Jul 30, 2026

Japanese Sword Care — The Complete Collector's Guide to Handling, Maintenance, and Long-Term Preservation

A genuine nihonto — a blade forged from tamahagane steel, polished by a certified tōgishi over weeks of careful work — is one of the most precisely finished metal surfaces in existence. Genuine Japanese swords are typically polished using more...

Jul 29, 2026

The Tsuka — How to Tell a Genuine Handle from a Factory-Made Imitation

The tsuka — the handle of a Japanese sword — is the only part of the blade you actually touch. It is the point of contact between the sword and the person holding it, the interface through which every movement...

Jul 28, 2026

Inside the Factory — What We Saw When We Visited a Chinese Sword Manufacturer, and Why It Matters to Every Buyer of Japanese Swords

Tozando has been selling authentic Japanese swords to collectors worldwide since 1989. Over those nearly four decades, we have watched a parallel market grow — a global industry producing objects that look like Japanese swords, carry Japanese-sounding names, and are...

Jul 27, 2026

Ōsuriage — The Art of the Shortened Sword: How Japan's Greatest Blades Were Transformed and What That Means for Collectors

Series · Part 3 This article is the third in a series on unsigned Japanese swords. Part 1 — "The Unsigned Blade" — explains why mumei blades can be the most valuable in the world. Part 2 — "The Kantei...

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Japanese Sword Care — The Complete Collector's Guide to Handling, Maintenance, and Long-Term Preservation

The Tsuka — How to Tell a Genuine Handle from a Factory-Made Imitation

Inside the Factory — What We Saw When We Visited a Chinese Sword Manufacturer, and Why It Matters to Every Buyer of Japanese Swords

Ōsuriage — The Art of the Shortened Sword: How Japan's Greatest Blades Were Transformed and What That Means for Collectors

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