Posts tagged "samurai sword"
The previous article on seppuku was met with a lot of responses, so I would like to write a follow-up. As mentioned, seppuku initially was not something one did to take responsibility for a mistake but was done in order...
The Search for the Mysterious Sword "Kotetsu" By now, many are aware of Kondo Isami. The broad faced bull of a man with a sharp, piercing stare. He was the head of the Shinsengumi, a secret police force appointed by...
A two-hour drive north of Kyoto City, Japan’s ancient capital, will bring you to the northern most part of Kyoto Prefecture which faces the Sea of Japan. Here, a small city known as Kyotango is nestled by the sea. Blessed...
More Japanese expressions associated with Japanese swords For this entry, I would like to continue to introduce Japanese idioms related to the Japanese sword. Dotanba (A podium made of sand) During the Edo period, the execution place for criminals had...
So What Exactly is Shirasaya? There are two types of Japanese sword mountings: the koshirae, also called uchigatana, and shirasaya. The uchigatana koshirae is equipped with a tsuba, a cord-wrapped handle, and a painted or lacquered scabbard. The shirasaya, which...