Straight, single-edged Japanese sword
The
chokut?
(
直刀
, 'straight sword')
is a straight, single-edged
Japanese sword
that was mainly produced prior to the 9th century. Its basic style is likely derived from
similar swords
of ancient China.
[1]
[2]
Chokut? were used on foot for stabbing or slashing and were worn hung from the waist.
[3]
[2]
[4]
Until the
Heian period
such swords were called
tachi
(
大刀
)
, distinct from
tachi
written as
太刀
, as the latter refers to curved swords.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:
[6]
- J?kot? (ancient swords, until around 900 CE)
- Kot? (old swords from around 900?1596)
- Shint? (new swords 1596?1780)
- Shinshint? (new new swords 1781?1876)
- Gendait? (modern or contemporary swords 1876?present)
The
tsurugi
was the earliest type of sword made in Japan.
[7]
[8]
The
chokut?
, on the other hand, was among the earliest types of sword to be forged in Japan, its basic style and forging techniques probably originated in ancient China and Korea. The
chokut?
was brought to Japan by way of Korean Peninsula and China in the
Han dynasty
times.
[9]
[1]
There are various types of
chokut?
in the
Kofun period
(300-538), and there are styles originated in China and styles unique to Japan.
[7]
The
kant?-tachi
(
環頭大刀
)
is a Chinese style, characterized by a ring-shaped ornament shaped like a dragon or a phoenix on the tip of the handle.
[7]
The
Kabutsuchi-tachi
(
頭椎大刀
)
is a unique Japanese style with a fist-like decoration on the tip of the handle.
[10]
[7]
The
rokkaku-s?t?ken
(
鹿角?刀?
)
is also unique to Japan and is decorated with deer antlers. As the name suggests, this style is also applied to
tsurugi
.
[11]
[7]
The
chokut?
in various styles including these styles declined around the end of the
Asuka period
(593-710), and only the style called the
h?t?-tachi
(方頭大刀), in which the decoration on the tip of the handle was rectangular parallelepiped, survived from the
Nara period
(710-794).
[12]
Chokut?
typically come in
hira-zukuri
and
kiriha-zukuri tsukurikomi
(blade styles) which make them very distinct from later
tachi
and
katana
which rarely use these forms. Swords of this period are classified as
j?kot?
and are often referred to in distinction from Japanese swords.
[6]
Chokut?
as a weapon died out by the middle of the
Heian period
, in the 10th century. And as a weapon, it was completely replaced by the Japanese sword, which is known today for its deep and graceful curves. The first sword with this curve was called
Kenukigata-tachi
(
ja:毛?形太刀
), which was made by improving
Warabitet?
(
ja:蕨手刀
) used by
Emishi
in
Tohoku region
.
[13]
[14]
And
Kenukigata-tachi
evolved into
tachi
, which became the mainstream of Japanese swords for a long time.
[15]
Sugari no Ontachi
[
edit
]
In today's Japan, straight swords made with the techniques after
chokut?
, are also called
chokut?
, and these are sometimes used in traditional ceremonies. The
Sugari no Ontachi
(
須賀利御太刀
[16]
) is one of the
chokut?
made as an offering to
Amaterasu
, the main enshrined
kami
of
Ise Grand Shrine
, and one of the most gorgeous sword mountings among the
chokut?
. According to tradition, the building of Ise Grand Shrine and its sacred treasures have been recreated to the same specifications every 20 years since the seventh century. The
Sugari no Ontachi
was first described in the
Kotai Jingu Gishikicho
(
皇太神宮儀式帳
)
compiled in 804, and it is believed that new decorations were added to the scabbard and sword fittings at each subsequent
Shikinen Sengu
(Rebuild every 20 years, 式年遷宮) to complete the design as we know it today.
[17]
The
Sugari no Ontachi
currently offered to Ise Grand Shrine was remade in 2013 and is thought to have accurately inherited the style of sword mountings from the Heian period (794-1185) and the forging method from the
Sinto period
(1596-1781).
[18]
[19]
[20]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Shitenn?-ji
Shichiseiken
[
ja
]
, single-edged straight sword, Asuka period
-
Hilts of Japanese straight swords, Kofun period, 6?7th century, Met Museum.
-
Two Chinese swords (top) of the
Sui dynasty
. Bottom: Japanese sword with scabbard, Kofun period, 6th century, Met Museum.
-
Sword hilts, end of the Kofun period, Japan, 6th century. Musee Guimet.
-
Kara-tachi
sword with gilded silver fittings and inlay
, imitation made in the 19th century, by S?kichi Tamura.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Turnbull, Stephen (2011-03-15).
Katana: The Samurai Sword
. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 16.
ISBN
978-1-84908-152-8
.
- ^
a
b
The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, K?kan Nagayama, Kodansha International, Mar 30 1998, P.12
- ^
The Japanese sword
, Kanzan Sat?, Kodansha International, May 30, 1983 P.28
"Katana:The Samurai Sword",Stephen Turnbull,2010,P.16
- ^
The Japanese sword
, Kanzan Sat?, Kodansha International, May 30, 1983 P.28
- ^
"太刀?大刀"
.
Daijirin
at kotobank.jp
(in Japanese)
. Retrieved
July 22,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Transition of kot?, shint?, shinshint?, and gendait?.
Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Touken World
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Kazuhiko Inada (2020),
Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords
. p30.
ISBN
978-4651200408
- ^
特別展「出雲-聖地の至?-」展に荒神谷遺跡出土の銅?がずらり.
Tokyo National Museum
- ^
Kapp, Leon; Kapp, Hiroko; Yoshihara, Yoshindo (1987).
The Craft of the Japanese Sword
. Kodansha International. p. 20.
ISBN
978-0-87011-798-5
.
- ^
Kabutsuchi-tachi.
Kotobank.
- ^
Rokkaku-s?t?ken.
Kotobank.
- ^
Kazuo Ichise (October 1996).
金の大刀と銀の大刀-古墳?飛鳥時代の貴族と階層-平成8年度秋季特別展大阪府立近つ飛鳥博物館?? 9 二 大刀外?の?化
.
Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum
. pp. 74?83.
- ^
Shimomukai, Tatsuhiko (30 June 2000).
The Review of the Study of History : Shigaku Kenkyu
. ?島史??究?.
- ^
John T. Kuehn (15 January 2014).
A Military History of Japan: From the Age of the Samurai to the 21st Century
. Praeger. p. 34.
ISBN
978-1-59228-720-8
.
- ^
?史人
September 2020. p.6 pp.36-37.
ASIN
B08DGRWN98
- ^
Not 大刀, but 太刀
- ^
須賀利御太刀 ?し (A replica of the Sugari no Ontachi).
Nagoya Japanese sword Museum Nagoya Touken World
- ^
伊勢神宮の神? 御太刀 ―?刀の魅力―
神宮の博物館 Jingu Museum official site.
Note:The photo on the site shows Tamamaki no Ontachi.
- ^
美を?ぐ神?―伊勢の神宮 御?束神?調製. p.2.
家庭?報
- ^
モノづくり再生は新?技術のコラボレ?ションで. p.3.
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