In the hierarchy of the Hizen tradition — the school that produced some of the finest Shinto-period swords in Japan — three names stand above all others: the first-generation Tadayoshi, who founded the school; the second-generation Tadahiro, known as Omi...

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In the history of Japanese sword-making, a small number of figures stand apart — not merely as exceptional craftspeople, but as people who changed the direction of the entire tradition. Suishinshi Masahide (水心子正秀, 1750–1825) is one of perhaps three or...

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Every year, millions of people around the world encounter objects described as "authentic Japanese swords" — on online marketplaces, in souvenir shops, at martial arts suppliers — and have no reliable way of knowing whether what they are looking at...

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The image is one of the most recognisable in Japanese visual culture: a samurai with two swords thrust through the belt, the longer blade angled to the left, the shorter one beside it. This is the daisho (大小) — literally...

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