by Robert Lange
This article, quite frankly, is intended as a hodge-podge of miscellaneous information for the sword student. It is a collection of things intended to help, and tricks of which you should be aware. Several items are directed specifically toward the do-it-yourselfer, to aid in restoring or cleaning a sword.
Things to Watch For
When looking at a sword, you will note the generation of
a certain “spiritual” feel from within. This is keiki. A
flashy blade is hanayaki and an ornate one kinko, both
of which are only good for tourists. The subdued feeling
of elegance called shibui is to be sought. When a
student has finished looking at a sword, or following
practice, the weapon should be cleaned and replaced in
the sword bag (katana bukuro). The himo are wrapped
around until the proper length is left and an ornamental
knot (cho musubi) is tied so the two loops and the
tassels (fusa) are equal in length. If you have no idea
what this knot is, you will find it on pages 113–115 in
Warner and Draeger’s Japanese Swordsmanship.
If the blade you wish to examine is in military
mountings, the little thumb latch on the tsuka is
the oshijo. More and more good blades are being seen in
military mounts, so don’t pass one up without looking at
it. Those fine scratches sometimes seen are called hike.
After using your tsuchi, the little brass
hammer, to push out the mekugi and remove the tsuka, you
may find a nakago that just doesn’t look or feel right
for what you expect after observing the sugata, sori,
jihada, etc. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous sword
collectors who are quite good at certain tricks. One of
these is aging the nakago of a newer blade and trying to
sell it as a Kotô. Usually this is done chemically, with
acid or other caustic solutions. Chemically aged nakago
will have an odor, and will feel wet or sandy and scaly.
Another method of fakery is using heat to essentially
scorch the tang, just like scorching the bottom of a pan
on a stove. This type of aged nakago will feel dry and
still somewhat sandy or scaly. An old blade will have a
tang that is black, smooth, and feel oily.
Another item in the nasty tricks department is the false
yakiba. The worst case scenario occurs when the student
cleans his sword with uchiko for the first time since he
has obtained it and the yakiba disappears. This
indicates it was put on with a pencil eraser. Try it on
a junker war blade and you will find it is quite easy to
produce a rather nice looking yakiba. Other methods of
producing false yakiba include the use of acid or a
piece of hazuya. The way to avoid this trap is to look
for nioi and nie. If neither is present, the blade is
probably not worth having anyway.
One common trick used to hide flaws in the ji is placing
a sweaty fingerprint over the flaw and allowing the
fingerprint to rust. Sandpaper is also used, so that the
problem is literally obscured from view.
Resoration and Maintenance
Common problems everyone runs into include such things
as rust and tarnish. The number one rule for working
with swords is “IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, LEAVE IT
ALONE!” Polishing compounds, the finest grit sandpaper,
emory cloth, chemical polishes, Western stones...all of
these have been tried before and found not to work, so
don’t ruin a blade by trying it yourself just to make
sure everyone else isn’t wrong.
The easiest thing a student can do to remove rust and
tarnish is uchiko the blade every day for a month. This
will usually produce very satisfactory results. If you
get a blade fresh from the polisher, uchiko the hell out
of it. Polishing opens up the grain of the steel and
leaves a lot of water in there, water that needs to come
out or the blade will rust within a day.
Sometimes you will find a dark gray coloration on the
steel. Use soft scrub with a small, clean piece of
leather and circular motions. When through, rinse the
blade well with water, then clean with alcohol followed
by uchiko.
Alcohol and acetone are
good for cleaning off organic crud, but alcohol absorbs
water vapor. When the bottle gets over half used, throw
it away or keep it for other uses, but not for sword
work.
Thick crud will require the
use of a scraper. Traditionally, bamboo, bone, or ivory
was used. One of the best and easiest scrapers to get is
at the local music store—buy a guitar bridge. The ends
are already shaped properly and good ones are made of
ivory.
Occasionally a gray film
occurs which cannot be removed by uchiko. Erase it with
a pencil eraser. Be sure there is no grit in the type of
eraser you use or you will produce massive hike. Many
brands of erasers use fine sand for their abrasive
action.
When rigging out a new
blade, you can usually find a tsuka with a reasonably
close fit. Odds are, however, the mekugi-ana will not
line up with the holes in the tsuka. Plug these holes
with a chopstick and mark on either side. Remove it and
cut on the marks. Then cut out the center section and
slip the resulting two plugs in their respective hole
adding a small drop of glue. Cut small circles of
samegawa, trying to match the grain and color, and glue
on. Drill the new mekugi-ana and you’re ready to go.
Restoring metal fittings presents some major problems.
Copper is better off being left alone. If you’ve just
got to try something, boil the fitting in a weak soda
solution. Don’t even attempt shakudo or shibuichi. (So,
now that you feel you’ve been challenged, please don’t
try anything with a good piece—or at least get one that
doesn’t matter when you ruin it. Then give the solution
explained above a try.)
There are
a few good tricks for achieving a patina on iron,
especially tsuba. The old-fashioned way is to rub with a
soft, cotton cloth. This method requires lots of
patience. An easier way is to wrap it in a small bag
made of soft cotton or several layers of an old T-shirt
and place it in your hip pocket for a few weeks.
For serious re-treatment of plain iron tsuba, soak the
tsuba in a diluted caustic soda solution, then wash and
scrub it with a stiff brush and soap. Mix paraffin, bees
wax, and shoe polish (any color except black) and melt
the mixture in a pan. Heat the tsuba until it’s too hot
to hold, and then use forceps to hold it horizontally
over the melted wax and dip. Remove the tsuba and shake
it briskly, leaving it on blotting paper overnight.
Re-warm it the next day and wipe with a cloth and tissue
until no wax adheres. Brush well with a soft brush.
Rough iron can be placed in the clear part of an open
fire until it is a dull red. Then place the tsuba in
ashes to anneal it by slow cooling. When cool, scrub the
tsuba with soap and water, followed by heating to remove
any water left after drying. Wax using the method
explained above.
Have you ever
listened to group iai and thought you were watching a
spaghetti western with the clanking spurs as the
participants performed chiburi? The traditional answer
to this problem issekigane, however, you may not have
the skills nor want to cut on your tsuba. If the problem
is only a matter of gap, trace your fuchi onto a
polyethylene lid from a coffee can, margarine tub, etc.,
and cut to make a seppa. If you’re feeling frisky,
obtain and use some brass stock instead.
If the length of the nakago-ana is too long, use
wire-cutters to snip off a small piece from a lead
fishing weight. Place the tsuba on a flat, smooth, hard
surface and lightly hammer the lead into the appropriate
end until it fills the space. Then file to fit.
When the sides of the nakago-ana are too large, the
fishing weight method doesn’t work as well. The
traditional method of narrowing an ana is to "mash" it
using a punch in the necessary spots from both sides. If
the piece is good and paranoia runs deep, go to the
craft store and get a product called Liquid Metal. There
are other brand names as well, all of which should work.
Mix and pour, or squirt directly from the tube, then
file to fit.
With enough practice
and experience working on fittings, you will become
confident of your abilities. Obtain some 0.2-inch stock
of mild steel or brass and make your own tsuba. When
it’s cut out and filed smooth, patinate it using the
solutions described above or try gun bluing. If that is
all too simple, use your drill, chisel, and file to make
a pierced piece and/or add hitsu-ana. You can shape the
rim, try acid etching, etc.
Training Tips
Training ideas abound and every instructor has more than
he can show you. Here are some that are very effective
and which you may not already know.
Use bokken of different lengths, 18–60 inches, sized in
6-inch increments. Ideally, bokken with their tips
broken off can be cut down for the shorter lengths, but
the longer ones will require some woodworking skill. Oak
dowels may be used. Round the tips and tape the tsuka.
Every sword student gets confused while trying to learn
chiburi. “Strike the guy to the right in the mouth with
a hammerfist,” “Cut a man in front of you with
hiki-kesa-giri,” “Sling the blood off...” Most of us
have heard those and more. “There’s no way those are all
the same,” you say. Yes, they are, and when you
understand that, you will be performing this action
correctly.
Fill a bucket with
water, stick the tip of your bokken in until it reaches
the bottom, then pull it out and try chiburi. The first
step is to get the water to sling off. Once you’re
proficient at that, lay out some butcher paper and
observe the pattern made by the water as it lands. This
will teach you about angles, arcs, and what you’re doing
wrong (or right). Please don’t feel the need to follow
the example of one student and add red food coloring to
the water. (Yes, it really happened)
Physical repetition is the only way a technique will
become ingrained, thus the endless hours of suburi and
keiko. One trick to increase your abilities and discover
the problem areas is to do everything so slowly, it
takes at least a full minute just to get the sword up
into jôdan-gamae. I have yet to see a junior who can
perform a technique as slowly as a senior. They always
concentrate on more speed and miss the details. Slow
down.
To increase your
understanding of the various techniques, principles, and
concepts, dig out your copies of Kanji &
Kana and Nelson’s and look up the literal meaning for
every single term you know. Don’t concern yourself with
the actual word at this point; concentrate upon the
meanings of the individual ideographs. The use of names
for techniques is relatively modern, but those chosen
were selected for a reason. Studying the literal
meanings will lead you to a much deeper understanding of
the techniques and your art. An example is heihô. Every
martial artist knows this means “strategy.” Fine. What
are the roots of the Japanese understanding of strategy?
Look up hei and you find “soldier” [K&K 784/N201].
That’s pretty obvious in meaning, so now you look up ho,
and read “law.” [K&K 123/N2535]
“Soldier-law” illuminates a perspective you may not have
thought about before. Now you will understand why some
old writings refer to warriors as heihô-jin.
If you don’t have a copy of both of these references,
you should. So get them. If you don’t have either,
you’re not serious about your studies.
Miscellaneous Trivia & Terms
“Everything has a name.” Truer words were never spoken,
especially when considering the martial arts. Some of
the following terms and items you will have heard and
know. Others may provide the answer to that question
you’ve had for a long time, but didn’t want to bother
asking Sensei.
Kenjutsu-ka study a
smattering of other weapons, in addition to the sword.
Do you know all the parts of each of them as well as the
sword? A serious student should at least know the major
ones.
The yari has few parts to
recall, as does the naginata. The butt cap is
the hirumaki or ishizuki, while the pole is called
the nagaye. It is made of kashi, Japanese white oak, and
the metal collar at the blade end is the sakawa. The
rings, used for support, are sei. Since the seniors are
sitting back saying, “I knew all that,” what’s the name
for the decorative, hand knot below the lower metal
fitting?
The naginata never varied
much in form. The early version, known as nagamaki,
basically used a pole 3–4 feet long with a blade 2–3
feet in length. Naginata poles varied in length from
6–18 feet, but the most common was 6–7 feet. Blade
lengths range 14–30+ inches, depending on the period in
which they were forged.
The yari,
however, has quite a few different shapes and sizes. The
standard triangular cross-sectioned form is
called su-yari. When one side of the triangle is wider
than the other two, it is referred to
as hira-sangaku-yari. Yari with blades over one foot in
length are known as taishin-so. A square cross-section
is ryoshinogi-yari, while the popular cross-shaped head
is properly called magari-yari, although it is commonly
known as jûmonji-yari. A forked head is referred to
as futomata-yari. Specialized forms include
the makura-yari (pillow spear), which was kept next to a
warrior’s bed; nage-yari, a short heavy spear for
throwing; te-yari, a short, hand spear; and the uchi-ne,
a short spear about 18 inches long with feathers at one
end, designed to be carried in a palanquin and thrown if
necessary. The form known to most sword students is
the keikô-yari, or practice spear, the padded end of
which is called the tampo. A short and stout form with a
broad head is theinoshishi-yari, a design for hunting
boar.
The “parts” of the staff
weapons are all essentially the same, so the bô will be
used for an example. The tips are called kontei or saki,
while the middle is the chukon-bu.
That’s all for the bô, but there’s always the new guy
who whips out a pair of nunchaku and says, “How about
these?” The connecting cord is himo, or kusari if it’s
chain. The end of each rod where the cord enters is
known as konto and the hole is ana. If the rod is
mentally divided into thirds, the upper portion with the
cord and hole is the jokon-bu. The middle section
is chukon-bu as in the bô, and the lower section,
the kikon-bu. The end away from the cord is the same as
the bô, kontei.
The tonfa handle
is the tsuka, as is the case with a sword, and the knob
at the end is the tsukagashira. When holding a tonfa
with the short end away from the body and the longer end
against the forearm, the end closest to the body is
called the ushiro atama. The opposite end is the mae
atama, while the sides are sokumen. The flat side
against the arm is the shomen and the opposite side
is soko. The striking areas are monouchi.
Experimenting with various weapons is fun and
occasonally interesting results occur. The sai has a few
tricks within its arsonal that are worth figuring out.
The handle and knob at the end are the same as the
tonfa, tsuka and tsukagashira, while the shorter, curved
prongs are called yoku. The tips of these are tsume,
while the tip of the long spike is saki. The distal 2/3
of the long spike is used for striking and referred to
as monouchi as on most weapons. The slightly expanded
area where the base of the long spike, the top of the
handle, and the two short prongs join is the moto.
The parts of the kama are similar to those of a sword.
The tip, edge, back, and ridgeline are kissaki, ha,
mune, and shinogi, respectively. The kashira of the kama
is the base of the blade where it curves 90-degrees and
enters into the tsuka, the tang, or nakago, continuing
into a slot cut into the wood where it is rivetted. The
end of the handle is the soko.
One
word of caution for using kama seriously. Fill the gap
of the slot around the nakago with body filler, glue, or
something similar. Then wrap that end from the top of
the wood to at least ½-inch below the slot with cotton
string or cord. For additional strength, saturate the
cord with varnish, enamel, lacquer, etc., of whatever
color you choose.
Once in a great
while you may find a shotô that appears overly thick and
which tapers drastically toward the kissaki. When you
draw the blade, you find it has a square cross-section,
with no edges, and a small “hook” near the tsuba. This
is a hachiwara, or helmet splitter—but it was not really
used for splitting helmets. It was used for controlling
and possibly bending or breaking sword blades, and was
the forerunner of the jûtte. The jûtte was a symbol of
rank carried by the Chief of Police, and was not
seriously intended for subduing drunk samurai (as has
been offered as an explanation by some authors). Of
course, seeing is believing, so make a sturdy jûtte out
of wood and try some kumitachi with it. You will learn
very quickly that the thought of trying to subdue even a
half-trained swordsman with one is ludicrous.
After use, a sword should immediately be cleaned. Your
instructor has shown you the proper way, but it is still
amazing how many students miss the ha and the last
half-inch of the mune above the kissaki. Pay close
attention to these areas.
Most
people think paper is paper, but this is
erroneous. Hôsho is the type with which most people are
familiar, referring to it as rice paper. Actually it
comes from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. The type
specially used for cleaning swords, however, is washi. A
clean, sharp sword is referred to as shimaru while the
term urumu is used to describe a dull, dirty one.
A sword student should be familiar with a bit of
Japanese history, especially with regard to how it
relates to his art. The name Minamoto Yoshiie (known as
“Hachiman Taro,” eldest son of the god of war) ranks
high on the list of who’s-who in Nippon bujutsu. He is
considered the greatest warrior in Japanese history.
Legend states that all he had to do was put on
his kabuto (helmet) to make entire armies surrender.
His younger brother, Shinra Saburo Minamoto Yoshimitsu,
follows as a close second in fame, and was another great
warrior. He is credited with developing the Daitô-ryû,
deriving the art from sword techniques and by studying
war dead and dissected bodies. Knowing the Japanese
feudal mentality, it is highly probable that new
techniques were “tested” on condemned criminals to
determine if and/or how well they worked. Yoshimitsu
also created the Takeda-ryû of kyûjutsu and the
Ogasawara-ryû of yabusame (mounted archery).
Although modern students may refer to training in
bujutsu or budô, the term used for the martial arts
prior to the 1600’s is bugei.
Since Japan has been militaristic throughout its
history, a student should know the various military
powers involved. The Kamakura government was a bakufu,
or military government, ruling 1192–1333. The Ashikaga
Bakufu was based in Kyôto and the family was founded by
Ashikaga Mutso-no-Kami Yoshiyasu, the grandson of
Minamoto Yoshiie. The Ashikaga were in power 1337–1573.
The Tokugawa Shôgunate ruled 1603–1868, and was the last
bakufu to date.
The study of the
sword and its related art of iai have gone by many names
throughout history. Swordsmanship has been referred to
as:
Pre-Heian — gekkikan, tachikake, yôtô
Heian — hyôhô, hyôhô-shigeki, hyôhô-tojutsu (Heian to Edo), kenpô (Heian to Edo), tachiuchi, tôhô (Heian to Edo), tôjutsu (Heian to Edo)
Edo, Meiji, to Present — gekken (mid-Edo to end of Meiji), heihô (Edo to Present), kenjutsu (mid-Edo to Present), kendô (Meiji)
The art of iai has been called: bakken; battô; battô-jutsu; giken; iai; iai-battô; iai-jutsu; iai-nuki; iawasu; isô; nuki-ai; nuki-uchi; rito; saya-no-naka; saya-no-uchi; tachi-ai; tsume-ai; and za-ai.
Bunbu-ryôdô
Why is history important? The Japanese have long
emphasized the development of the complete warrior, not
just his technical expertise. He was expected to be able
to compose instantly and recite a haiku at any moment.
Haiku is a form of poem comprised of three lines having
the syllables arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern, and made
famous by Bashô, the art name of Matsuo Munefusa. Poetry
contests were quite popular. Many noted swordsman had
superb calligraphy and were also masters of
the cha-no-yu (tea ceremony) and ikebana (flower
arranging). Such abilities relate to the concept
of bunbu-ryôdô, the combination of civilian and military
training.
Warriors trained in the
classics of Chinese literature, in addition to the arts
of war. The modern student would do well to study the
works of the past as well. Musashi’s Go Rin no Sho is
well known to all martial artists, but not that many
sword students have read its precursor, Hyôhô
Sanjûgo-kajô. The Heihô Kaden Sho is
another famous treatise written by Yagyu Munenori in
1632, the English translation of which is available as The
Sword and the Mind. An earlier work from 1580, the Heihô
Okugi Sho, was written by Yamamoto Kansuke for the
Kai Takeda to teach strategy and techniques. There are
two books entitled Bubishi, (Wu Pei Chih in
Chinese), the Chinese work consisting of 240 chapters
and covering military tactics from the Ming Dynasty and
the Okinawan version detailing Chinese martial arts and
medicine. Tsukahara Bokuden, considered the greatest
swordsman in Japanese history, wrote a collection of
100 waka about kenjutsu, called collectively Bokuden
Ikun Sho.
A waka is another
form of poem, consisting of 31 syllables comprised in 5
lines of 5-7-5-7-7. This is the usual form a jisei, or
death poem, should take.
The
famous zen priest Takuan Sôhô wrote a letter to Yagyu
Munenori about the mental attitude of a swordsman. This
is entitled Fudô Shinmyô Roku and is presently available
in English as The Unfettered Mind. In 1700, Hagakure was
written by Tsunemoto Yamamoto, a samurai of the
Nabeshima Han, expressing an idealistic concept of how
to be a true samurai. A famous book on weapons, Honcho
Gunkiko, was written by Arai Hakuseki and another
on kenjutsu, Tengu Geijutsu Ron, was produced
by Chozon Shissai.
These are but a
few literary sources, valuable for rounding out the
sword student’s training. One modern resource that
should not be overlooked is the high-quality video tape.
A significant problem noted in the area of literature
and video is selfishness. Unfortunately, the attitude
many practitioners have is that they worked long and
hard for, or were lucky to find, the knowledge they’ve
gained, and they don’t want to share the knowledge with
anyone else. This attitude is sometimes reinforced when
already reluctant practitioners do loan a video or book,
only to have it lost, ruined, or kept for an excessive
amount of time.
Actions and postures
The names for the primary movements and postures used in
kenjutsu are learned easily enough and are well known.
The common terms are usually used, regardless of whether
bokken or shinken are employed. This is not sufficient
for the senior, however, so a look for some of the
transition moves and the odd posture or two is in order.
Consider a few motions involving the uniform. The
slapping of the hakama legs outward when lowering into
seiza is hakama sabaki. When performing formal reishiki
during kumitachi, the sleeves and hakama legs are tucked
up. These actions are referred to
as ude-makuri and shirikarage, respectively. The tying
back of the sleeves is known as tasugigake, frequently
called just tasugi, which is—technically—the name for
the cord used in the process.
Although the term for wearing swords (haiken) is well
known, the act of placing the sword in the obi
is taitô and that of removing it dattô. Being unarmed
and not wearing a sword is marugoshi.
The action of
using the thumb and forefinger to push the tsuba and
loosen the habaki in the koiguchi
is koiguchi-no-kiru (cutting the koiguchi). As the sword
is drawn, the position of the saya with the ha up
is tate-zaya. At the moment before saya-biki, the abrupt
pulling of the saya off the kissaki and around, behind
the hip, the scabbard is turned ha-outward, a position
known as yoko-zaya. Upon commencing nôtô, the left hand
grasps the koiguchi, an action
called koiguchi-o-yutaka-ni-nigiri. The act of drawing
and cutting in one action is nukitsuke, a term sometimes
used interchangably with kiritsuke when referring to the
opening cut of a kata. The action of drawing a bokken
is bakken.
After thrusting with a
sword, it must be pulled out of the body it pierced, an
action termed hikinuki. Two similar blocking actions
are marudome and torii-uke. The former has the arms bent
and fingers pointing inward while the latter uses the
edge up and arms straight upward.
Shin-no-gamae is a posture with the left foot leading
and the wrists crossed embracing the sword. Holding a
sheathed sword in hand, but near the hip as if worn,
is teitô, while the same posture with a bokken
is nukimi-gamae. Carrying a sheathed sword with the left
arm hanging down naturally by the side
is sagetô or seitô. When in chûdan the right side of the
sword is shizoku, the dead side.
Any rapid side-to-side maneuver may be
called tsubame-gaeshi; however, this term is also used
for the whip-like slash performed from hassô-gamae to
hassô-gamae, developed by Sasaki Kôjirô, and also
called tsubame-giri. A similar action from hassô to
hassô and back again, but using kesa-giri,
is tonbo-gaeshi (returning dragonfly).
Modern iaidô has a series of 12 kata (9 daitô, 3 shotô)
known as Nippon Kendô Kata, which were developed in 1912
by the Butokukai for the Kendô Renmei.
Students will have preferred techniques with a specialty
or favorite technique being known as tokui-waza.
In combat, especially when armor was worn, the disabling
stroke was not always fatal. Often, the one on the
ground was pushed, shoved, tripped, or thrown to that
position without a sword stroke ever reaching home.
Warriors had a code of empathy in which the defeated
person would not be allowed to suffer. A finishing
stroke or coup-de-grace, the todome, was peformed, which
involved a thrust through the throat with the ha up and
angled so it would pierce the brainstem.
When facing an opponent, one is supposed to be relaxed
in mind and body, with no preconceived thoughts and not
concentrating upon the enemy, a state called mushin. The
beginner, however, will have a mind full of thoughts and
ideas, making plans about how to react to different
attacks. This frame of mind is called ushin. The act of
initiating an attack is sente. Some advanced concepts
regarding initiative are sen-no-sen,
go-no-sen, and sen-sen-no-sen. The first is seizing the
initiative just as aite attacks. The next is recapturing
it with a counter attack, and the last seizing it just
as aite thinks about attacking.
