provincial administration; as an honorary title it follows the province of the title in the signature, as in Musashi Daijō.
daimei	代銘	The master’s signature cut, with his permission, by a pupil or a son on a blade made by the master himself.
daisaku	代作	A blade made by a pupil in the master’s style and signed with the master’s name, with his permission.
gaku-mei / tanzaku-mei	額銘・短冊銘	A signature cut out of the original tang and inlaid into the new one.
gimei	偽銘	A false signature, or one added in another smith's name; it voids the paper, not necessarily the blade.
gyōnen-mei	行年銘	An inscription giving the smith’s age when he made the blade.
higaki	檜垣	A crossed, lattice-like file pattern, with strokes in both diagonals; also used on the habaki and on fittings.
hyōtan	瓢箪	Two mekugi-ana merged into one, shaped like a gourd.
inome	猪の目	A mekugi-ana overlapping another.
jū	住	“Resident in”: in the signature it closes the place where the smith worked, as in Osafune-jū.
kaisan	改鏨	A signature altered or changed with the chisel.
kami	守	The highest honorary provincial title found in a signature, as in Echizen no Kami.
kaō	花押	A personal monogram, drawn or engraved beside the signature.
katte-agari	勝手上り	A diagonal file pattern running opposite to katte-sagari; associated with left-handed smiths.
katte-sagari	勝手下がり	A filing pattern in a diagonal descending towards the edge.
kazoedoshi	数え年	The traditional way of counting age, one year at birth and another each New Year; the one used in gyōnen-mei.
Keichō-suriage	慶長磨上げ	An ō-suriage of the Keichō era, in the early 17th century, with the end of the tang cut straight.
keshō-ana	化粧孔	A decorative mekugi-ana made by the smith with no fixing function.
keshō-yasuri	化粧鑢	A decorative file pattern at the top of the tang, next to the machi, which became widespread in the second half of the shintō period.
kichijitsu	吉日	“Auspicious day”: it ends many tang dates instead of a specific day.
kinpun-mei	金粉銘	An attribution written on the tang in lacquer with gold powder.
kinzōgan-mei	金象嵌銘	A gold-inlaid inscription on the tang: usually an expert’s attribution, but also the owner, the sword’s name or a cutting test.
kiritsuke-mei	切付銘	An attribution chiselled, not inlaid, by someone other than the smith.
machi-okuri	区送り	A shift of the machi towards the point when a blade is shortened, without touching the tempered edge.
mei	銘	The signature chiselled on the tang; it may include title, province and date.
mekugi-ana	目釘穴	The hole in the tang for the peg that holds the blade in the hilt.
mumei	無銘	Unsigned, through shortening or because it never was; attribution then rests on appraisal.
naga-mei	長銘	A long signature, adding the province, the place, the title or the date to the name.
nakago	茎	The tang, never polished; its patina, file marks and signature are the blade's record.
nakago-jiri	茎尻	The butt of the tang; kurijiri, iriyamagata, kengyō and ichimonji are its typical shapes.
nengō	年号	The Japanese imperial era name used to date a signature on the tang.
nenki	年紀	The date engraved on the tang, nearly always on the ura face.
niji-mei	二字銘	A two-character signature: the name alone, as with Munechika or Masamune.
ō-suriage	大磨上げ	A drastic shortening of the tang, erasing the original signature if there was one.
orikaeshi-mei	折返銘	A signature folded over onto the other face when the tang is shortened, so as to keep it.
sabi	錆	The oxide patina of the tang, which helps to date and authenticate it; artificial patina gives itself away through blotches and straight edges.
saku	作	“Made this”: it ends many signatures after the smith’s name.
Satsuma-age	薩摩上げ	Shortening a blade from the point, forming a new kissaki there, rather than from the tang.
shoji-mei	所持銘	An inscription giving the name of the blade’s owner.
shu-mei	朱銘	An attribution written in red lacquer on the tang.
sujikai	筋違	An oblique file pattern in a single direction, steeper than katte-sagari.
suke	介	An honorary provincial title, the second after kami.
suriage	磨上げ	A blade shortened at the base with the tang reworked; very common on old blades.
taka-no-ha	鷹の羽	A herringbone filing pattern, "hawk's feather", with strokes on both diagonals.
Tenshō-suriage	天正磨上げ	An ō-suriage of the Tenshō era, in the late 16th century, with the end of the tang carefully finished to look original.
ubu	生ぶ	An untouched, unshortened tang; valued because it keeps the original shape and signature.
ubu-ana	生ぶ孔	The blade’s original mekugi-ana.
ubu-mumei	生ぶ無銘	A blade with an unshortened tang that was never signed.
yasurime	鑢目	File marks on the tang, applied before signing; the pattern is a trait of the smith.
zaimei	在銘	A blade that retains its original signature, the opposite of mumei.
zuryō-mei	受領銘	An honorary provincial title the smith adds to his signature, such as "Echizen no Kami".

Horimono and hi: carvings and grooves

Term	Kanji	Definition
ato-bi	後樋	A hi added after the forging, to lighten the blade or hide flaws; only the original one is useful for kantei.
ato-bori	後彫	A carving added later, not by the smith or in his time.
bonji	梵字	A Sanskrit syllable carved on the blade, representing a Buddhist deity.
bōhi	棒樋	A simple, wide, straight groove, the commonest of all.
futasujibi	二筋樋	Two identical parallel hi; they appear in the late Kamakura period.
gomabashi	護摩箸	A pair of thin, parallel grooves, like the chopsticks of a Buddhist ritual.
hi	樋	A groove cut in the shinogi-ji to lighten the blade without losing stiffness.
hisaki-agaru / hisaki-sagaru	樋先上る・樋先下る	The tip of the hi runs past the yokote / stops short of it; a repaired point alters that relationship.
horimono	彫物	Carving on the blade: grooves, deities, Buddhist inscriptions or plant motifs.
kakinagashi	掻き流し	A hi that fades out on the tang; the old, natural ending.
kakitōshi	掻き通し	A hi that runs the full length of the tang to its end; decorative, common in shinshintō.
kata-chiri / ryō-chiri	片チリ・両チリ	A bōhi leaving a margin on one side / on both sides of the shinogi-ji; the former is far more common in kotō.
koshibi	腰樋	A short hi at the base of the blade; nearly always on tantō and on one face only.
kuichigai-bi	喰違樋	Interrupted or offset hi, in several crossed variants.
kurikara	倶利伽羅	A dragon coiled around a vertical sword, an esoteric Buddhist motif linked to Fudō Myōō.
marudome / kakudome	丸留・角留	The hi ends above the habaki with a rounded / an angular finish.
naginata-hi	薙刀樋	A hi that narrows and rises to the back near the point, as on a naginata.
shōbu-hi	菖蒲樋	Two small hi that meet at the tip.
soebi	添樋	A narrow hi accompanying a bōhi; also soehi. It appears with the Nanbokuchō Bizen smiths.
suken	素剣	A straight sword carved on the blade, a symbol of the deity Fudō Myōō.
tachikaze	太刀風	The wind a blade raises when it is swung; that the hi makes it whistle is a common explanation, with no old source behind it.
tsurebi	連樋	Like soebi, but its tip runs past that of the bōhi and up to the back.

Flaws and condition

Term	Kanji	Definition
fukure	膨れ	A blister beneath the steel's surface, from a fold poorly welded during forging.
fukure-yabure	ふくれ破れ	A fukure opened up by polishing.
hagarami	刃搦み・刃絡み	An oblique crack reaching the edge.
hagire	刃切れ	A crack in the temper running across the hamon to the edge, almost perpendicular to it; it makes the blade unfit for use, though not for appreciation.
hajimi	刃染み	A stretch of the hardened zone that is whitish and dull.
hakobore	刃こぼれ	A small nick in the edge.
homare-kizu	誉れ疵	"Wound of honour": a battle mark not regarded as a flaw.
ishike	石気	A pore left by the anvil or the hammer.
ji-are	地荒れ	The seam between skin and core showing at the surface.
kaki-bōshi	描き帽子	A false bōshi, drawn in by polishing on an unhardened point.
karasuguchi	烏口・烏の口	"Crow’s beak": a hagire inside the kissaki.
kirikomi	切り込み	A nick in the back or the edge left by another blade; also kirikomi-kizu.
kitae-ware	鍛え割れ・鍛割れ	A forging opening that follows the grain of the steel.
kizu	疵・傷	Any physical flaw in the blade; the general term covering ware, fukure, hagire and the rest. Also written with the second spelling.
kuchikomi	朽ち込み	Deep rust pitting that polishing can no longer remove.
masa-ware	柾割れ	An opening typical of masame grain, following its lines; not regarded as a flaw.
mune-ware	棟割れ	An opening along the back.
nioi-gire	匂切れ	An interruption of the nioiguchi: a gap in the tempering line.
saiha	再刃	Retempering of a blade that lost its original temper; also yaki-naoshi. It shows through a yaki-otoshi, a mizukage or a lifeless hamon, though no single sign is enough.
shinae	撓え	A transverse mark, like a fine crack or a wrinkle, linked to the blade having been bent or to weak steel; shallow ones polish out, those from the forging do not.
sumigomori	炭籠り	Charcoal trapped in the steel skin.
tate-ware	竪割れ	A lengthwise opening in the blade.
tsukare	疲れ	The steel's fatigue after repeated polishing; a loss of crispness in the hada and hamon.
tsukare-utsuri	疲れ映り	Core exposed by wear that looks like utsuri but is not. How much it detracts from a blade is debated: the quality of the steel showing through matters too.
tsuki-no-wa	月の輪	"Moon ring": an arc-shaped hagarami inside the point.
uchikomi	打込み	A fine pore in the hardened zone.
umegane	埋金・埋め金	A steel patch inlaid to cover a flaw.
ware	割れ	An open crack on the steel's surface.
yakemi	焼身・焼け身	A blade that has lost its temper in a fire.
yaki-kuzure	焼崩れ	A stretch where the temper has broken down, with no clear outline.
yakitsugi-bōshi	焼継ぎ帽子	Retempering of the point alone, leaving a gap between the two tempers.
ya-kizu	矢疵	A mark left by an arrow.

Polishing and care

Term	Kanji	Definition
aka-sabi / kuro-sabi	赤錆・黒錆	Red rust, active and harmful / black rust, stable, which forms the patina of the tang and of iron tsuba.
binsui-do	備水砥	A coarse stone from Amakusa (Kumamoto), the first of the series.
chōji-abura	丁子油	Mineral oil scented with clove, used on the blade.
chū-nagura-do	中名倉砥	A medium stone from Aichi that removes the kaisei marks.
hadori	刃取り	Whitening of the hardened zone following the shape of the hamon; in keshō-togi it may not match the real temper, which is checked under a point light.
hazuya	刃艶	A thin flake of uchigumori rubbed with the thumb over the hardened zone. It is not a home task: a blade is never polished at home.
iyo-do	伊予砥	A coarse stone from Ehime, for the first stages.
jizuya	地艶	A thin flake of Narutaki stone for working the ji.
kaisei-do	改正砥	A stone from Yamagata that follows the binsui.
kaji-oshi	鍛冶押し	The rough grinding and final adjustment done by the smith himself before handing the blade to the polisher.
kanahada	金肌・鉄肌	The oxide scale shed by the steel during forging; the base of nugui.
katana-bukuro	刀袋	The cloth bag in which the sword is kept.
keshō-migaki	化粧磨き	The same line ornament, under the name used by the NBTHK.
keshō-togi	化粧研ぎ	"Make-up" polish, with a white hadori and a dark ji; the most common today.
koma-nagura-do	細名倉砥	Fine nagura, the last step before the uchigumori stones.
mekugi-nuki	目釘抜	A small punch for removing the mekugi.
migaki	磨き	Mirror burnishing of the shinogi-ji and the back.
migaki-bō	磨き棒	The steel rod used to do the migaki.
nagashi	流し	Fine burnished lines on the shinogi-ji near the habaki, which sign the polisher’s work.
narume	ナルメ	The matt finish of the kissaki, done last.
narutaki-do	鳴滝砥	A fine stone from Narutaki, in Kyoto, from which the jizuya are made.
nugui	拭い	A paste of iron oxide in oil that darkens the ji and brings out the grain.
nuguigami	拭い紙	Soft Japanese paper used to wipe the blade.
sashikomi-togi	差し込み研ぎ	The classic polish without separate whitening of the temper: it shows the real hamon and the steel as they are.
saya-atari	鞘当り	Contact between the blade and the inside of the scabbard, which scratches or rusts it.
shiage-togi	仕上げ研ぎ	Finishing polish, with fine flakes and pastes: it brings out the steel and the temper.
shitaji-togi	下地研ぎ	Foundation polishing, with coarse and medium stones: it corrects the shape and surfaces.
teire	手入れ	Maintenance of the blade: removing the old oil, inspecting and oiling again.
togi	研ぎ	Polishing the blade, which is both restoration and the means of making the steel and the temper visible.
togishi	研師	The sword polisher.
uchigumori-do	内曇砥	A fine stone from Kyoto in two varieties: one for the hardened zone (ha-do) and a harder one for the ji (ji-do).
uchiko	打粉	Fine stone powder applied with a pad to remove old oil.
yasume-zaya	休め鞘	"Resting scabbard": the shirasaya in which the blade is kept outside its mounting.
yokote-suji	横手筋	The crisp yokote line left by the polisher.

Koshirae: the mounting

Term	Kanji	Definition
chikaragane	力金	The internal wedge of the habaki on the edge side.
chiri-otoshi	塵落とし	Hollow inside the shirasaya where the dust and oil that fall are collected, so they do not touch the blade.
chō-musubi	蝶結び・正結び	The formal knot of the sageo, shaped like a butterfly.
daimyō-musubi	大名結び・浪人結び	A decorative sageo knot for displaying the sword; in use, the sageo hung loose, without bows.
daitsuki-habaki	台付鎺	A habaki with a flat seating flange at its base.
fuchi	縁	Metal collar at the guard end of the hilt.
gotokoromono	五所物	A set of fuchi, kashira, kozuka, kōgai and menuki by the same maker and with the same motif.
gyaku-menuki	逆目貫	Menuki in reversed positions, as on the Yagyū-koshirae, so that they sit in the palm.
habaki	鎺	Collar gripping the base of the blade; it locks it in the scabbard and keeps the edge off the wood.
hara-awase	腹合わせ	Same wrapped fully round the hilt and butt-joined, usually on the ura face.
hira-zaya	平鞘	Scabbard of flat section, that of the old tachi made for use.
hitsu	櫃	Groove carved in one face of the scabbard where the kozuka or the kōgai sits; their ends come out through the hitsu-ana of the tsuba.
hō	朴	Japanese magnolia, the wood of the scabbard and of the shirasaya, air-dried for ten years or more.
ichijū-habaki	一重鎺	A one-piece habaki.
kabutogane	冑金	The metal pommel cap of a tachi hilt.
kaerizuno	返角	A hook on the scabbard below the kurigata that catches in the obi so the scabbard does not come out with the blade when drawing.
kairagi	梅花皮	The pattern same gives on a scabbard when it is lacquered and polished until the nodules are flush.
kakiire	掻入れ	The hollowing of each half of the scabbard to the shape of the blade, with chisels.
kashira	頭	The cap closing the free end of the hilt.
kidori	木取り	The sayashi's first step: choosing the block of wood and cutting it to the measure of the blade.
kin-kise	金着せ	A copper habaki covered with gold foil.
kin-muku	金無垢	A solid-gold habaki.
kogatana	小刀	The small blade housed in the kozuka, the scabbard's utility knife.
koiguchi	鯉口	The mouth of the scabbard, horn-lined so the habaki seats without wearing it.
koiguchi wo kiru	鯉口を切る	Pushing the tsuba with the thumb to release the habaki from the mouth of the scabbard before drawing.
kojiri	鐺	A metal or horn fitting at the tip of the scabbard.
kōgai	笄	A slim spatula for arranging the hair, kept in the sashi-omote face of the scabbard, opposite the kozuka.
koshirae	拵	The complete mounting of a blade: hilt, guard, scabbard and fittings.
koshirae-shitaji	拵下地	The wooden scabbard of a mounting, before lacquering.
kozuka	小柄	Handle of the small utility knife in the scabbard; by extension, the whole knife.
kurigata	栗形	The projecting fitting on the scabbard through which the sageo passes; also read kurikata.
kusune	くすね	An adhesive of pine resin and rapeseed oil used by the tsukamakishi.
kyōgi	経木	Thin strips of wood placed along the edge and back sides of the hilt, under the wrap, to even it out.
maedare-gise	前垂れ着せ	Same wrapped one and a half times and overlapped on the edge side; the strongest method and the one that uses most skin.
maki-musubi	巻結び	The sageo wound round the scabbard for transport.
maru-zaya	丸鞘	Scabbard of egg-shaped section, fuller on the back side than on the edge side; ceremonial at first, general from Muromachi on.
menuki	目貫	The pair of ornaments held under the hilt braid.
mon-habaki	紋鎺	A habaki bearing the family crest (mon), pierced or engraved; on a two-piece one, in the outer piece.
myōga-musubi	茗荷結び	The finishing knot at the ends of the sageo.
nijū-habaki	二重鎺	A two-piece habaki, shitagai and uwagai, fitted together.
nomikomi	呑込み	The part of the habaki that seats on the back, in the mune-machi notch.
noshi-musubi	熨斗結び	A knot that leaves the sageo folded along the scabbard.
nurishi	塗師	The lacquerer of the scabbard.
oyatsubu	親粒	The largest nodule of the ray skin, only one per skin; showing it cleanly between the diamonds of the wrap is a sign of good work. It has been observed that in the Edo period it usually sits next to the kashira, and on older hilts towards the centre.
ryūgo	立鼓	A drum-shaped hilt, narrower in the middle.
sageo	下緒	The cord that passes through the kurigata and secures the sword at the belt.
same	鮫皮	The grainy ray skin covering the hilt under the braid.
same-kise	鮫着せ	Covering the hilt with same.
samezaya	鮫鞘	Scabbard covered in ray skin, lacquered and polished until the grain shows through flush.
sarute	猿手	The ring on the kabutogane of a tachi, through which the wrist cord passes.
saya	鞘	The scabbard, of magnolia wood, usually lacquered.
sayagaki	鞘書	A brush inscription on the shirasaya, written by an expert, recording the attribution.
sayashi	鞘師	The craftsman who carves the scabbard and the wooden core of the hilt.
seppa	切羽	Soft metal washers that seat the guard on either side.
shirasaya	白鞘	A plain unlacquered wooden scabbard and hilt for storing a blade without trapping moisture.
shiroganeshi	白銀師	The craftsman who makes the habaki and seppa.
shitagai / uwagai	下貝・上貝	The inner / outer piece of a nijū-habaki.
shitodome	鵐目	The metal-lined eyelet of the kurigata or the kashira.
sokui	続飯	A paste of crushed rice, a glue that can be undone; it is used to close the shirasaya.
tanzaku-gise	短冊着せ	Same in two rectangular strips set in, one per face; the most economical method.
tenukio	手貫緒	A wrist loop tied to the sword.
toppei-koshirae	突兵拵	A late-Edo mounting with a military look and a pointed scabbard.
tsuba	鐔	The guard, of iron, shakudō or another alloy, often signed by its maker.
tsuka	柄	The hilt: a wooden core in two halves, covered and wrapped.
tsuka-ito	柄糸	The silk or cotton wrap of the hilt; the commonest pattern is diamonds.
tsukamakishi	柄巻師	The craftsman who covers the hilt with same and wraps it.
tsunagi	繋ぎ	A substitute wooden blade that occupies the mounting while the real blade rests in the shirasaya.

Tōsōgu: fittings and metalwork

Term	Kanji	Definition
aogai	青貝	Mother-of-pearl with a bluish gleam, in sheets or powder, on lacquer.
hitsu-ana	櫃孔	Openings in the tsuba for the kozuka and kōgai to pass through.
hōju	宝珠	The wish-granting jewel that accompanies the dragon on fittings.
imono	鋳物	A piece cast in a mould. Many tsuba on the market are cast copies of forged or chiselled pieces.
inrō-kizami	印籠刻	Scabbard carved in rings that imitate a stack of inrō boxes.
ishime	石目	A lacquer finish with a grainy, stone-like texture.
kachimushi	勝虫	"Victory insect": the dragonfly, a warrior motif because, by tradition, it only flies forward.
katakiribori	片切彫り	An engraving cut with a single bevel, a technique associated with Yokoya Sōmin.
kawari-nuri	変塗	Name for the fancy finishes of scabbard lacquer, which multiply from the mid-Edo period.
ki-urushi	生漆	Raw urushi: the first coat, which seals the wood of the scabbard.
kizami-zaya	刻鞘	Scabbard carved in relief before lacquering, in rings or oblique cuts, which grips and decorates.
kōgai-hitsu	笄櫃	The opening in the tsuba for the kōgai, suhama-shaped.
kozuka-hitsu	小柄櫃	The half-moon opening in the tsuba for the kozuka.
maki-e	蒔絵	A design drawn in lacquer and sprinkled with gold or silver.
mimi	耳	The outer rim of the tsuba.
nakago-ana	茎穴・中心穴	The central hole of the tsuba through which the tang passes.
nashiji-nuri	梨子地塗	A lacquer with gold flakes suspended in the varnish, like the grainy skin of a pear.
nunome-zōgan	布目象嵌	Gold or silver inlay over a metal base cross-hatched in a grid.
raden	螺鈿	Mother-of-pearl inlaid in lacquer.
rankaku-nuri	卵殻塗	Lacquer with eggshell inlaid.
roiro	呂色	Black lacquer polished to a mirror finish.
sayadome	鞘止	Small holes in the tsuba of a Satsuma-koshirae for tying it to the scabbard, so the sword is not drawn lightly.
sekigane	責金	Copper wedges in the nakago-ana that fit the tsuba to the tang.
seppa-dai	切羽台	The central area of the tsuba where the seppa seat.
shakudō	赤銅	A copper-and-gold alloy patinated to a bluish black, used in fine fittings.
shibuichi	四分一	A copper-and-silver alloy with a grey patina.
su	巣	A bubble pore in a cast piece; one of the signs of a cast tsuba.
suaka	素銅	Pure copper, the base metal of the habaki.
suhama	州浜	A three-lobed outline, like a sandbar, that shapes the kōgai-hitsu.
sukashi	透かし	Openwork: a cut-out motif letting light or background show through the metal.
takabori	高彫り	Carving in high relief.
tekkotsu	鉄骨	Harder veins or knots that show through the iron of a tsuba, especially at the rim.
tōsōgu	刀装具	The metal fittings of a mounting, studied and collected in their own right.
udenuki-ana	腕貫穴	A hole in the tsuba, on the back side, for the wrist cord.
urushi	漆	Japanese lacquer, with which the scabbard is lacquered in layers.
uwanuri	上塗り	The final coat of lacquer on the scabbard.

Kantei and appreciation

Term	Kanji	Definition
atari	当り	In kantei, an exact hit.
deki	出来	The overall result and character of the temper, seen as a whole.
dōzen	同然	An "equivalent" hit: the master, a pupil or the family of the correct smith.
dōzen-chō	同然帳	A register of equivalences between smiths used to score kantei.
fūga	風雅	Elegance of refined, personal taste.
gōsō	豪壮	"Magnificent, robust": the impression given by mid-Kamakura blades.
haki-omote	佩表	The outer face of a tachi, slung edge down; it carries the signature.
haki-ura	佩裏	The inner face of a slung tachi.
iya	イヤ・否	A wrong answer.
jidai-chigai	時代違い	An answer with the wrong period.
jigane	地金	The overall look of the steel in the ji: colour, grain and combined activity.
kanga	閑雅	Calm, restrained elegance.
kanshō	鑑賞	Appreciating a blade: looking at it for what it is, beyond attributing it.
kantei	鑑定	The art of attributing a blade to a smith, school, province and period from its physical traits.
katana-mei	刀銘	A signature on the sashi-omote: outward-facing when the katana is in the obi.
kensō	剣相	Reading a blade’s features to divine whether it brings fortune or misfortune; also, its appearance as the basis of mekiki.
kiwame	極め	An expert’s verdict on a blade.
koga	古雅	Antique elegance, of something that has aged well.
kōga	高雅	Noble elegance; one of the words used in appreciating a blade.
kuni-iri	国入り	An answer from the same province but a different smith.
mekiki	目利	Judging a blade by its appearance; today, the expert’s "eye".
nyūsatsu kantei	入札鑑定	The game of identifying a blade’s smith with the tang covered, through written bids.
omote	表	The obverse: the face that is turned outwards when the sword is worn. On a tsuba, the face towards the hilt.
sashi-omote	差表	The outer face of a katana thrust through the obi edge up.
sashi-ura	差裏	The inner face of a katana worn in the obi.
shijō kantei	誌上鑑定	A kantei published in the NBTHK’s journal and answered in writing.
tachi-mei	太刀銘	A signature on the haki-omote: outward-facing when the tachi is slung.
teirei kanshōkai	定例鑑賞会	The NBTHK’s monthly study meeting, with blades to examine and a kantei.
tenga	典雅	Classical elegance that keeps to the canon.
tōri	通り	An answer from another province of the same circuit or tradition.
ura	裏	The reverse: the face turned towards the body.
yūbi	優美	"Elegant, graceful": the impression given by Heian blades.

Papers and documentation

Term	Kanji	Definition
daizuke	代付	The monetary valuation that accompanied an origami.
guntō	軍刀	A blade made or mounted for the Japanese army up to 1945; its value as art varies greatly case by case.
hozon	保存	The first NBTHK paper level: the blade is authentic and worthy of preservation.
jūyō tōken	重要刀剣	The third NBTHK level: an important work, above tokubetsu hozon.
kanteisho	鑑定書	The title of the NBTHK paper for Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon (Jūyō gets a shiteisho); the NTHK uses it too.
meikan	銘鑑	A directory of smiths, with their signatures, dates and places.
mei-zukushi	銘尽	An old compendium of smiths and their signatures.
mudai	無代	"Priceless": in an origami, a blade judged too valuable to be given a price.
ninteisho	認定書	The title of the NBTHK papers for Kichō, Tokubetsu Kichō and Kōshu Tokubetsu Kichō, until 1982.
origami	折紙	The old certificates of the appraising families, chiefly the Hon'ami; they are not equivalent to modern papers.
oshigata	押形	An ink rubbing of a blade, with the outline rubbed and the hamon drawn by hand; both a record and a study exercise.
sekkaboku	石華墨	The solid ink stick used to rub an oshigata.
setsumei	説明	The explanatory text accompanying a jūyō paper, with the panel's reasoned assessment.
shinsa	審査	The appraisal session in which a panel judges a blade and decides its paper.
shiteisho	指定書	The title of the NBTHK paper for Jūyō and Tokubetsu Jūyō.
shōwatō	昭和刀	An industrially made blade from the Shōwa era, not traditionally forged, without value as art.
tokubetsu hozon	特別保存	The second NBTHK level: a blade of notable quality in good condition.
tokubetsu jūyō	特別重要	The highest NBTHK level, reserved for a very small number of blades.
tōrokushō	登録証	The compulsory Japanese registration of the blade; required to own it in Japan and to apply for export.
wariin	割印	A split seal, stamped across two sheets; on the NBTHK paper, next to the number, it is cut by the edge.

Ranks and cutting tests

Term	Kanji	Definition
ara-tameshi	荒試し	A destructive test on hard materials, carried out in the Bakumatsu.
banzuke	番付	A ranking set out in columns in the style of sumō lists, also made for smiths.
chiwari	乳割	A test cut just above the chest; in the late Edo period, somewhat lower.
dodan	土壇	The earth mound on which the body was placed for the test; also dotan.
dō	胴	The torso. Preceded by a number, how many bodies the blade cut in a single stroke: futatsu-dō, two; mitsu-dō, three.
dotan-barai	土壇払	A cut that goes right through to the mound.
Gendai Tōshokuten	現代刀職展	The annual competition of the sword crafts organised by the NBTHK since 2018; it was formerly called Shinsaku Meitōten.
hasuji	刃筋	The line of the edge in a cut: with the hasuji aligned to the path, the blade cuts cleanly; twisted, it forces the blade sideways.
iki-dō	生き胴	A cutting test on a living condemned prisoner, documented in the early Edo period.
iretsu	位列	The ladder of grades in a ranking.
Kaihō Kenjaku	懐宝剣尺	An 1797 work, linked to the Yamada house, that first ranked smiths by cutting ability; later editions and works expanded the list.
karigane	雁金	A test cut at armpit level (a late name).
kesa	袈裟	A diagonal cut from the shoulder, like the sash of a Buddhist kesa.
kirite	切手	In a test inscription, "the one who cut".
kiri-tsuka	切り柄	The special hilt in which the blade was mounted for the test.
Kokon Kaji Bikō	古今鍛冶備考	A later work of the Yamada house, in seven volumes, that revises and expands the Kaihō Kenjaku ranking.
koshimono bugyō	腰物奉行	The official in charge of the shōgun’s swords, who presided over the tests.
Masamune-shō	正宗賞	The top prize in the NBTHK competition; in many years it is not awarded.
meiyo mukansa	名誉無鑑査	Honorary mukansa, reserved for living national treasures.
mukansa	無鑑査	A smith exempt from judging in the NBTHK’s annual competition, a title earned by accumulating prizes; there are also mukansa in polishing and mounting.
ningen kokuhō	人間国宝・重要無形文化財保持者	Living national treasure: the recognised holder of an important intangible cultural property; several smiths have held the title.
ō-wazamono	大業物	The second wazamono grade.
o-tameshi goyō	御様御用	The shogunate’s office of sword tester, which in the end stayed in the Yamada house under the hereditary name Asaemon.
ryōguruma	両車	A test cut below the navel, through the hips; the most difficult.
saidan-mei	截断銘	An inscription on the tang recording a cutting test: date, bodies and cut, and the tester’s name with his kaō; also tameshi-mei. Usually gold-inlaid, and the NBTHK does not rule on it.
saijō ō-wazamono	最上大業物	The highest wazamono grade.
saijō-saku / jōjō-saku / jō-saku / chūjō-saku / chū-saku	最上作・上々作・上作・中上作・中作	The grades of the Fujishiro scale, from highest to lowest: they rate the quality of a smith’s work, not its cutting ability.
setsudan	截断・裁断	"Severed": the formula that closes a cutting-test inscription.
shitōjutsu	試刀術	The technique of test cutting, without an opponent.
suemono-giri	据物斬り	A test cut on a body held still.
Takamatsunomiya kinen-shō	高松宮記念賞	The first special prize in the forging section of the NBTHK competition.
tameshigiri	試し斬り	A cutting test to check a blade. Today iaidō practitioners cut rolled straw mats: that is martial practice, not a test of the blade.
tameshi-tsuba	試し鐔	A weighted guard, sometimes of lead, used in the test.
teishitsu gigeiin	帝室技芸員	Artist to the Imperial Household, a title in use from 1890 to 1944; two smiths received it, Gassan Sadakazu and Miyamoto Kanenori.
tokushō	特賞	A special prize in the competition, below the named prizes.
wakige	脇毛	A test cut below the armpits; the name shifted position over time.
wazamono	業物	A blade that cuts well; from the late Edo period, also the ranking of smiths by how their work cut in tests.
yoki-wazamono	良業物	The third wazamono grade; also read ryō-wazamono.

Schools and periods

Term	Kanji	Definition
bakumatsu	幕末	The final decades of the Tokugawa shogunate, up to 1868; falling within shinshintō as far as blades are concerned.
chūmon-uchi	注文打	A blade forged with care to a client’s order, as opposed to mass-produced kazu-uchimono.
dōtanuki	同田貫	A school of Higo, mostly from Bunroku to Keichō (1592–1615), known for its sturdy blades: thick kasane and low sori.
gendaitō	現代刀	A blade made after 1876, and the name of the period following shinshintō.
Genroku-shintō	元禄新刀	A return, around 1688–1704, to a katana of more usual curvature and proportions.
gokaden	五箇伝	The five traditions of the kotō period: Yamashiro, Yamato, Bizen, Sōshū and Mino.
jōkotō	上古刀	Blades from before c. 900, the mid-Heian period; generally straight and without shinogi.
Kanbun-shintō	寛文新刀	The shape of around 1661–1681: shallow curvature, strong taper and a compact point. Its causes are debated: a preference for thrusting, or fencing with the shinai.
Kan’ei-shintō	寛永新刀	The moderate shape of around 1624–1652.
kazu-uchimono	数打物	Mass-produced blades of modest quality, above all in the Muromachi period, to arm the rank and file.
Keichō-shintō	慶長新刀	The earliest shintō, around 1596–1615, which revives the large Nanbokuchō blades in their shortened form.
Keigen-shintō	慶元新刀	From the Keichō to the Genna era: the transition from kotō to shintō.
kotō	古刀	Blades made before 1596, that is, before the shintō period.
shinshintō	新々刀	Blades from 1781 to 1876, with a deliberate revival of older styles.
shintō	新刀	Blades from 1596 to 1781, the period after kotō.

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