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MASTERPIECESof Japan

刀剣

Swords

07日本刀

JapaneseSwords

Curvature, the hamon along the edge, the point. Before it is a weapon, a Japanese sword is a landscape drawn in forged steel by the quench.

  • 太刀04

    Tachi

    Slung edge-down from the belt

  • 刀00

    Katana

    Worn edge-up through the sash

  • 脇差00

    Wakizashi

    The shorter companion blade

  • 短刀01

    Tantō

    A blade under one shaku

  • 薙刀00

    Naginata

    A curved blade on a long shaft

  • 槍00

    Yari

    A straight-bladed spear

Photograph of Dōjigiri Yasutsuna

National Treasure

Dōjigiri Yasutsuna

Dōjigiri Yasutsuna

A tachi by Yasutsuna, a smith of Ōhara in Hōki Province, from the Heian period. One of the Five Swords Under Heaven (Tenka Goken), it is sometimes paired with Ō-Kanehira as a yokozuna among Japanese swords, and is valued as one of the oldest surviving blades of its kind.

Swordsmith
Yasutsuna
Period
Heian period
Designation
National Treasure
Collection
Tokyo National Museum
  1. 02Mikazuki MunechikaTachi swordHeian · National Treasure
  2. 03Ō-KanehiraTachi swordHeian · National Treasure
  3. 04Okadagiri YoshifusaTachi swordKamakura · National Treasure
  4. 05Terasawa SadamuneTantō daggerKamakura · National Treasure
All swords