Glossary

Glossary

Age-gitae 上げ鍛え

Second stage of folding, which shapes the steel of the body.

Aikuchi 合口

Mounting without a tsuba.

Ashi 足

Lines of nie or nioi running down from the hamon towards the edge.

Bōhi 棒樋

Straight groove along the blade. Kaki-toshi (掻き通し): it runs right through the nakago. Kaki-nagashi (掻き流し): it ends inside it.

Bōshi 帽子

Hardening line in the kissaki.

Chōji 丁子

Hamon shaped like a clove flower. Ō-chōji: with large chōji. Jūka-chōji (重花丁子): chōji overlapping in clusters, like double flowers; the hallmark of the Fukuoka Ichimonji.

Funbari 踏ん張り

Widening near the machi that gives a “well-planted” silhouette.

Hadori / sashikomi

Polishing finishes. Hadori brings out the hamon with a whitish band; sashikomi lets its natural shape show.

Hagire 刃切れ

A crack running across the edge; a serious flaw.

Hakikake 掃きかけ

Broom-like strokes in the bōshi.

Hamaguri-ba 蛤刃

Convex edge, with plenty of niku.

Hasuji 刃筋

Alignment of the edge with the direction of the cut.

Hira-ji / shinogi-ji

Surface between the shinogi and the hamon / between the shinogi and the back.

Hizukuri 火造り

Forging the shape of the blade.

Iai 居合

Drawing the sword from the saya and cutting in the same movement; the art is called iaidō (居合道).

Ikubi kissaki 猪首鋒

A short, sturdy point, the “boar’s neck”.

Iori-mune 庵棟

Back shaped like a gabled roof.

Itame / mokume 板目・杢目

Grain of the steel with a pattern like wood grain or like knots.

Jigane / jihada 地鉄・地肌

The steel of the blade / the visible pattern of that steel.

Kantei 鑑定

An expert’s judgement on a sword: school, smith, period and features, like those written by the NBTHK.

Kasane 重ね

Thickness of the blade.

Kawagane / shingane 皮鉄・心鉄

Outer steel, harder / core, softer.

Kinobi 機能美

Beauty born of function.

Kinsuji 金筋

Bright lines of nie within the hamon.

Kissaki 鋒・切先

Point. Yokote: the line that separates it from the body. By its length relative to the width at the yokote: chū-kissaki (中切先), medium; ō-kissaki (大切先), long.

Koshizori 腰反り

Curvature with its centre near the base.

Kurijiri 栗尻

Rounded end of the nakago.

Machi 区

Notches on the back (mune-machi) and on the edge (ha-machi) where the nakago begins. The nagasa is measured in a straight line from the mune-machi.

Mamori-gatana 守り刀

Sword valued as a protective amulet.

Mekugi-ana 目釘穴

Hole in the nakago for the peg that holds the tsuka in place.

Mizu-heshi 水へし

Flattening the red-hot steel and cooling it in water so as to sort it.

Monouchi 物打

The cutting section of the blade, some 15–20 cm before the point.

Motohaba / sakihaba 元幅・先幅

Width at the base / at the yokote.

Mukansa 無鑑査

A swordsmith who exhibits without going before the NBTHK jury.

Mukōzuchi 向こう鎚

Assistant who strikes with the big sledgehammer.

Nagasa 刃長

Length of the blade.

Nakago 茎

Tang that sits inside the tsuka. Ubu: never shortened.

Nie / nioi 沸・匂

Martensite crystals visible to the naked eye (nie) or as a mist (nioi). Nie-deki and nioi-deki: a hamon dominated by one or the other.

Niku 肉

Convexity of the faces next to the edge.

Oroshigane 卸鉄

Remelted iron, for example from old nails, to adjust its carbon.

Orikaeshi 折り返し

Folding of the steel.

Shinogi-zukuri 鎬造

Blade with a longitudinal ridge (shinogi).

Shita-gitae 下鍛え

First stage of folding, which cleans the steel.

Sori 反り

Curvature: the greatest distance between the back and the straight line running from the mune-machi to the point.

Tachi 太刀

Sword worn hung with the edge downwards; more curved than the katana.

Tachikaze 太刀風

The whistle of a blade with a hi as it cuts the air.

Tamahagane 玉鋼

Steel from the traditional furnace (tatara).

Tameshigiri 試し斬り

Test cutting on mats or bamboo.

Tobiyaki 飛焼

Hardened patches separate from the hamon.

Tsuchioki 土置き

Applying the clay before hardening; it defines the hamon.

Tsuki 突き

Thrust: a blow with the point.

Tsumi-wakashi 積み沸かし

Stacking and welding the broken-up steel.

Tsunagi つなぎ

Wooden blade that keeps the shape of the koshirae while the blade is in the shirasaya.

Utsuri 映り

A misty reflection in the body of the blade, typical of Bizen. Midare-utsuri: irregular.

Utsushi 写し

A work modelled on a famous sword, from the faithful copy to one that takes only the silhouette and the hamon.

Yaki-ire / yaki-modoshi 焼き入れ・焼戻し

Hardening / tempering.

Yasurime 鑢目

File marks on the nakago. Katte-sagari: slanting to one side.

Yō 葉

Isolated points of activity within the hamon.