I have a katana made by Seki-Ju Kanetoki in 1977. He started making swords as a teenager in WW2, working for the Japanese Military, and became a licenced smith in 1953.
I adore good Nihonto. The beauty of the hamon, on a crane-neck katana (unokubi zakura), is a lovely thing. All of my katana can be broken down into constituent parts
Oh! The hammer marks on the tsuba are likely there because of a loose fit around the nakago. It’s a way of spreading the material to make it tighter instead of restarting the guard.
I have a very similar Kunitada! Mine is from 6/2000. Different koshirae, but very similar blade and Hamon, can visually tell they are sisters. I'm in contact with a dude in Japan with a Kunitada from 2008, very similar as well. Imagine 4gen consistency!!
That's a really beautiful sword especially for handmade and such a recent time and not an ancient time. I would love to own a Hand Forged real katana but they're too expensive maybe one day I'll be able to.
Hello from Japan. This sword was made in 1992 by a swordsmith [Miike-ju Kunitada] in Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is a good investment that will surely appreciate in value in the future.
Great vid. I have recently started forging Japanese style edge weapons. Love the style and precision. Working on a Tanto now which I actually made like a mini Wakizashi since the Tanto has a guard. I have twin Wakizashi's forged to shape and ready to go. I made the Tanto as a practice run before I started on the larger short swords. Again, thx for the info. I notice the spine side of the tang is straight and the other side has the taper, I tapered both sides of the tang on all 3 weapons. I think I will forge the spine side straight from now on as this will help when carving and fitting the scabbard and handle as this will make keeping everything inline easier. Forge On!!!
Such an underrated channel you've started me on my journey for self betterment through martial arts....I wish your channel could get the recognition it deserves bc it's truly warranted...just wanna say thank you and I know in the beginning having a TH-cam channel is a challenge but I hope and pray opportunities and avenues open up for you so it doesn't become a struggle in anyway....I truly am thankful for ppl like yourself and the knowledge transfer thank you again
....WOW!!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT EXPLANATION, AND DEMONSTRATION!!! FYI: THOSE STRONG HAMMER MARKS, ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE TSUBA, ARE DONE, TO HELP TO ADJUST THE CONSTRICTION AS NEEDED, TO FIT IT MORE TIGHTLY AGAINST THE CROSS-SECTION OF THE BLADE, WHERE THEY MEET.
Thank you for making this video! I appreciated learning the vocabulary of all the pieces and the dimension. I’m about to start my first katana build and this has helped me a lot.
The hammer marks on the handle side serve a simular function of a gem setting in jewelry. However it is to center the guard on the blade. Or the channel was filed to far and an adjustment was needed.
the dimples on the tsuba are their for umegane and are used for fitting.and i believe the koshirai is higo style. it would also be nice to see the whole blades sugata.
Thank you, that's sure an interesting and educational talk through for the katana. I was a bit nervous seeing you pointing and dragging the metallic pen / object on the blade.
I have two antique katana one is in full matching koshirae made during Kanbun Era early Edo (1660s) made by the bungo Takada school and the other one is in shirasaya made during Oei era early muromachi period by the Uda school
Mine is a 400yr old kunihiro fujiwara Edo forged katana. Rated tokubetsu hozon. My other is a very short wakizashi made by kagehira fujiwara which is around 300 years old, rated hozon.
Mostly the 作-tsukuri is read when there is katakana or hiragana on the on the first next of it here is the readibg for the signature 三池住國忠作之-Miike jū Kunitada Kore o Saku(This was made by Kunitada resident of Miike) 平成四年九月吉日-Heisei yon nen kyū gatsu kichi jitsu(Lucky day of September 1992)
I too was a collector and I never handled a sword without wearing gloves. I only collected old swords but I did have a Suisinshi Masahide which came from the Imperial Palace. About 1900, so fairly recent.
You mean you didn't cut bottles and tree branches in forest and slicing sausages with THAT sword and then sharpening it on good old arkansas? Never? 😂 I am just kidding. I want to start collecting swords too, but I am in studying phase now, need to learn many things. I really admire beauty of japanesse swords and no way i would touch authentic ancient sword without gloves.
I collect swords mostly samurai my favourite but do own some wilkinsons dress swords as a Black belt in Shotokan karate that was involved in a motor accident i cant train so this is my interest this video is Great
I know im 2 years late but, I recommend the name "Jinran Maru" for the sword, if you haven't already picked a name for it. It is a name from a game, but I feel like its appropriate for this sword considering its speed.
Not necessarily. Modern steels and technology (like automated hammers, etc) for forging can make some really, really good swords, but far faster than the traditional ways.
I read that it was sort of a wear item on the sword. It was designed to take the shock of being used. The weakest part being that point where the blade and tang meet. Look up Ilya Alekseyev and watch him forge a few katana from tamahagane, or Japanese bloom steel.
I've got a sword like this,don't know much about it,I've translated 1906 is when it was made,two signatures on it with a date and place,made in the beginning of the showa period
I have a katana that I bought some years back. After watching this video I decided to take a look at the tang. I was surprised to see it only had writing on one side.
Not bad for demonstration video you did a find job there was a couple mistakes but not to many people can talk about sword quite like you did I applaud you well done 👍 I belong to San Francisco sword Society . Like I said not too many people have the knowledge of the sword you seem like a nice and decent person stay safe Like to see more videos
i noticed when you flashed the blade over the bandana it seemed to dissapear at the right angle, which is another quality to the blade done on purpose...
O-Yoroi Doshi are a specific class of nihonto made to pierce O-Yoroi, or great armor. Size can range from tanto or aikuchi length to large wakizashi and have exceptionally wide blades along the unsharpened spine, giving sufficient stiffness and durability for their task. The head of the Japanese Communist Party was assassinated with an O-Yoroi Doshi in the sixties by a Nationalist aligned student who rushed the podium, managing to stab the politician once in the abdomen and was tackled as he attempted a follow-up stab.
Sir that is truly a piece of art,thank you for this beautiful video, ( remember don't clean the nakago - tang! Let it turn black)shinogi zukuri (you can see the yokote it has a chu kissaki, it's probably a kobuse, that will be a very fast sword! 🏯🇯🇵
The samurai never used that cleaning kit it actually came out way after the cleaning kit it's kind of a gimmick in a way except for the The Uchiko Ball which is used to strip oil off the blade. May I ask where you got that sword from? Very beautiful
I want to send a photo of My Japanese sword I have one Habaki then two Seppa either side of the tsuba When the handle is lined up with the fixing hole there is a gap of about half inch and the seppa and tsuba are just floating about loosely. What might be missing
吉日 reads as kichijitsu or kichinichi meaning one of good/fortunate days define in the calendar. You do anything you think important like marriage on a ‘lucky’ day if you care about 縁起, an ancient concept from India that has been Incorporated in Japanese lifestyle.
Notice how the bo-hi carries on right through to the nakago. This is traditional. Modern production katana don't do this; the only company I know that does that also is Huawei Swords.
Dear sensei, Thank you for this information. I happen to have similar characteristic effects on my sword, that wooden dowel ,and diamond pattern woven and guard has round dragon plus at very end of the sword as well. Again I really appreciate your content and wish you the very best. ⚔ Thank you for putting out this info, I happen to have same characteristic of sword that you just showed specially that handle area where woolen like clothes wrapped as they were weaving the diamond shaped flower I believe as you've described in this clip
Nice sword. The Nakago (tang) of the sword you are holding says it was made on a "lucky day" in kugatsu (September), Heisei 4 (1992). The present era is known as Reiwa. Might be good to make a difference between "blade " and the edge. when you are talking about how the sword sits on the hip. The edge is what cuts, the blade the steel that goes in your says (scabbard)
Very relaxing video. It's great to see some more detailed video about particular sword. I self-study japanese blades (very amateur) and it's difficult to find similar video especially with real nihonto. One question,....what is that different part of steel on ura side. It's perpendicular to ha and it appears on 10:19 . Is it a steel flaw or the blade just wasn't wiped yet? It almost has the color of hamon, but going from ha up to bo hi. Thank You. Subscribed. :)
My son inlaw found a strange old looking sword with a even stanger white ivory looking sheath with demons carved on it,,it brought ALOT of problems to his household till he threw it away,,we believed it was cursed,,i saw it once but it was gone before i could get it from him i believed it was a VERY special sword
very nice showa period katana allthough i own a kanbun era wakizashi that was ranked as a wazamono also like yours and i own a boshin war sword also i dont own any modern ones though the bo-hi was used to take weight out of the blade the hammer marks on the tsuba were to tighten it against the blade it Smashes out the metal so it fits better not a flaw a lot of them have that and the Blade that goes saya the kogatana was used like a utility knife never used for fighting and the blade you have in a shinogi zukuri not a hira zukuri like you said all your fittings are made from brass silver the only iron i see is the tsuba very nice katana thanks for sharing.Micah
I used to just keep my japanese blades as a colletion but recently i decided to use one and test out these legendary swords true abilties . I cut some cucumber and through a few oranges into the air and sliced em in half . It was really fun . The sword is always stained afterward and I did oil it but at the kissaki there is a tiny tiny bit of rust so I am going to do my best to remove it and stop cutting fruit . I do not have access to any tameshigiri mats so what do you reccomend I cut . I beleve the blade is 1045 so harder targets might make it bend but never the less that sword is trully epic you showed today . I tried taking apart my sword as well but I got both mekugi's out and was scared to hammer the tsuba off lol so I just put the pins back in . Do i need to take apart my sword ?
Old newspaper soaked in water is a very good cutting target but they are not for beginner tho since they are harder to cut through than traditional tatami mats. You could always start at water bottles, they didn't represent anything on human body and very easy to cut through even with bad technique but at least you could practice your edge alignement on them (good cut, the bottle stay on the holder. Bad cut, the bottle will fly 4 5 meters across the yard) Leaving the sword inside the koshirae is actually bad for it, that's why samurai when they didn't need to use their sword in a long period of time took it apart and put on a plain wooden handle and scabbard called Shirasaya for maintenance purpose
I have a katana made by Seki-Ju Kanetoki in 1977. He started making swords as a teenager in WW2, working for the Japanese Military, and became a licenced smith in 1953.
Very cool!
I adore good Nihonto. The beauty of the hamon, on a crane-neck katana (unokubi zakura), is a lovely thing. All of my katana can be broken down into constituent parts
Love this, my guard has 4 extra pieces on my katana. I was told that the village where it was constructed does not exist anymore.
really? that's sad to hear because bladesmiths in japan decreasing by year passed
Oh! The hammer marks on the tsuba are likely there because of a loose fit around the nakago. It’s a way of spreading the material to make it tighter instead of restarting the guard.
I came here to say this
yup exactly
Beautiful Katana friend.
"Akuma o taiji suru mono" should be the name of your sword. That's what I looks like to me😎👍
I have a very similar Kunitada! Mine is from 6/2000. Different koshirae, but very similar blade and Hamon, can visually tell they are sisters. I'm in contact with a dude in Japan with a Kunitada from 2008, very similar as well. Imagine 4gen consistency!!
That's a really beautiful sword especially for handmade and such a recent time and not an ancient time. I would love to own a Hand Forged real katana but they're too expensive maybe one day I'll be able to.
I have 3 katana their coming down in price
The hammer marks on the tsuba is where they deformed the iron so it would fit tight to the blade.
Another great video of in-depth explanation. Thank you so much for making these!
Hello from Japan. This sword was made in 1992 by a swordsmith [Miike-ju Kunitada] in Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is a good investment that will surely appreciate in value in the future.
A fitting name would be Scud, a name for a low flying cloud.
My Hamon look's like cloud's
The music at the back is Anatolian NEY sound so perfect. Thank you
Great vid. I have recently started forging Japanese style edge weapons. Love the style and precision. Working on a Tanto now which I actually made like a mini Wakizashi since the Tanto has a guard. I have twin Wakizashi's forged to shape and ready to go. I made the Tanto as a practice run before I started on the larger short swords. Again, thx for the info. I notice the spine side of the tang is straight and the other side has the taper, I tapered both sides of the tang on all 3 weapons. I think I will forge the spine side straight from now on as this will help when carving and fitting the scabbard and handle as this will make keeping everything inline easier.
Forge On!!!
Thank you sir 😊 from Pozorrubio pangasinan Philippines
Such an underrated channel you've started me on my journey for self betterment through martial arts....I wish your channel could get the recognition it deserves bc it's truly warranted...just wanna say thank you and I know in the beginning having a TH-cam channel is a challenge but I hope and pray opportunities and avenues open up for you so it doesn't become a struggle in anyway....I truly am thankful for ppl like yourself and the knowledge transfer thank you again
....WOW!!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT EXPLANATION, AND DEMONSTRATION!!!
FYI: THOSE STRONG HAMMER MARKS, ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE TSUBA, ARE DONE, TO HELP TO ADJUST THE CONSTRICTION AS NEEDED, TO FIT IT MORE TIGHTLY AGAINST THE CROSS-SECTION OF THE BLADE, WHERE THEY MEET.
Thank you for making this video! I appreciated learning the vocabulary of all the pieces and the dimension. I’m about to start my first katana build and this has helped me a lot.
The hammer marks on the handle side serve a simular function of a gem setting in jewelry. However it is to center the guard on the blade. Or the channel was filed to far and an adjustment was needed.
Amazing. Really like your story telling style. Just starting to learn about these pieces.
Thank you!
The guard is dented around the blade hole to fit it tighter to the blade. It's like a staking that prevents rattles. They used a punch to peen it.
the dimples on the tsuba are their for umegane and are used for fitting.and i believe the koshirai is higo style. it would also be nice to see the whole blades sugata.
Thank you, that's sure an interesting and educational talk through for the katana.
I was a bit nervous seeing you pointing and dragging the metallic pen / object on the blade.
definitivamente las KATANAS son las armas mas bellas del MUNDO, forma, detalles y terminaciones delicadamente diseñadas, en verdad hermosas
We don’t speak your luanguage alien
@@bestbabyyoda876 que importa tu opinión
Very beautiful piece of artwork, mr. Norcross
I have two antique katana one is in full matching koshirae made during Kanbun Era early Edo (1660s) made by the bungo Takada school and the other one is in shirasaya made during Oei era early muromachi period by the Uda school
Mine is a 400yr old kunihiro fujiwara Edo forged katana. Rated tokubetsu hozon. My other is a very short wakizashi made by kagehira fujiwara which is around 300 years old, rated hozon.
Fantastic!!
Mostly the 作-tsukuri is read when there is katakana or hiragana on the on the first next of it here is the readibg for the signature
三池住國忠作之-Miike jū Kunitada Kore o Saku(This was made by Kunitada resident of Miike)
平成四年九月吉日-Heisei yon nen kyū gatsu kichi jitsu(Lucky day of September 1992)
三池住乃姓，国忠乃名，作之，古汉语文雅用法。
I too was a collector and I never handled a sword without wearing gloves. I only collected old swords but I did have a Suisinshi Masahide which came from the Imperial Palace. About 1900, so fairly recent.
Aluminum pen cannot hurt the steel. It is 2.5 times less dense. Harmless to it.
You mean you didn't cut bottles and tree branches in forest and slicing sausages with THAT sword and then sharpening it on good old arkansas? Never? 😂 I am just kidding. I want to start collecting swords too, but I am in studying phase now, need to learn many things. I really admire beauty of japanesse swords and no way i would touch authentic ancient sword without gloves.
This sword would not be considered ancient. Even swords from WW2 are not considered ancient.
I collect swords mostly samurai my favourite but do own some wilkinsons dress swords as a Black belt in Shotokan karate that was involved in a motor accident i cant train so this is my interest this video is Great
I know im 2 years late but, I recommend the name "Jinran Maru" for the sword, if you haven't already picked a name for it.
It is a name from a game, but I feel like its appropriate for this sword considering its speed.
Thank you!
@@thedojomartialarts Np
Does the length of time that it takes to forge the swords affect the quality of the sword?
Not necessarily. Modern steels and technology (like automated hammers, etc) for forging can make some really, really good swords, but far faster than the traditional ways.
I read/heard somewhere that the Habaki was also supposed to reinforce the blade where it went through the Tsuba (hand guard).
I read that it was sort of a wear item on the sword. It was designed to take the shock of being used. The weakest part being that point where the blade and tang meet. Look up Ilya Alekseyev and watch him forge a few katana from tamahagane, or Japanese bloom steel.
Quite the beautiful video
Thanks for sharing! It’s beautiful!!
Good name would be ChunChunmaru.
Amazing Todd, Thank you for sharing this, as you know I'm fascinated by the katana, this was an awesome explanation of an incredible weapon.
Very beautyful..I like katana.from japan
I've got a sword like this,don't know much about it,I've translated 1906 is when it was made,two signatures on it with a date and place,made in the beginning of the showa period
素晴らしい。その刀はおよそ90年前に作られた日本刀です
Beautiful peace of art.
One small point, and this is so that we remain respectful to the Japanese culture and language, when we say Tsuba, the "t" is not silent.
I just realized why those dents on the guard. Most likely put there to tighten any fitting.
This was awesome Sensei. Please do more of these
I have a katana that I bought some years back. After watching this video I decided to take a look at the tang. I was surprised to see it only had writing on one side.
I think that is common. It is even common to have completely unsigned tang.
Love your videos also,very informative 👍
Wish there was sword experts in my area so I could go to as I have many questions.
The punch marks on the tsuba are to make it fit firmly to the tang.
Awesome, lucky to own such a treasure.
The Tsuba has hammer marks to tighten it around the blade. The Tsuba must be silent and not clang to worn an enemy.
beautiful
Not bad for demonstration video you did a find job there was a couple mistakes but not to many people can talk about sword quite like you did I applaud you well done 👍 I belong to San Francisco sword Society . Like I said not too many people have the knowledge of the sword you seem like a nice and decent person stay safe Like to see more videos
Nicely done. like the history lesson behind it!
such a beauty
i noticed when you flashed the blade over the bandana it seemed to dissapear at the right angle, which is another quality to the blade done on purpose...
O-Yoroi Doshi are a specific class of nihonto made to pierce O-Yoroi, or great armor. Size can range from tanto or aikuchi length to large wakizashi and have exceptionally wide blades along the unsharpened spine, giving sufficient stiffness and durability for their task. The head of the Japanese Communist Party was assassinated with an O-Yoroi Doshi in the sixties by a Nationalist aligned student who rushed the podium, managing to stab the politician once in the abdomen and was tackled as he attempted a follow-up stab.
Sir that is truly a piece of art,thank you for this beautiful video, ( remember don't clean the nakago - tang! Let it turn black)shinogi zukuri (you can see the yokote it has a chu kissaki, it's probably a kobuse, that will be a very fast sword! 🏯🇯🇵
The samurai never used that cleaning kit it actually came out way after the cleaning kit it's kind of a gimmick in a way except for the The Uchiko Ball which is used to strip oil off the blade. May I ask where you got that sword from? Very beautiful
Sir,you said not historian,but you explain very well like a samurai maker expert.
I want to send a photo of My Japanese sword I have one Habaki then two Seppa either side of the tsuba When the handle is lined up with the fixing hole there is a gap of about half inch and the seppa and tsuba are just floating about loosely. What might be missing
Simply beautiful 🙏🏻
FANTASTIC VIDEO !
吉日 reads as kichijitsu or kichinichi meaning one of good/fortunate days define in the calendar. You do anything you think important like marriage on a ‘lucky’ day if you care about 縁起, an ancient concept from India that has been Incorporated in Japanese lifestyle.
Notice how the bo-hi carries on right through to the nakago. This is traditional. Modern production katana don't do this; the only company I know that does that also is Huawei Swords.
Excellent content! 👍🏼👍🏼
Dear sensei,
Thank you for this information. I happen to have similar characteristic effects on my sword, that wooden dowel ,and diamond pattern woven and guard has round dragon plus at very end of the sword as well. Again I really appreciate your content and wish you the very best. ⚔
Thank you for putting out this info, I happen to have same characteristic of sword that you just showed specially that handle area where woolen like clothes wrapped as they were weaving the diamond shaped flower I believe as you've described in this clip
Where did you get the nice sword racks on the wall?
Love your videos
Nice Nihonto
Awesome hamon and koshirae
I love how you have so much knowledge about swords
Blade name: Tamashī no heddā (meaning soul be-header)
Beautiful sword, the blade looks very similar to my Hanwei practical plus XL light..
What is that huuge mark half way down the sword? is that a snap repair?
Pretty new blade
Nice sword.
The Nakago (tang) of the sword you are holding says it was made on a "lucky day" in kugatsu (September), Heisei 4 (1992).
The present era is known as Reiwa.
Might be good to make a difference between "blade " and the edge. when you are talking about how the sword sits on the hip.
The edge is what cuts, the blade the steel that goes in your says (scabbard)
Can I send you a picture of mine. I have no idea what it reads
Thanks for showing us your nihonto, I aspire to someday own such a work of art myself.
Phenomenal blade! Any truly forged japanese sword is of high value these days..
Your nihonto is a beautiful sword.
Amazing Sir!!
Oss!!!
Respect from Pakistan Peshawar
So cool🥺
So, the only thing holding the blade in the handle is one small wooden pin? That seems dangerous, to me.
Nice video
Excellent review 🤝👍😎
Good video
Absolutely beautiful..
If I got the characters right it's like this on the signature side: 三池住國衷作之
beatiful
Great show!!! Could you possibly let us know how can we buy such real sword made in Japan?
Strength, danger and beauty. Three combinations in one sword.
Soo beautiful
Very relaxing video. It's great to see some more detailed video about particular sword. I self-study japanese blades (very amateur) and it's difficult to find similar video especially with real nihonto. One question,....what is that different part of steel on ura side. It's perpendicular to ha and it appears on 10:19 . Is it a steel flaw or the blade just wasn't wiped yet? It almost has the color of hamon, but going from ha up to bo hi. Thank You. Subscribed. :)
Will one tsunami fit all swords?
My son inlaw found a strange old looking sword with a even stanger white ivory looking sheath with demons carved on it,,it brought ALOT of problems to his household till he threw it away,,we believed it was cursed,,i saw it once but it was gone before i could get it from him i believed it was a VERY special sword
You named it yourself...Swings Like There is No Tomorrow.
very nice showa period katana allthough i own a kanbun era wakizashi that was ranked as a wazamono also like yours and i own a boshin war sword also i dont own any modern ones though the bo-hi was used to take weight out of the blade the hammer marks on the tsuba were to tighten it against the blade it Smashes out the metal so it fits better not a flaw a lot of them have that and the Blade that goes saya the kogatana was used like a utility knife never used for fighting and the blade you have in a shinogi zukuri not a hira zukuri like you said all your fittings are made from brass silver the only iron i see is the tsuba very nice katana thanks for sharing.Micah
I used to just keep my japanese blades as a colletion but recently i decided to use one and test out these legendary swords true abilties . I cut some cucumber and through a few oranges into the air and sliced em in half . It was really fun . The sword is always stained afterward and I did oil it but at the kissaki there is a tiny tiny bit of rust so I am going to do my best to remove it and stop cutting fruit . I do not have access to any tameshigiri mats so what do you reccomend I cut . I beleve the blade is 1045 so harder targets might make it bend but never the less that sword is trully epic you showed today .
I tried taking apart my sword as well but I got both mekugi's out and was scared to hammer the tsuba off lol so I just put the pins back in . Do i need to take apart my sword ?
it is not Necessary to take apart a sword unless you cut something and it gets in the handle
Old newspaper soaked in water is a very good cutting target but they are not for beginner tho since they are harder to cut through than traditional tatami mats. You could always start at water bottles, they didn't represent anything on human body and very easy to cut through even with bad technique but at least you could practice your edge alignement on them (good cut, the bottle stay on the holder. Bad cut, the bottle will fly 4 5 meters across the yard)
Leaving the sword inside the koshirae is actually bad for it, that's why samurai when they didn't need to use their sword in a long period of time took it apart and put on a plain wooden handle and scabbard called Shirasaya for maintenance purpose
You used sword the right way don't feel bad it's a weapon not some peace of glass
Thanks !
i want to buy a samurai i live in bangladesh how to buy how much money in bangladesh
does the hibachi sit inside of the tsuba or on top of it? sry for my terrible spelling
The Habaki sits in front of the Tsuba, as a collar.
Great videos! Thank You for sharing so much knowledge! Would You dare to use this sword to cut something like tamati mats or will it scratch?