Japanese modern metal practice sword
The
iait?
(
居合刀
)
[
additional citation(s) needed
]
is a modern metal practice sword, without a cutting edge, used primarily for practicing
iaido
, a form of Japanese swordsmanship.
[1]
Other Japanese swords
[
edit
]
A real (sharp) katana is called a
shinken
(
?
?
, lit.,
real sword
)
. In contrast to shinken, iait? have no cutting edge and are designed for iai/batt? practice and are usually unsuited for sword-to-sword contact. These should not be confused with imitation swords primarily made for decorative reasons, which are generally unsafe for martial arts practice.
Materials and manufacture
[
edit
]
Most iait? are made of an
aluminium
-
zinc
alloy
which is cheaper and lighter than steel. This use of alloy and a blunt edge also circumvents Japanese legal restrictions on the manufacture of swords made of ferrous metals. As such, Japanese-made iait? are intended as practice weapons and are not suited for any type of contact. The best alloy blades are rather faithful reproductions of real swords with authentic weight and shape along with similarly high-quality finish and fittings.
[2]
Iait? may even have a mock
hamon
(
刃文
, lit.,
blade pattern
, the temper line of a tempered steel blade)
. The average weight for a real
katana
(
打刀
)
is typically 1,200 g (42 oz) without the scabbard while a typical alloy iait? is roughly 820 g (29 oz). Some steel iait? are also constructed and can weigh around 900?950 g (32?34 oz) for a 74 cm (29 in) blade.
[
citation needed
]
Some imitation Japanese swords are made in countries other than Japan. They may even be made of folded steel, much like a real
katana
, but with a blunt edge. Such weapons would face the same use and ownership restrictions in Japan as genuine swords, and would not be considered
iait?
in Japan.
The first iait? were made after the Second World War to permit people without means to own a training sword for their practice of modern
bud?
. Iait? today are produced by specialized workshops without requiring any direct involvement of shinken swordsmiths.
[3]
Some
d?j?
in Japan recommend that only
alloy
blades be used for practicing
iaid?
until the practitioner's skill is consistent enough to safely use a sharp-edged sword.
[
citation needed
]
Some iaid? schools may require a practitioner to start with a
shinken
right away,
[
citation needed
]
while other schools prohibit the use of a
shinken
altogether.
[
citation needed
]
The matching of iait? length, weight, and balance to the practitioner's build and strength is of utmost importance to safely and correctly perform the iaid? forms (
kata
). Due to the repetition involved in the practicing of iaid?, iait? are often constructed with the balance point of the blade being set farther from the blade's point (
kissaki
) and closer to the guard (
tsuba
) than other blades.
[
citation needed
]
Legislation
[
edit
]
The
Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons
,
[4]
established in Japan in 1958, forbids the possession, production, and importation of any sharpened (or sharpenable) sword. Very few exceptions to this rule exists, but, notably, traditional Japanese swordsmiths are permitted to produce a restricted number of blades over the course of the year. Japanese swordsmiths have a special status, and the weapons they make are considered work of art rather than weapons. (This also explains why
nihont?
exported outside Japan must go through a declassification process before their exportation.)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hall, David A., ed. (2012),
Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts
, (Reviewing.) Irie K?hei, Omiya Shir? and Koike Masaru., New York: Kodansha USA, Inc., p. 169,
ISBN
978-1-56836-410-0
.
- ^
Jordy Delage, "The origin and manufacture of the Iaito, replica of the Japanese sword, the Katana",
Magazine Dragon Special Aikido
,
no
4 hors serie, April 2014, published in French (
ISSN
2261-1134
,
[1]
online English translation
- ^
The Secrets of Modern Japanese Swordmaking - Iaito Manufacture at the Minosaka Workshop
- Reportage at the Minosaka Workshop, 2017.
- ^
Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons
Archived
2018-09-26 at the
Wayback Machine
, Japanese Ministry of Justice, 1958. (Japanese language)
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