RIKUGUN JUMEI TOSHO ARMY APPROVED SWORDSMITHS

  RIKUGUN JUMEI TOSHO SWORDSMITHS  

The presence of a STAR stamp on the nakago of a WW II era sword blade is a good indicator of a gendai blade. The star stamp was used on blades made by swordsmiths of

the Rikugun Jumei Tosho. To become Rikugun Jumei Tosho, a swordsmith had to pass tests and examination of his blades. Once accepted as an Army Certified Swordsmith (Rikugun Jumei Tosho), the smith was given a regular allocation of tamehagane with which to make sword blades. These blades, after passing inspection, would be marked with a star stamp as an acceptance mark. Blades with star stamps and which show nie in the yakiba are considered to be gendaito; whereas other stamps were indicative of blades made by non-traditional methods and are therefore not gendaito. Some star stamped blades have received origami from the NBTHK. A complete list of Rikugun Jumei Tosho swordsmiths was published in Showa 17 entitled "Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo". There were also Navy commissioned swordsmiths (Kaigun Toko), but little information is currently available on them.

The following are known blades with star stamps by Jumei Tosho swordsmiths. Miyairi Shohei (Akihira) Niigata Akihisa Hiragawa Akimitsu Kasuga Seizou Tokoro

Harumoto Chikuzen (no) Kuni ju Muto

Hidehiro Hidemine Chikuzen ju Kajihara

Hiromitsu Ikusa no Kajitsu Hisakuni Yoshu Seiunshi Hisatsugu Noshu ju Kuriyama

Kaneaki(star + Kitae stamp)

Kaneharu Noshu ju Kanehide (star +

Seki stamp) Seki ju Kanehide Noshu ju Kanehisa (Kojima) Kanemichi (star

+Showa stamp) Noshu Seki ju Kanemichi Takeuchi Kanemitsu Seki Kanemoto Kanenaga (star +Seki

stamp) Noshu ju Kanenobu Noshu Seki ju Kanenori Kaneshige (star + Seki

stamp) Noshu ju (Morita)

Kaneshige

Oki Kuni ju Kikumitsu(star + tai stamp)

Senshu Kiyokane Choshu ju Kiyokune Izumo (no) Kuni

Kiyomitsu Choshu ju Kiyotsugu Hizen ju Kunimitsu Mori Kunitoshi Noshu ju Kunitoshi

(same as Mori Kunitoshi) Sendai Kunitsugu Iwashiro Kuniyasu Shoda Masafusa Hitachi Shishi do Isobe

Masahiro Kagawa Masahiro Masakuni Mizuno Masanori Ritsumeikan Masatake Saga (Hizen) Masatsugu Hizen kuni Masatsugu Ryu Masayoshi Ritsumeikan Masayuki Seki Mitsunobu Miyagi Morikuni Watanabe Morikuni Kanatoshi Minamoto

Morinobu Minamoto Moritaka Minamoto Moriyoshi Munehatsu Dewa Kuni Tsuchiyama

Minamoto Nobushige (Yoshihara) Nobutake Noriaki Tsukamoto Ikkansai

Okimasa Oki Kuni ju Okimitsu Sanuki Kuni ju Okimitsu Shimane Okimitsu Kawano Sadashige

(aka: Minamoto Sadashige)

Minamoto Sadateru(aka: Gassan Sadaichi)

Echigo kuni ju Uyemura Sadatoshi

Genbusai (Kojima) Shigefusa

Ikkansai Shigemasa (Tomita) Sukehiro Sukekuni (star + Showa

stamp) Sukenao Noshu (no) ju Sukenobu (Toki) Sukenobu Koshun(?) Tadatoshi Yamashiro ju Higashi

Tokimitsu Furuhata Tomomaro Toshihide Noshu ju Toshihide Baba Tsugukiyo Bizen no Kuni Akazaki ju

Toshimitsu

Seki ju Kanetomo (star + Seki stamp)

Noshu ju (Murayama) Kanetoshi(star + Seki stamp)

Gunma Imae Kanetsugu Joshu ju Imai Kanetsugu Seki ju Kanetsugu Tsushima Kanetsugu Kawai Kaneyoshi Inoue Katsukiyo Tokyo Dai Ichi Rikugun

Zoheisho Katsunobu

Sanjo ju Fujiwara Kazunori(may also be read as Ichinori)

Munemitsu (Yamagami) Munetoshi Chikugo ju Endo

Nagamitsu Seishinshi Nagatoshi Onoki Naoji

(star + Seki stamp)

Hokke Saburo Nobufusa

Tsuguyoshi Yasukuni Ritsumeikan Yoshikazu (Narii Kesayoshi)

Yoshikuni Noshu ju Ishihara

Yoshisada Iwami Yoshikiyo Hirasaki ju Yoshinobu Hizen (no) Kuni ju nin

Yoshitada Saga (Hizen) Yoshitada Hizen Kuni Kinoshita

Yoshitada

Zuihu (same as Shigefusa)

The above list is very incomplete. Not all blades by Jumei Tosho swordsmiths were star stamped. If the blade was a private or direct purchase, there will be no stamp appearing on the nakago. Many of the above listed smiths made gendaito which do not bear a star stamp. Smiths who were Jumei Tosho may have also produced non-traditionally made (non gendaito) blades. Each blade must be just individually, on its own merits.

Rikugun Jumei Tosho Swordsmiths Known From Literature Sources

In addition to the above known star stamped blades by the listed swordsmiths, the following swordsmiths are listed in either the Nihonto Meikan, Tosho Zenshu or John Slough's An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868-1945. This list was compiled thanks to the research of Jinsoo Kim. There are undoubtedly some duplications with the above list as some smiths did not sign their family names or may have signed with more than one mei.

Kawase Akikane Echigo no Kuni

ju Tesshushi Akimitsu Ishii Akifusa Shiono Akiharu Yoshihara Akihiro Nikara Akihiro Yamaue Akihisa Kondo Akikuni Shiono Akimichi Ikarashi Akimitsu Tanaka Akimori Konno Akimune Shiozawa Akinaga Kato Akinori Musashi no Kuni Akinori Nikara Akisada (aka

Kunitoshi) Iguchi Akisada Sanjo Akitada Nakabayashi Akitaka Tamura Akitaka Kotani Akitaka

Sato Kiyokatsu Sakurai Kiyokuni Nagamura Kiyonobu Koyama Kiyosuke Yamauchi Kuniharu Takajima Kunihide Kataoka Kunihiro Sakai Kunihisa Yoshihara Kuniiye Miura Kunimitsu Konoshima Kunimitsu Shibata Kunimitsu Kiku Kuninobu Yoshihara Kuniie Yoshihara Kuninobu Suzuki Kuninori

(aka Suzuki Kuniyoshi) Mizuta Kunishige Nagao Kunishiro Taguchi Kunitaka Horigawa Kunitake Ishiwata Kunitoshi Nikara Kunitoshi (aka

Yoshihara Nobutake Akiyama Nobuyuki Inoue Nobuyuki Morioka Noriaki Yasumoto Norimitsu Chikuzen Fukuoka

Moritsugu Norisada Tsukamoto Okimasa Hara Okimitsu I Hara Okimitsu II Tominaga Riyuu Wagou Sadajiro Gassan Sadakatsu Kaminura Sadakiyo Onishi Sadanari Echigo no Kuni

ju Imai Sadaroku Kawano Sadashige Yoshu Saijo ju Nyudo

Sadashige Akimoto Sadatomo Kamimura Sadatoshi Takahashi Sadatsugu

Kotani Akitomi Akimoto Ikkansai

Minamoto Akitomo Wakabayashi Akitoshi Takahashi Akitsugu Baba Akitsugu (aka

Tsugukiyo) Fujita Akiyoshi Sasakawa Akiyoshi Kurihara Akiyuki Arai Akiyuki Tsutsumi Amatsugu Sakurai Chikafusa Horigawa Chikamitsu Tashiro Douyama Okada Genjou Kitamura Harunobu Takefuji Hidehiro Koshi Wasasaburo

MinamotoNyudo Hidemune

Yatomi Hirokiyo Torio Hiromasa Yoshu Hojo ju Hiromasa Kajihara Hiromitsu Takefuji Hisahiro Koga Hisakuni Imai Hisatsugu Yoshihara Hisayoshi Takahashi Kagefusa Fukuda Kaneaki Fujii Kanefuji Morita Kanefusa Nakata Kanehide Otsuki Kanekuni Kato Kanekuni Kuriki Kanemasa Takeuchi Kanemasa Godo Kanemitsu Motomura Kanemoto Kaneko Kanemoto Kiribuchi Kanemune Godo Kanenari Niwa Kanenobu Kojima Kanenori Fujii Kaneoto Koda Kanesada Murayama Kaneshige Moriyama Kaneshige Morita Kaneshige Sato Kanesumi Koketsu Kanetaka Kiribuchi Kanetomo Miwa Kanetomo Kozuke junin

Ryuminsai Kanetomo Shoka Kanetoshi Murayama Kanetoshi Tsukahara Kanetsugu Imai Kanetsugu

Akihiro) Mori Kunitoshi Murayama Kunitsugu Kikuchi Kuniyasu Ono Kuniyoshi Haga Kuniyoshi Miyaguchi Masafusa Isobe Masahiro Semimaru Masahiro Ikeda Masahisa Toriwa Masahisa Takano Masakane Katsumura Hitachi no

SukeMinamoto Masakatsu

Oshu Iwashiro ju nin Choushi (Tsukamoto) Masakazu

Yakumo Amatsu Masakiyo

Kobayashi Masakiyo Morita Masamichi Miura Masamitsu Hirai Masamitsu Fukuda Masamitsu Sakai Masamizu Ishimichi Masamori Ito Masanaga Nozawa Masanao Mizuno Masanori Okajima Masatada Morioka Masataka Hiramatsu Masatomo Okishiba Masatsugu Taguchi Masatsugu Sakai Masatsugu Tokunaga Masatsugu Amachi Masatsune Takahashi Masayoshi Kosaka Masayoshi Sunaga Masayuki Yoshihara Masazane Tashiro Michitoshi Yamaguchi Mitsuhiro Takefuji Mitsuhiro Hizen no Kuni

Mitsuhiro Arai Mitsunori Miyake Morichika Miyagi Morikuni Sato Morikuni Sakuma Morikuni Watanabe Morikuni Terada Morinobu Miyake Moritaka Momota Munehide Yuki Munemitsu Ikeda Munetoshi Yamaue Munetoshi Tanaka Munetsugu

Takai Sadatsugu Enomoto Sadayoshi (aka

Yorikichi) Nishimoto Sadayoshi Kawasaki Sadayuki

(Kaigun Toko) Andachi Sadayuki Kato Sanekuni Kato Saneyoshi Sato Shigechika Ikkansai Shigemasa Kusakabe Shigemichi Hirose Shigemitsu Yodogawa Shigetoshi Wakabayashi Shigetsugu Tomita Sukehiro Kato Sukekuni Takeshita Sukemitsu Toki Sukenobu Kanesaki Suketoshi Fujiwara Sukeyuki Ihara (Fukutaro) Teruhide Ihara (Kametaro) Teruhide Shibutani Terukatsu Kawashima Terumitsu Ihara Teruyoshi Furuhata Tomomaro Izumi Tomoyoshi Ikkansai Toshihiro (aka

Yasuhiro) Imazumi Toshimitsu Baba Tsuguhiro Morita Tsuguiye Baba Tsugukiyo (aka

Akitsugu) Takahashi Tsugumasa Kozuke ju Tsugumasa Kozuke ju (Tsukagoshi)

Tsugunobu Imai Tsuguyoshi Kato Tsuneyasu Morishita Ujiyu Hino Ungo Motomura Yasuhiro Moritaka Yasuhiro Ikari Yasukazu Takeshita Yasukuni Matsunaga Yasumitsu Ryozen Ikari Yasukazu Yoshimi Yasutsugu Kojima Yasuyoshi Motojima Yasuyoshi Enomoto Yorikichi (aka

Sadayoshi) Osaki Yoshihira Nikara Yoshihiro Sato Yoshihisa Fujita Yoshikane Taniguchi Yoshikane Kawai Yoshikazu

Ryuminsai Kanetsugu Fujitani Kaneyoshi Kawai Kaneyoshi Murayama Kaneyuki Sato Kanezumi Inoue Katsukiyo Onuma Katsutoshi Miyano Kazuichi Ikeda Kazumitsu (aka

Yasumitsu) Suzuki Kazuyuki Sakamoto Kikumitsu Kobayashi Kiyokane

Tsutsui Kiyokane

Endo Nagamitsu Ichihara Ichiryushi

Nagamitsu Sato Naganari Kuwahara Naganori Osanai Nagayoshi Ichimura Naohisa Dewa Yamagata ju

Heiryo Naohisa Okuyama Naomasa Shimura Naotake Kobayashi Naotsugu Takahashi Nobufusa Nobuta Nobukuni Okishiba Nobushige

Iwasaki Nobushige

Kihara Yoshimasa Tanaka Yoshimitsu Yasumoto Yoshimitsu Fukuda Yoshimitsu

(Kaigun Toko) Takahashi Yoshimune Koide Yoshimune Takeyama Yoshinao Tangi Yoshinobu Nikara Yoshinobu Yamamura Yoshisada Kinoshita Yoshitada Chikugo ju Muto Yukihiro Takefuji Yukihiro Moritsugu Yukimune Taguchi Yukiyoshi

Fukuda Zenshiro

OTHER SWORDSMITH INDEXES

CAUTION ! Gimei blades (blades with false or fake signatures) of gendai swordsmiths have been reported. With the increase in interest and hence prices of gendaito in recent years there are sure to be unscrupulous people trying to cash in by faking gendaito. While this is not yet a wide spread problem, collectors should be aware of the possibility.

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GENDAI SWORDSMITHSAND OTHER SWORDSMITH INDEXES

There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of swordsmiths working from 1868 until 1945. The great majority worked during the 1930's and 1940's. Swords made during the WW II era encompass all types from totally machine made to those made in completely traditional Nihonto manner. It is sometimes quite difficult for beginners to distinquish between swords made from bar stock and oil tempered, and those made by traditional methods (gendaito, kindaito).

SWORDSMITH INDEXES

Rikugun Jumei Tosho are those swordsmiths approved by the Japanese Army to produce swords in the traditional manner; i.e., using tamehagane, for military officers. This index is divided into two parts; known swords with star stamps on the nakago and a listing of Jumei Tosho smiths from literature sources. Chris Bowen has done extensive research on gendai (kindai) smiths from the Tokyo region who worked during the WW II era. He has published a list of these swordsmiths as a prelude to his book on the same subject. With his kind permission, the Tokyo Kindai Tosho Index is available here. Part of the index contains a list of the members of the Nihon To Tanren Kai; those smiths that worked at the Yasukuni Shrine. The index lists both Romanji (English) names and Kanji of swordsmiths; however, to read the Kanji a Japanese character converter such as NJWin or a Japanese word processor is needed. All the smiths in Bowen's Index made swords in the traditional manner (gendaito, kindaito).

Three other indexes of swordsmiths, the Gendai Toko Meikan, the Gendaito Meisaku Zukan and the Toko Taikan have been translated and compiled by Tony Thomas. They are available here with his permission. I have abstracted the Toko Taikan index for all listed gendai swordsmiths. All indexes give the Romanji (English) names of a large number of gendai smiths, but do not include name Kanji. Lacking the proper Kanji makes using these indexes speculative for identifying a specific smith as there are commonly several Kanji which can correspond to a given Romanji (English) translation. The complete Toko Taikan Index includes koto, shinto and shinshinto as well as gendai swordsmiths. The complete Toko Taikan Index is too large to post in text format. It is available only in ZIP format. The NTT/NTS Showa List, courtesy of Kenji Mishina, is a list of Showa era swordsmiths published in 1943 by the Nihon Token Tanren-jo and Nihon Token Shinbun-shi using the ranking system then in use for ranking sumo wrestlers. The Koto Taikan Index also lists swordsmiths of all eras was prepared by Clive Sinclaire and is likewise used here with his permission. Due to its size, the Koto Taikan Index is available only in ZIP format. The Nihonto Newsletter Index, prepared by Ron Hartmann, is for the five volume set of compiled newsletters authored by Albert Yamanaka and published by the JSSUS.

Use the search in page or find in page functions of your browser to quickly determine if a specific swordsmith is listed in one of these indexes once you have loaded the index page. Use the Search Engine to search this entire site for a specific swordsmith or other topic or term.

SWORDSMITH INDEXES

Rikugun Jumei Tosho

Tokyo Kindai Tosho

Gendai Toko Meikan Index

Gendaito Meisaku Zukan Index

Toko Taikan Index (Gendai Only)

Toko Taikan Index (Zip format)

Koto Taikan Index (Zip format)

Nihonto Newsletter Index (Zip format)

Ritsumeikan Swordsmiths

NTT/NTS Showa List

Gendai Mino Swordsmiths

Undocumented Showa Smiths

MINATOGAWA SHRINE SWORDS

The Minatogawa Shrine or Minatogawa Jinja was established in 1941 by the Japanese Navy to produce swords for distribution through the Japanese Naval Academy. The head swordsmith was Kasame Moriwaka (Masataka). Masataka first signed his swords as either Michimasa or Morimitsu, but adopted the name Masataka and the kikusui mon upon the

establishment of the Shrine. The Minatogawa Jinja smiths produced true gendaito. The swords of the Minatogawa Jinja are normally designated with a kiku-sui (chrysanthemum on water) stamp above the swordsmith's signature. One unusual early sword of this group is signed: Oite Minatogawa Jinja Michimasa, dated 1941, and lacks the kikusui stamp. That blade has received a Hozon origami from the NBTHK. It is believed that all smiths of this group used Masa as the first character of their name. The signature (mei) normally reads "Minatogawa Jinja Masa----". Some of the smiths working at the Minatogawa Jinja were Moriwaka Masataka (Michimasa), Masahide, Ito Masakiyo (oshigata at right courtesy of Jeff Vassallo), Masuda Masaaki, Murakami Masatada, Fujiwara Masayoshi and Okada Masanao. Minatogawa swords are very well made and much sought after by collectors; there being very few of them made.

There are several blades known made by Noshu Seki 23rd Generation Kanefusa which have the kiku-sui crest carved as a horimono on the blade (not on the nakago). These blades were not made at the Minatogawa Jinja Tanrensho and have no known connection with it. These swords probably were a special order from a group of Naval officers or a Naval officer's association.

Herman Wallinga's article Gendaito Made at the Minatogawa Shrine, published in the Japanese Sword Society of the United States Journal (volume 33, number 3, 2001) is the definitive English language reference for blades of the Minatogawa Shrine.

GENDAI SWORDSMITHS PAPERED BY THE NBTHK OR NTHK

One aid in determining whether or not a blade is made in traditional manner, i.e. is a true gendaito, is the issuance of origami (papers) by either the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (NBTHK) or the Nihon Token Hozon Kai (NTHK). While all gendai smiths have not received origami, one can be assured that the blades by "papered" smiths are true gendaito. Most Yasukuni Shrine swords have received origami from either the NTHK or the NBTHK and are classed as gendaito. The same is true for the blades of the Gassan School.

Awa Kuni Akifusa Kurihara Akihide Miyairi Akihira Chounsai Emura

(aka: Emura, E ) Enshin Hori Hideaki Ichiryushi

(aka: Ichihara Nagamitsu ) Shibata Ka 23rd Gen. Fujiwara

Kanefusa Noshu Seki ju Kanekuni Zenjo Kanekuni Kojima Kanemichi

( Gifu ) Hizen Motomura

Kanemoto Mino Kuni Seki ju nin

Watanabe Kanenaga Noshu ju Tanba

Kanenobu Miyamoto Kanenori Seki ju Kanematsu

Kanetatsu Noshu Kanetoshi

(aka: Murayama Kinoichi )(Ichimonji Murayama Kanetoshi)

Noshu Seki ju Fujii Kaneuji

Seki Yoshida Kaneuji Kaneyoshi (Kosaka

Kinbei) Hoki Ju Kanaya

Katsumasa Osamura Kiyonobu

(aka: Nagamura Kiyonobu) Bungo Iiitano (?) ju

Kunihide

Yoshihara Kuniie

Yoshihara Kuninobu Minatogawa Masaaki Hizen kuni Ikari

Masaharu Aizu ju Sekimuto

Masahiro Amatsu Masakiyo Minatogawa Masakiyo Sumitani Masamine Masanori ( Osaka ) Hizen kuni Masatsugu Echizen Kuni Mitsuoki Endo Mitsuoki Munetoshi Ichihara Nagamitsu

(aka: Ichiryushi) Kuruma ju Nagamitsu Seishinshi Nagatoshi Hokke Saburo

Nobufusa Takayashi Nobuhide Chikushu Nobumitsu Sa Nobumitsu Moritsugu Norisada Tsukamoto Okimasa Gassan Sadakatsu Gassan Sadakazu Imai Sadashige Takahashi Sadatsugu Amada Sadayoshi Iyo Matsuyama ju

Seiken

Ikkansai Shigemasa

Kasama Shigetsugu (aka: Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu)

Fujita Tadamitsu Nakao Tadatsugu Kawashima Tadayoshi Ishido Teruhide Horii Toshihide Toshihide Miyaguchi Toshihiro

(aka: Yasuhiro, Kunimori ) Tsukagoshi Tsugunobu Bizen Kuni Osafune ju

Fujiwara Toshimitsu Kato Tsunahide Sagami no Kuni ju Yasuaki Miyaguchi Yasuhiro

(aka: Miyaguchi Toshihiro) Ikeda Yasumitsu Yasunobu Kajiyama Yasunori Kotani Yasunori Shimazuki Yasuoki Yasushige ( Abe Shigeo ) Musashi no Kuni Yakuwa

Yasutake Kajiyama Yasutoshi Yasuyoshi Minamoto Yoshichika Takahashi Yoshimune Chikugo Naumoto Yukihira

Chikugo No Ju Muto Yukihiro

The above listing of origami is very incomplete. It has been compiled from individuals having direct knowledge or references of papered smiths. Many thanks to all those individuals who

have contributed information on gendai swordsmiths. This is an area of Japanese sword study that is still very much on-going with new information surfacing frequently.

NOTE: Origami are issued for specific blades not to the sword smith. Many sword smiths made both traditional and non-traditional blades during the WW II period. Just because one blade by a specific smith has received origami does not mean that all blades by that smith are traditionally made. Also, there may be several smiths using the same name during this period. Each blade must be judged on its own merits and not simply by the signature of the swordsmith.

CAUTION ! Gimei blades (blades with false or fake signatures) of gendai swordsmiths have been reported. With the increase in interest and hence prices of gendaito in recent years there are sure to be unscrupulous people trying to cash in by faking gendaito. While this is not yet a wide spread problem, collectors should be aware of the possibility.

Home | Search | History | Care | Pic Glossary | Glossary | Military I | Military II | Repros | Terms I | Terms II | Dirks |

Gendai | Jumei Tosho | Origami | Flaws | Polearms | Logos | Tsuba | Real? | Clubs | Books | Events | Listservs | Kanji | Sageo

Nakirishi Mei | Measure | NBTHK | FAQ | Sinclaire | Articles | Sword Sites | Japan Sites | Martial Arts | World Swords

Yoshichika | Kanefusa | Kanezane | Teruhide | Koa Isshin | Nagamitsu | Emura | Tanto | Yoshimichi | Master Po

Chapter 2: JAPAN, THE AGE OF THE SAMURAI

1156 to 1603

This chapter covers the following topics:

The Kamakura Shogunate The Ashikaga Shogunate European Contact Reunification

The Kamakura Shogunate

1156 to 1333

As lawlessness and violence increased during the closing years of the Heian era, landholders armed their sons & retainers and hired experienced warriors to lead them. But the violent trend of the time was against small groups; those that did not make alliances with other groups were almost sure to be defeated and plundered. To increase their strength all the warrior bands in one area might get together and offer their services to an important lord, who would in return protect the minor chiefs and their followers from enemies and share the booty that any member of the alliance might win. To improve his own position, a lord might then place himself and everyone under him at the service of one of the two most powerful clans, either the Minamoto or the Taira. This system of lords and vassals was very similar to the feudalism practiced in Europe at the same time, a crude but effective way to restore order when central authority disappears.

Along with feudalism came the Japanese counterpart to the European knight, the samurai. To cement the bonds between samurai and lord, an elaborate military code called Bushido ("the way of the warrior") was developed that demanded absolute loyalty to one's superiors. Nothing was supposed to interfere with this devotion, neither love of wife & children nor duty to one's parents; an honorable death was the most important goal.(1) Similar values were extended to women, who were expected to bear hardships with Spartan endurance; they now had to fight, and if necessary, die beside their husbands. Their lives were much harder, but they could hold the rights of a vassal and inherit property under the code. Later on, as Bushido became formalized, the warrior would become a special caste in society, and no one below samurai rank was allowed (in theory anyway) to wear the daisho, two superbly crafted swords--one long and one short--that were revered almost like sacred objects.

The lords and the samurai warriors who served them fought battles that were decided not by tactics or the movement of formations, but by man-to-man duels between great champions. These combats represented heroic warfare in the extreme. The time and location of battles were elaborately negotiated beforehand, and each side strove to demonstrate the justice of its cause and the treachery of the other side. Before engaging the enemy, Japanese warriors would proudly proclaim their family lineage and its notable military exploits to their adversaries, who often missed the details because they were shouting back their own. The battles themselves were chaotic affairs, with lots of shouting and clashing but relatively few fatalities; sometimes the loss of too many champions would prompt one side to withdraw from the battlefield, rather than continue the fight with reduced morale.

The decline of the Fujiwara clan left a vacuum at the top that both the Taira and the Minamoto scrambled to fill. The Taira won the first war between them (1156-60); Kiyomori, the Taira leader, moved to Kyoto, married his daughter to an imperial prince, and allowed the emperor, Fujiwara regent, and retired emperor to keep their jobs. Kiyomori's opponents were ruthlessly exterminated, and their lands were confiscated, but the Minamoto survived on the Kanto plain (a large fertile area just west of modern Tokyo), which was too far away for the Kyoto government to control firmly. But the Taira made a fatal mistake in moving to Kyoto; once there they gave themselves up to the pleasures of a capital city that had become little more than a symbol. The real source of power was armed force, and since it came from the provinces, the Minamoto were now in a better position to exploit it.

Minamoto Yoritomo, a son of one of the eliminated opponents, was spared because of his youth and entrusted to a supposedly loyal retainer of the Taira family, Hojo Tokimasa. But this ambitious lord married his daughter to Yoritomo and helped him gain leadership of the clan so he could make a comeback. Yoritomo's rebellion, known as the Gempei War, began in 1180, and the Minamoto armies, which were not softened by the social life in Kyoto, marched southwest to one victory after another. After several battles in the heartland of Honshu, the Taira abandoned Kyoto, taking the child emperor with them, but the retired emperor defected to the other side, giving the Minamoto the legitimacy they needed. A naval battle on the Inland Sea crushed the Taira in 1185.

Once his last rivals were eliminated, Yoritomo set up the system of military dictatorship that characterized Japan for most of the next 700 years. Rather than make the same mistake as the Taira did, he established his government at the small town of Kamakura, 300 miles east of Kyoto. This government, called the Bakufu ("Tent Government"), was a simple but effective system, modeled after the way he ran his household. Most policies were made by an administrative board; the Samurai-Dokoro (Board of Retainers) assigned, rewarded, and punished lords and samurai; a Board of Inquiry became a court of appeals for anyone who had sworn loyalty to the Minamoto clan. In 1192 the emperor recognized that the country was being run more effectively from Kamakura by giving Yoritomo the title of Shogun (Generalissimo).

Ironically, Yoritomo made sure that the Minamoto would not keep control of the government he had set up, due to an obsessive fear of being overthrown by members of his own family. Close relatives, including his brother Yoshitsune, whose courage and military genius had much to do with the Minamoto triumph over the Taira, were murdered or driven into exile. Fear of spies and uncertainty about how to stay above suspicion made paranoia a regular part of life at the Bakufu. Though Yoritomo's rule went unchallenged, the measures he adopted to protect his throne left him without an able heir, and nobody in his family lived long after his death in 1199. Peace was maintained by Yoritomo's widow, Masa-ko, who claimed the title of shogun for her family, the Hojo. The Hojo kept the power of decision-making with their leading family members, though, making the office of shogun just one more figurehead position. Now political power was removed six steps from the official head of state:

1. Emperor 2. Fujiwara Regent 3. Retired Emperor 4. Shogun 5. Hojo Regent 6. Hojo Family Committee

Theoretically each member of the above list was superior to those below him, but in practice each member took orders from his immediate subordinate. Only in a country like Japan, where tradition and hereditary status are revered so highly, could such a hierarchy (or is it lowerarchy?) function effectively.

The age of the Kamakura Shogunate was an age of prosperity and progress. Trade with China resumed after a 350-year interruption, and the constant traffic between Kamakura & Kyoto encouraged commerce at home. Since the artists and writers of the day had patrons with different tastes, the stories and paintings produced vividly described military feats of valor. Unlike the arts of the Heian era, which were produced by aristocrats for aristocrats, the new culture was popular all over the country, inspiring martial values in the Japanese people all the way until 1945. Artisans also went to work producing the finest swords and armor in the world, which were works of art in their own right.(2)

Another aspect of culture affected by the new order was religion. Buddhism had split into many sects with differing doctrines when it was transmitted from India to China; now the same process occurred in Japan. The first Buddhist sects that the Japanese accepted were ones that originated in China; the most famous of these is Zen (Chan in Chinese). Now the Japanese invented their own sects. The most popular of these was Jodo, or Pure Land Buddhism, which taught that there was an Indian ruler named Amida, who lived a perfect life and ruled a paradise on the western edge of the earth. Pure Land followers believed that a righteous life would allow them to be reincarnated in that paradise, but some dissenting members claimed that repetition of the phrase "Namu Amida Butsu" (Homage to Amida Buddha) was all that was necessary to gain salvation.(3)

A native Buddhist sect with a more militant air was started by an evangelist named Nichiren (1222-82), who claimed that a text called the Lotus Sutra was the only true way to find salvation. Nichiren replaced the traditional Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation with a picture of Heaven and Hell as vivid as Dante's; in an un-Buddhist fashion he denounced all other sects for sending their followers to perdition, and criticized the government for not suppressing these "heresies." Of course this teaching got Nichiren in trouble with the authorities, but when he converted his would-be executioner and correctly predicted that Japan would be invaded a few years later, he won the respect--and conversion--of many samurai. Both Nichiren and Pure Land Buddhism resemble Protestant evangelism in their zeal, married clergy, loose organization, and an emphasis on faith rather than works.

The foreign invasion that Nichiren predicted came from the Mongols, who now ruled most of Eurasia. In 1268 Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, sent a letter addressed to the "King of Japan," stating that he favored continuing trade (meaning tribute) between Japan and China. The Kamakura government refused to answer, though they knew that war would be the likely result. Since Kyushu was the closest part of the country to the Asian mainland, the island's coastal defenses were strengthened and the local warriors were kept on alert; spies in Korea watched the build-up of the Mongol forces. The expected invasion came in 1274, with 15,000 Mongol troops riding 450 ships built and sailed by Koreans. Not willing to wait for the arrival of the Bakufu's main armies, the local samurai charged the Mongols recklessly. The Japanese had the advantage of being familiar with the land they were fighting on, but everything else favored the Mongols. Whereas the samurai used no military formations and challenged their opponents to formalized single combat, the Mongols were experienced tacticians that maneuvered skillfully in tight formations even when on horseback; they also had crossbows and catapults. The battle was inconclusive, but the Korean sailors, not liking

the look of the weather, persuaded the Mongols to reboard the ships. That night a storm sank many of the ships and blew the rest back to Korea.

After that abortive invasion, Kublai Khan sent another embassy, ordering the "King of Japan" to come to him and do homage. The Bakufu rejected this ultimatum in the strongest way it could think of, by lopping off the heads of the Mongol ambassadors. Then the Japanese people prepared for the second invasion with a show of unity that the country had never seen before. A fleet was constructed; more defenses were built on Kyushu; more arms were stockpiled; all men able to bear arms were trained to be ready for battle at a moment's notice. The court at Kyoto gave up luxuries to save money for defense. Even the pirates of the Inland Sea enthusiastically joined forces with the navy. Fortunately for the Japanese, the invasion did not come for seven years, because the Mongols were busy subjugating south China in the meantime. When Kublai Khan's force finally arrived, it contained 1,000 ships and 150,000 troops, the largest amphibious invasion force in history before modern times. The struggle lasted for 50 days on Kyushu, with no side gaining the upper hand. Then a great typhoon roared over the island, wrecking the fleets and breaking the back of the Mongol army. It was the worst defeat in Mongol history, and the kami-kazi ("divine wind"), as the typhoon was called, convinced the Japanese that their land was protected by the gods, a belief that lasted until the end of World War II.

The Ashikaga Shogunate

1333 to 1573

From the height of success, the Kamakura Shogunate descended rapidly into oblivion. The wars with the Mongols, followed by 20 years of alert waiting for a third invasion that never came, drained the economy; furthermore, since they were strictly defensive wars, there was no booty from conquered enemies to be had, and everyone, from the peasants to the shogun, came out poorer. Government resources dropped as great landholders stopped paying taxes, but the Bakufu could not make its other vassals act against them. Then in 1318 a very vigorous emperor, Go Daigo, mounted the throne; he was determined to rule by himself without the pressure of any other family on him. The Hojo regent tried to make Go Daigo abdicate without the use of force, but the emperor outwitted him every time. Finally in 1333, the regent sent an army to Kyoto, but before it got there its general, Ashikaga Takauji, changed sides, declared himself for the emperor, and marched back to Kamakura. Several discontented lords and samurai joined him, and together they destroyed the Bakufu and the military capital. Then Takauji forced Go Daigo off the throne, replaced him with a puppet emperor he could trust, and declared himself the new shogun.

The Ashikaga shogunate was much weaker than the governments before and after it. Not only did it fail to put Go Daigo in his place (he set up a rival court in the mountain town of Yoshino that lasted until 1392), but it made the same mistake as the Taira: the shogun and his retainers moved into Kyoto, discovered "the good life" in the capital, and lost control over the vassals who stayed at home. For nearly 270 years after Takauji's coup the emperors and

shoguns were mere shadows, unable to keep order beyond the city limits of Kyoto, while powerful lords called daimyo ruled their fiefs like independent nations, making their own laws and launching wars of conquest against their neighbors whenever they felt like it. None of the daimyo paid taxes, forcing the shoguns to live off the incomes their personal estates produced.(4) While theoretically every daimyo was the shogun's vassal, in practice they were more like allies of doubtful allegiance, especially in the fourteenth century when the existence of two rival emperors provided a ready excuse to switch sides when it was in a lord's interest to do so. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were marked by bloody civil wars to determine the shogun's successor, with none of the participants even claiming to be devoted to the current emperor or shogun. In this era of ruthless competition, spies, skill, luck--and treachery!--became more important than loyalty; so many daimyo came to premature ends that their number was reduced from roughly 260 in 1467 to 45 in 1580. When there was peace at home many unemployed soldiers became pirates, plundering the coast of China and Southeast Asia. For these reasons the period of the Ashikaga Shogunate is also called "the Age of War."

The collapse of any semblance of centralized authority was sharply accelerated by the Onin War, which involved 250,000 warriors and raged for a decade (1467-77). Rival heirs to the Ashikaga Shogunate called on the warlord chiefs to support their claims. Samurai flocked to the rival headquarters in different sections of Kyoto, where feuding soon broke into all-out warfare. By the time they were finished, the old imperial capital had been reduced to rubble and weed-choked fields. While the shogunate self-destructed in the capital, the provincial lords continued to amass power and plot new coalitions to destroy their enemies. In place of mud-walled forts, the daimyo erected massive wood and stone castles to dominate the Japanese landscape. To discourage betrayal by their vassals, the daimyo required them to live in the towns that developed around the castles, or at least to leave members of their families there as hostages to ensure their good behavior.

The pattern of warfare was also transformed when the daimyo responded to a shortage of warriors by drafting peasants, arming them with pikes, and sending them into battle under the leadership of the mounted samurai who had fought by themselves in the previous era. Now victory depended on the size and organization of a warlord's forces and on how effectively his commanders employed them in the field. The scarcely trained and poorly fed peasant forces became a major source of misery to the common people. As they marched about the countryside to fight the incessant wars of their overlords, they looted and pillaged with impunity. Often in response to the depredations of warlord armies, the peasantry in different areas sporadically rose up in hopeless but ferocious revolts that fed the trend toward brutality and destruction. It is no wonder that contemporary accounts of the era are dominated by a sense of pessimism and foreboding--a conviction that Japan was going back to barbarism.

Those peasants with enough military talent to survive their first battle rose rapidly in rank, becoming officers and gaining grants of land or even samurai status. With this check on social mobility removed, the common man gained an importance that the daimyo could not ignore; a wise lord often responded by ruling his realm more efficiently. Unfortunately, women found their lives more restricted at the same time; they lost their right of inheritance, because in that chaotic age many felt a woman could not keep a firm hand on any land bequeathed to her.(5)

As civil strife intensified, the pace of social and economic change accelerated accordingly. Fine arts such as painting and theater, once found only in the capital, found patrons among the warrior barons and rich merchants. The tea ceremony first appeared during this time and was soon transformed from a way of taking a break into a social ritual of great importance. Trade,

both local and with China, continued to increase. Prosperous Zen monasteries sponsored trading expeditions to China and set up a fine system of schools all over the country.

Most of the daimyo recognized that they had to build up their petty states if they were to be strong enough to survive in the long run. Within their domains, attempts were made to stabilize village life by introducing regular tax collection, supporting the construction of irrigation systems and other public works, and building strong rural communities. Incentives were offered to encourage the settlement of unoccupied areas, and new tools, the greater use of draft animals, and new crops like soybeans improved the lives of the peasantry in the better-run domains. Peasants were also encouraged to produce items such as silk, hemp, paper, dyes, and vegetable oils, which were highly marketable and thus potential sources of household income. The net result of all this was that daimyos often doubled or even tripled the income of their estates. They also made a determined effort to attract merchants to their growing castle towns, and a new and quite wealthy commercial class emerged as the purveyors of goods for the military elite. As in Medieval Europe, guild organizations for both craftsmen (carpenters, thatchers, smiths, potters, etc.) and merchants were strong in this era. They helped provide social solidarity and group protection in a time of political breakdown and insecurity.

European Contact

While Japan was occupied with internal matters, the seafaring countries of Europe went exploring for the lands of fabulous riches that Marco Polo had seen and written about 200 years before. When Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba, he thought it was Japan; he wondered where the gilded castles and silk-robed scholars were, when all he found were Indians! In 1542 three Portuguese merchants, riding on a Chinese junk, arrived at Tanegashima, a small island south of Kyushu. They carried arquebuses (matchlock muskets), and when they gave the local daimyo a demonstration of what guns can do, the lord bought all the arquebuses and ordered his armorers to make 600 copies of them. Thus, in more ways than one, Japanese-Western relations started off with a bang.

Every year after that saw European traders visit the islands in increasing numbers. The traders brought goods produced in India, China, and Southeast Asia and exchanged them for silver, copper, pottery, and lacquerware. More important, the Europeans also brought Western-made goods such as firearms, printing presses, and clocks. Commercial contacts with the Europeans also encouraged the Japanese to venture overseas to trade with nearby Formosa and Korea, and places as distant as the Philippines and Siam.

The Portuguese found Japan to be the most pleasant country in the Orient. From their point of view, India and Southeast Asia were too hot, and the customs of their peoples aroused little but contempt. China had a more temperate climate, but the Chinese treated Europeans like a dangerous disease and kept them quarantined to one southern port (Canton). By contrast, Japan had a culture and government the Europeans could understand (feudalism), and the people were friendly. In 1549 the first missionaries arrived, led by the Spanish Jesuit Francis

Xavier. Like the merchants, the missionaries were greeted by a welcoming committee, and made many converts from the start.(6)

Both the merchants and the missionaries had a problem with the constant fighting between the daimyo, though all factions respected the Europeans enough to leave them alone if they happened to stray near a battlefield. Missionaries often had to pack up and move when an unfriendly daimyo captured the territory they were in (but they always left Japanese Christians behind to continue their work), and the merchants attracted the attention of pirates if they dropped anchor in the same harbor more than once. In 1569, however, the daimyo of northwestern Kyushu became a Christian; he promptly converted all 1,500 of his retainers, burned the local Buddhist temple, and built a church on the temple's site. That daimyo's city, Nagasaki, grew afterwards to become a prominent base for traders and the safest part of the country for Christians.

Reunification

Japan under the Ashikaga Shogunate may have looked like several feuding nations to European eyes, but the fact that the people had the same language and customs all over the islands meant that it would only be a matter of time before reunification was attempted. In the late sixteenth century three remarkable leaders arose to pull the country back together: Oda Nobunaga (1534-82), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).(7)

Nobunaga got started by inheriting the lands of his father, a minor daimyo, at the age of 17. Some of his relatives were not willing to serve under a teenager, so he had to raise an army of 1,000 and fight the dissidents to make his claim stick. A few years later, in 1560, he was attacked by Imagawa, the most powerful daimyo in central Honshu. Nobunaga's army was outnumbered 8 to 1, but in a daring move he trapped Imagawa and his followers in a ravine and all but annihilated them. Nothing succeeds like success, and Imagawa's surviving vassals, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, beat a path to Nobunaga's door. Then Nobunaga made a revolutionary change in tactics by replacing the cherished swords with firearms as the main battlefield weapons. Though many samurai denounced the guns, calling them weapons for cowards, they brought Nobunaga still more victories and a flood of followers.

In 1568 Nobunaga occupied Kyoto and named a puppet shogun; five years later he quietly put an end to the Ashikaga Shogunate when the shogun acted on his own once too often. Now the strongest daimyo in Japan, Nobunaga spent the rest of his life ruthlessly warring against his persistent rivals.

Since he never claimed any religious belief, his most ardent opponents came from the Buddhist clergy, so he tried to break their power in a merciless campaign of destruction. An interesting by-product of this anti-Buddhist hostility was a friendly attitude toward Christians. Soon the Jesuits got the idea that they were on the verge of winning over Nobunaga, who delighted in wearing Western clothes, encouraged his artists to copy Western paintings of the Virgin Mary and scenes from the life of Christ, and permitted the missionaries to build churches in towns throughout the islands. The missionaries hoped that Nobunaga's conversion

would bring the rest of the Japanese people into the Christian fold. Nobunaga did not convert, but he gave the missionaries everything else they wanted; by the time of his death there were 150,000 Christians in Japan, out of a population of 20 million.

By 1580 Nobunaga had unified much of central Honshu under his command. As his armies drove against the powerful western daimyo in 1582, he was caught off guard by one of his vassal generals and killed when the Kyoto temple where he had taken refuge was burned to the ground. The assassin, however, could not take his lord's job; he was defeated by Nobunaga's leading general, Hideyoshi, who negotiated a truce with a rival and hurried back to Kyoto as soon as he heard the news. He spent the next two years gaining the submission of Nobunaga's vassals; unlike his predecessor, who believed in using force as a first resort, Hideyoshi preferred negotiations. His favorite strategy was to gain the loyalty of other daimyo by enlarging their tracts of land, even if he had fought them previously. The last battle was fought at Odawara (near mt. Fuji) in 1590, when the castle of the once-powerful Hojo family was taken; now for the first time in centuries, Japan was both peaceful and united. Many conservative Japanese must have been shocked by his success, because Hideyoshi came from a peasant family, making his career the most remarkable "rags-to-riches" story in Japanese history.

Unlike Nobunaga, Hideyoshi was suspicious of the power Christianity was gaining, perhaps because Buddhism was no longer a threat. In 1587 his emissary woke up the Jesuit leader in the middle of the night and gave him a list of questions about Christian practices. Why did God allow only one woman per man (Hideyoshi once claimed he would convert if that prohibition was lifted)? How could one justify the gaining of converts by force? Why were Buddhists persecuted and their temples desecrated/destroyed? Why do Christians eat useful animals, such as cattle? Why are merchants permitted to enslave Japanese and carry them off for sale? Before the priest could reply, Hideyoshi ordered all missionaries to leave Japan, but he left them alone after they stopped preaching openly.

Now that Japan possessed far more warriors than it needed, Hideyoshi decided to use them to conquer China and even India, though he knew little about either place; he also considered an invasion of the Spanish Philippines. Since Korea was on the way, 160,000 samurai were sent across Tsushima Strait in 1592. Korea was conquered in only six weeks, but the Korean navy, using a radical new ship design called the "tortoise boat" (a rowboat covered with spikes and bulletproof iron armor), controlled the sea, making it difficult to reinforce the Japanese forces. To make matters worse, China sent armies into Korea, and even after the Chinese were defeated twice they refused to negotiate. The situation in Korea became a stalemate; in 1597 Hideyoshi tried to break it by sending another 150,000 troops, and that campaign was still in progress when he died a year later. After his death the samurai were called home, leaving Japan, China, and Korea all in worse shape than before.

While all these events were happening, Spanish traders began to visit Japan, joining the Portuguese already there. Japan tolerated these aggressive newcomers until 1596, when Spain's Manila Galleon was driven onto the island of Shikoku by a typhoon. Her cargo--a whole year's worth of revenue from the Philippines, intended for the Spanish crown--was claimed by both the local samurai and Hideyoshi's representatives. The Spanish captain reacted by showing a map of the vast Spanish empire and warned that the king of Spain would invade Japan if the cargo was not returned. To add to this monumental error, the captain mentioned that Spanish missionaries are used to pave the way for future conquests. When

Hideyoshi heard about this, he crucified six Spanish Franciscans and 20 Japanese Christians. The church was driven underground for the rest of Hideyoshi's life.

Hideyoshi's passing in 1598 left Tokugawa Ieyasu the most powerful man in Japan, possessing an estate even larger than that of Hideyoshi's family. The other daimyo tried to form an alliance against him, but Ieyasu crushed them in the battle of Sekigahara (1600). Three years later the emperor made him shogun, beginning the Tokugawa Shogunate that would rule Japan until 1867.

FOOTNOTES

1. Beaten or disgraced warriors committed ritual suicide, which they called seppuku (disembowelment), but which is commonly known in the West by the more vulgar hari-kiri (belly-slitting), to prove their courage and restore the family honor.

2. A complete suit of armor weighed 25 pounds, only half as much as the steel plate armor that European knights were starting to wear, but it was just as effective. This was proved in 1180, when a Taira samurai survived a battle unhurt with 63 arrows sticking out of his armor!

3. They never agreed on how many times that phrase had to be repeated. Some said that once in a lifetime was enough to do it; on the other extreme were those who claimed it had to be repeated almost every waking moment of every day!

4. The emperors were even worse off; cut off from all official income, one was forced to write & sell poems to make ends meet. Another could not bury his predecessor for six weeks until he gathered enough money for the funeral, and delayed his own coronation 20 years because of the lack of funds.

5. The restrictions and loss of status felt by women at this time led to the custom of not using actresses in theatrical performances; traditionally their roles have been played by men specially trained to impersonate women.

6. Francis Xavier called the Japanese the "best people [the Europeans] had yet discovered," but he and other missionaries had an awful time with the Japanese language. The problem was that the grammar is very complicated, using different forms which depend on whether the user is speaking to a social equal, inferior, or superior; they decided that the devil invented the language just to make their job more difficult! The priests ended up using native interpreters, so we do not know for sure if their Japanese converts understood what they were joining. They may have thought Christianity was a new and interesting Buddhist sect.

7. A fable summarizes the personalities of these figures. Supposedly all three of them sat down one day to listen to a cuckoo bird's singing. Nobunaga said, "If it doesn't sing, I'll kill it." Hideyoshi said, "If it doesn't sing, I'll make it sing." Ieyasu said, "If it doesn't sing, I'll wait 'till it does."

© Copyright 2000 Charles Kimball

Meanwhile inRussia

Meanwhile inChina

Meanwhile inKorea

Meanwhile inSoutheast Asia

Jutai-Jutsu

Grappling Skills

Kuzushi Waza: Breaking Attacker's Balance

Zenpo Kuzushi - ForwardYoko Kuzushi - Side WaysKoho Kuzushi - BackwardsUwa-Muki no Kuzushi - UpwardsNaname Kuzushi - DiagonallyKudari-no Kuzushi – Downwards

Kensetsu Waza: Joint Locks

Musha-Dori – Elbow wristlockMuso-Dori - Shoulder lockTakeori - Number four wrist-lockOmote Gyaku - Out-side wrist-lockUra Gyaku - In-side wristlockUde Gatame - Straight arm lockOmote Oni Kudaki - Out-side arm lock / shoulder slamUra Oni Kudaki - In-side number four lockHon Gyaku – Straight Arm lock

Kote Gaeshi - Under arm wrist twistUde Garami - Arm entanglementUshiro Ude Garami -Rear arm entanglementJu-Ji Gatame -Arm cross overKogo Roshi -Finger lockOyago Roshi - Thumb lockAshi Gatame - Leg lockKubi Ashi Gatame - Ankle lockKubi Gatame -Full nelson neck lockYoko Gatame - Side neck lockUshiro Kubi Gatame - Reverse neck lock

Shimi Waza: Chokes / Strangulations

Kubi Jimi - Standard chokeHadaku Jimi - Choking braceKata Ha Jimi - Single wing chokeBoshi Jimi - Extended thumb chokeHon Jimi - Shoulder chokeDo Jimi - Torso chokeRyote Jimi - Crossing hand chokeKubi Jimi - Single Hand Choke

Osae Waza: Ground Controls

Ude Gatame - Straight arm lockKoshi Gatame - Hip Lock on backUshiro Koshi Kudaki - Hip lock reversedHiza Gatame - Knee lockKubi Gatame - Full nelson neck lockUshiro Kubi Gatame - Reverse neck lockTakeori - Wrist lockKata Gatame - Shoulder holdUshiro Kata Gatame - Reverse shoulder holdKessa Gatame - Scarf holdUshiro Kesa Gatame - Reverse scarf hold

Ha-Jutsu: Grabbing Escapes

Hoten-no Jutsu – Running Up SurfacesNobori Kata – Climbing killsMitsu Kudaki – Sonic VoiceMetsubushi – Blinding powderTehadoki: Freeing the hands, wrists and arms

Aggressive hand shakesBoth hands grabbedSingle wrist grab outsideSingle wrist grab insideWrist grab with opposite hand

Both wrists garbed in frontBoth wrists garbed from behindWrist grab on your sideTwo-person wrist grabStraight-arm locksArm grabTwo-person arm grabGrabbing your shoulder: Front, Side and backTwo people Shoulder Grab

Taihodoki: Freeing the body

Jodan - High level grabs

Rear Head LockSide Head LockFront Head LockFront Neck GrabRear Neck GrabStranglesHair GrabsFace GrabsHand Over Mouth

Chudan - Mid Level Grabs

Chest GrabsFront Bear HugRear Bear HugTackle GrabShoulder Grabs

Gedan - Low Level Grabs

Leg TackleLeg GrabsAnkle LocksLeg LocksKnee Locks

Nage Waza: Throwing Technique

Koshi Nage: Hip Throws 

Hari Goshi – Backward Hip ThrowGanseki Otoshi – Forward Hip ThrowGanseki Oshi – Cloths Line ThrowSio-Nage – One Arm Shoulder ThrowMorote Sio-Nage Two Arm Shoulder ThrowUshiro Nage – Reverse Collar grabbing Throw

Kubi Sio-Nage – Reverse One Arm Neck ThrowHane Koshi Nage – Across The BackKubi Koshi Nage – Forward Neck ThrowGanseki Ori - Bear Hug Counter ThrowKokyu Nage - Chest Grabbing ThrowAtemi Nage - Face Grabbing ThrowKubi Nage - Neck Grabbing ThrowUshiro Sio-Nage – Reverse Clothes Line ThrowKoho Kubi Nage – Backwards Neck ThrowAshi Barie: Leg Sweeping / Tripping ThrowsGanseki Nage - Forward Leg Tripping ThrowOsoto Gari - Major Sweeping Leg ThrowUchi Gake - Major Inner Sweeping Leg ThrowKakushi Nage – Hooking Kick ThrowAshi Kubi Karu - Ankle reaping ThrowUshiro Ashi Karu – Reverse Leg ReapMorote Ushiro Ashi Karu – Double Reverse Leg Reap

Gyaku Nage: Wrist and Arm Lock Throws

Ura Gyaku Nage - Inwards Wrist Lock ThrowOmote Gyaku Nage – Outward Wrist Lock ThrowZenpo Gyaku Nage – Forward Wrist Lock ThrowHaku Gyaku Nage – Sweeping Wrist Lock ThrowTekubi Gaeshi Nage - Double Wrist Lock ThrowOni Kudaki - Shoulder Lock ThrowKatate Dori - Straight Arm Lock ThrowUshiro Katate Dori - Reverse Straight Arm Lock ThrowSutemi Nage - Reverse Elbow Lock ThrowJuji Garami Nage - Double Arm Locking throwKashira Nage - No4. Arm lock Rolling ThrowKimon Nage – Side Break fall ThrowRyohiji Kimi Nage - Double Elbow Lock Throw

Nosaru Nage: Initial Action Throws 

Ushiro Kappi Nage - Water Fall ThrowHisaku Nage – Leaping Double Leg Hooking ThrowKubi Koshi Kaeshi Nage - Neck and Hip Counter ThrowUshi Nage – Reverse Body DropUshiro Kubi Nage – Reverse Neck ThrowKoyoku Nage – Walking Shoulder ThrowSumi Nage – Reverse Roll ThrowUki Otoshi - Pull Down ThrowKata Nage - Fireman's ThrowTachi Nage - Front Fireman's ThrowIrimi Nage - Hooking Arm ThrowMuna Nage - Neck Twisting ThrowZenpo kaiten Nage - Forward Roll ThrowZenpo Kiten Nage – Forward Hand Spring Throw

Kuruma Nage - Counter Attack ThrowTemakure - Vertical Body DropIwa Nage - Rock Throw

Koshirae: Nihon Token GaisoThe Mountings of Japanese Swords

by C. U. Guido Schiller

A Brief History of the Development of Koshirae

Koshirae derives from the verb "koshirareru", which is no longer in use nowadays. Usually "tsukuru" is used instead; both mean "make, create, manufacture". More accurate is actually "Toso", which means sword-furniture: "Tosogu" are the parts of the mounting in general, and "Kanagu" stands for those made of metal. "Gaiso" are the "outer" mountings, as opposed to "Toshin", the "body" of the sword.

Nihonto are classified by length and koshirae and the combination of both. Swords over 2 shaku (1 shaku = 30.3 cm, or about 1 foot) from tip to munemachi (notch where the tang starts) are daito, from 1 to 2 shaku are shoto, and under 1 shaku are tanto. The usual daito are the katana and tachi; shoto are mostly wakizashi, and there is an infinite variety of tanto. Borderline cases are kodachi (tachi shorter than 2 shaku) and O-wakizashi (wakizashi of *almost* 2 shaku). Women used to carry a tanto in the Edo period in a "brocade bag" in their obi; this tanto for self-defense was called kaiken.

The first swords made of steel were imported from China, and had Chinese mountings. The koshirae prototypes of purely Japanese design developed during the Nara period (646 ~ 794 AD), although they were still called "Kara-tachi", i.e. Chinese tachi. Only a few survived time, but there seemed to have been two types: swords in black lacquered wooden mountings for actual combat, and those richly decorated with semi-precious stones and fancy lacquering. Rayskin was used on the handles from time to time, but only became common during the Heian period (794 ~ 1185 AD). Swords of that time were called "Kazari-tachi" (decorative tachi) or "Hoso-tachi" (narrow tachi), already adjusting in blade construction to Japanese taste and usage. They were luxuriously mounted, and meant for use by the palace guard at the imperial court. Later on they became a little bit simpler with a "Shitogi-tsuba" (rice cake tsuba), renamed "Efu-tachi", and were still in use during the Edo period by imperial guards and high ranking officials.

Another interesting sword is the "Kenukigata-tachi" (hairpin tachi), and there is much speculation about its usefulness. Since it has a forged handle, it must have been pretty tiresome to use, although there are some examples with battlemarks. But it is believed that it served mostly decorative purposes, or as presents to shrines to celebrate a happy occasion. Most fighting swords were pretty sombre with mountings in black lacquer or covered with leather (Kawazutsumi-tachi). At the end of the Heian period and the following Kamakura period (1185 ~ 1336 AD), the "Hyogo-Kusari-tachi" was very popular. It was named after the chain-hangers, and usually was covered with metal foil.

The first "Itomaki-no-tachi" were used in the Nambokucho period (1336 ~ 1392 AD). They had tsukamaki as well as sayamaki, i.e. there was wrapping at the upper part of the saya to prevent damage from rubbing against the armor. The itomaki-tachi became the tachi of choice for the following centuries for use in battle. Sometimes the lower part of the saya had a cover made of fur to protect it from the elements, which was called "shirizaya" (butt saya).

Although the "uchigatana" (lit. "strike-sword") already had its predecessors in the Heian period, it became standard for foot soldiers during the Nambokucho period. Unlike the tachi, which was carried edge down, and had two obitori (hangers) on the saya, the uchigatana is worn through the sash, edge up.

Tachi were still produced during the Muromachi period (1392 ~ 1573 AD), but the uchigatana became the most common daito. Kanagu other than the tsuba, up until now made from yamagane ("mountain metal", unrefined copper), was often made from shakudo, copper with 5% gold, patinated a deep black. Uchigatana still looked very much like tachi except for the obitori, and therefore were called "handachi", half-tachi; this style never really went out of fashion during the next 300 years.

Since the early Muromachi period, the manufacture of tsuba became a separate profession; until then, tsuba were forged by swordsmiths, armorsmiths or Kagamishi, mirror smiths (polished disks of metal were used as mirrors). Early tsuba had sukashi, cut-outs in negative silhouette, but from now on brass inlays and positive silhouette sukashi, especially from Owari province, became more refined. The Shoami family became one of the main manufacturers of tsuba, with many generations to follow.

The Momoyama period (1573 ~ 1603 AD) is well known for its flamboyant koshirae with red lacquered saya and kanagu in gold. Those flashy mountings however were counterbalanced by Tensho-Koshirae (era name of emperor Tensho, 1573 ~ 1586 AD) with black saya and same', a tapered tsuka with leather binding crossed over a kashira made of horn.

Part of the tsubashi from Kyoto moved to Akasaka in Edo, and produced many fine sukashi tsuba. The Myochin family switched from manufacturing armor to making tsuba. Echizen province tsuba were dominated by the families Akao, Nagasone and Kinai; the Kinai had from their second generation on a special relationship with Echizen Yasutsugu, the Shogun's favorite smith. They not only carved the dragon horimono for his swords, but also the Aoi-no-Gomon, the family crest of the Tokugawa, on the tang of his swords. Both motifs are also very often found on their tsuba.

In Higo province the tosogushi were encouraged by the Hosokawa Daimyo, and worked in iron, copper, brass and cloisonne. The characteristics of Higo koshirae are the rounded kashira and kojiri; the same' is often black, and the saya in samenuri - the "valleys" in the same' filled with lacquer, and the "mountains" polished flush. Tsuka had often a leather wrapping. This kind of koshirae was later copied as "Edo-Higo-Koshirae", but mostly with simpler saya and natural colored same'.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo, many artists set up their workshop there. In the Edo period (1603 ~ 1868 AD) the Goto family, which already had worked for the Ashikaga, almost dominated sword fittings, especially for the daisho. This combination of katana and wakizashi became the standard for samurai during the Momoyama period.

As with many other things, wearing of swords was regulated. For example, in Genna 9 (1624 AD), red saya, swords over 2 shaku and square tsuba were prohibited. Commoners weren't allowed to wear swords at all.

Samurai at the castle in Edo wore the Banzashi daisho, "duty attire". Same' had to be white, the saya black lacquered and with horn fittings. The kojiri of the katana was flat, and that of the wakizashi rounded. The kashira had to be horn, with the black tsukamaki crossed over it (kakemaki). The fuchi and midokoromono ("things of the three places": menuki, kogai and kozuka) had to be shakudo-nanako (fish-roe pattern) with the only decoration being the family mon (crest). The tsuba was polished shakudo without any decoration. However, this was not always strictly enforced, and kanagu with shishi (lion dogs), dragons or floral motifs were tolerated.

Samurai had to wear the "Kamishimozashi" when on official duty, with the "Kataginu" wing shoulders and "Hakama" split skirt trousers, while Kuge (court nobles), Daimyo and other high ranking officials were clad in the Hitatare court attire with Eboshi-hat, with a wakizashi at their hip. This was either an aikuchi ("meeting mouth", i.e. without tsuba) or hamidashi (a very small tsuba) in dashizame, or hilt covered in same' without tsukamaki. This short sword didn't have a mekugi to fasten the hilt to the tang, which rendered it impractical, because the wearer wanted to show that - due to his high rank - he didn't have to use it anyhow. Besides, it was a serious offense to draw a sword at court, as anybody who read or watched "Chushingura", the 47 Ronin, would know.

Bronze, copper and brass were widely used with "regular" swords, as well as the alloy shibuichi ("one quarter", 75% copper and 25% silver) Those soft metals were called "kinko" (gold/precious metal work) as opposed to iron mountings. Pure silver mountings are quite rare, as are pure gold mountings, which were banned in 1830.

Yokoya Somin left the Goto school, which only worked with shakudo, and invented "katakiribori", engravings with a triangular chisel. In Nara, the Nara-Sansaku ("three makers from Nara") (Nara Toshinaga, Sugiura Joi, and Tsuchiya Yasuchika) became famous with sunken relief.

Yagyu tsuba developed from Owari tsuba, so called after the Yagyu family, fencing instructors for the Shogun. Typical Yagyu koshirae has a ribbed saya, and the menuki are at reversed positions of regular menuki placement.

At home samurai put their daisho on a double-rack, edge up, katana on top, tsuka to the left. Actually they were greeted at the entrance of the house by their wives, who carried the swords after pulling the sleeves of their kimono over their hands in order to not touch the swords with their bare skin. They then put a tanto into their sash, which was not subject to any restrictions, and was often lavishly decorated.

Although commoners weren't allowed to carry any swords, some of them, especially rich merchants, showed off their wealth by sporting expensive tanto, walking a very thin line between status symbol and severe punishment. Physicians wore tanto made of solid wood, and firefighters sometimes had a tanto with a saw instead of a blade.

On July 18, Shoho 2 (1645 AD), the ban of wearing swords was reduced to swords over 1.8 shaku, if one obtained a permit. This enabled travelers on the Tokaido road to arm themselves

against robbers which were encountered quite frequently in unpopulated areas, and also enabled the chief of police of Edo to arm the "Okappiki", non-samurai police.

The end of the Edo period is called "Bakumatsu", and brought many changes to the samurai class. Some already tried western clothes, and wore "Toppei koshirae" swords, also called zubon (trousers) koshirae, which had no tsukamaki and a softly rounded kojiri. In 1871 everybody was allowed to carry a sword or to wear their hair "Chonmage", samurai topknot. Kirisute-gomen was prohibited, which was the unpunished slaying of a non-samurai for a (real or imagined) insult. But the Haitorei edict, which took effect on January 1, 1877, limited the right of carrying swords to the military and police. Most swords concealed in a cane or walking stick are made shortly after this edict.

Swords of the Meiji (1868 ~ 1912 AD) and Taisho (1912 ~ 1926 AD) period were fashioned after French and German military sabers, and only the gunto (military swords) after 1933 saw a renaissance of Japanese design.

Koshirae of Special Interest

Nodachi

During the Kamakura and Nambokucho period, tachi of extended length were sometimes used on the battlefield. Those swords certainly had an intimidating effect on the enemy, but their usefulness is highly questionable since they were very awkward to handle. Most were of very low quality.

Chiisagatana

Chiisagatana, lit. "short katana", are shoto mounted as katana. Now, one could argue that wakizashi are shoto which are mounted in a similar way to katana, and that's absolutely correct. But we're talking here about the predecessors of the daisho, the formal katana/wakizashi pair. In the transitional period from tachi to katana, katana were called "uchigatana", and shoto were referred to as "koshigatana" (hip-sword) and "chiisagatana", in many cases quite longer than the later "standard" wakizashi.

One can't make out the difference between wakizashi and chiisagatana by blade alone, although a Koto shoto close to 2 Shaku (like the above mentioned O-wakizashi) would be a good indication; it depends on the mountings. Chiisagatana are the early shoto type with koshirae not easily distinguishable from the uchigatana, just shorter, but in any case with a tsuba (another term for chiisagatana is "tsubagatana", "sword with tsuba", as opposed to aikuchi). The ban of carrying swords for non-Samurai wasn't in effect yet, so people from all runs of life, who preferred shorter blades, would have chosen the chiisagatana/ koshigatana/ O-wakizashi/ tsubagatana.

Daisho

As already mentioned, a daisho (lit. "big/small") is the katana/wakizashi or katana/tanto pair that was one of the outer attributes of the samurai. Most daisho were mounted en suite, but actually any combination of a short and a long sword is considered a daisho; and it is either a wakizashi or a tanto together with the katana, never both.

Ninjato

Actually, there is no such thing as a special purpose ninja sword, although Hollywood and Toei filmstudios want to make us believe that. But neither ninja nor "Onmitsu Doshin", the undercover agents of the Edo police, had a "standard" short sword with a straight blade, square tsuba and black fittings.

Present day SWAT teams and military commandos use special or modified weapons to suit their task, and so did assassins and spies of the Edo period. A shorter sword slung over the back might have proven useful for penetrating a castle and combat in confined spaces, but different situations would have called for a different sword. "Ninjato" has a nice ring to it, but the "sword shopping guide for spies" has yet to be discovered ...

General Remarks on Koshirae and Placement of Fittings

When restoring an antique sword, or mounting a newly made shinsakuto for the first time, it is often difficult to make a choice in regard to the style and color of the tsukamaki, the saya, and the proper placement of the fittings. Although it's basically a matter of personal taste, there are a few rules concerning selection and placement of koshirae.

Generally speaking, "up" and "front" of fittings would be as viewed from the side, or the tip of the tsuka, when the sword is held horizontally, sword edge down in case of a tachi and edge up for any other sword/dagger.

Tsuka

There are four basic shapes of tsuka:1. "Haichi Tsuka", the most common, the mune-side almost straight, the ha-side slightly tapered, following the lines of the sword2. "Rikko Tsuka", almost hour glass shaped3. "Imogata" ("potatoe shape"), both sides straight4. "Morozori", closely following the shape of the saya, mostly with tachi/ handachi

The length of the tsuka was usually tailored to the individual swordsman's specifications. As a rule of thumb, the length of the handle of a katana is twice the width of the hand plus two fingers, the wakizashi 1.5 hand widths and the tanto one hand width. Average length of a katana tsuka used to be 8 sun (24 cm or 9.5 inches).

Tsukamaki

It is not historically proven, but traditional Kabuki and Chambarra (period movies) indicate the rank of a samurai by the color of the tsukamaki: black - blue - dark brown - light brown - gray - purple - white. However, since this approximates roughly the percentage of colors found on swords, it might be about right.

The most common wrapping method is "Tsumamimaki", the ito "pinched" at the crossing, followed by "Hinerimaki", where the ito was folded over twice at a 90 degree angle at the crossing. Tachi were usually done in "Hiramaki", the ito simply crossed over.

Mekugi

The Mekugi is made from seasoned bamboo, convex shaped, and inserted from the side of the tsuka that is covered by the palm. Bamboo is strong yet elastic, and even if the mekugi breaks, the tough fibers will prevent the blade from slipping out of the handle. Sometimes horn or metal was used instead of bamboo, but usually not on swords intended for fighting.

Menuki

Menuki were originally used to cover the mekugi pin that fastens the handle to the tang. Later on they became purely ornamental, and were placed about one hands width from the fuchi on the omote (outward side) and the kashira on the ura (side facing the body) on tachi. However, when the uchigatana was "invented", the placement wasn't changed for traditional reasons, although the sword was now worn edge up and in effect resulted in a reversed position of the menuki.

An additional benefit of the menuki placement of tachi was the better grip on the tsuka, since the menuki filled the gap in the palm of the hand. But "Gyaku-Menuki", or "anatomically correctly" placed menuki were almost only used on Yagyu koshirae.

That menuki became more or less decorative elements of the tsuka is evident on tanto (and to a lesser degree on wakizashi). On the short handle of a tanto they were almost opposite of each other, and sometimes even omitted.

Tsuba

Sometimes it might be difficult to determine the front (i.e. facing away from the body) and back side of a tsuba. If the tsuba has a kozuka hitsu or kogai hitsu (slots for kozuka and kogai), the one for the kozuka is always to the left and the one for the kogai always to the right. The mei (inscription) of the maker is usually on the front, but there are sometimes exceptions. In most cases the more decorated side is the front side. If it is an undecorated tsuba, or a sukashi tsuba, without any slots, the side showing more wear is probably the front.

The average diameter of a katana tsuba, measured at the widest part, seldomly exceeds about 7.5 cm or 3 inches.

Bibliography

Although there are countless books on swords and sword fittings, only a very few were published on Koshirae, and to my knowledge not a single one in English. The following books are Zukan ("illustrated books"), with many photographs of Koshirae:

A classic is "Zukan: Toso no Subete" by Kokubo Kenichi. In Japanese, but with many Furigana (Kana readings of the Kanji), price used to be Yen 2,300, but now out of print.

A pretty recent publication is "Toso-Hen", a book in a series on artwork of the Tokyo National Museum (English title: Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum - Sword Mountings). In Japanese, but with an English list of the plates, Yen 5,238.

Almost an encyclopedia of the Japanese sword and its mountings is "Zukan: Nihonto Yogo Jiten", which has a supplement "Nihonto: Swords of Japan, a Visual Glossary" with English translations. Published privately by the author Kotoken Kajihara, Yen 35,000

(For buying books on Japanese (and other Asian) art, I recommend the "Paragon Book Gallery" in Chicago. Good selection, reasonable prices, fast and friendly service. They have a very good website with online store: www.paragonbook.com)

January 2000

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ICHIHARA NAGAMITSU

Nagamitsu is one of the most famous names in the history of Japanese swords. There have been various swordsmiths named Nagamitsu who worked from the mid 1200's through the 1940's. The most famous of them worked in Bizen, although swordsmiths by this name are recorded as having worked in Satsuma, Yamato, Yamashiro and other locations. Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu worked during the Showa Era in the 1930's and 1940's.

It has been established that Nagamitsu was a participant in the first Army Shinsakuto Exhibition held in 1944, in which he entered under the name of Ichihara Nagamitsu. Nagamitsu resided in Okayama and is mentioned in the Tosho Zensho by Shimizu which lists him as a Rikugun Jumei Tosho (Army approved swordsmith) and as a member of the Rikugun Gunto Gijutsu Tenrankai(3). He was awarded the Kaicho-sho prize at a sword competition held by Riku-gun Gunto Sho-rei Kai before the war.(6)

Some Nagamitsu blades will have a small, faint "saka" stamp on the nakago or nakago-mune. This indicates a blade made for the Osaka Rikugun Zoheisho (Osaka Army Arsenal). Several smiths including Ichihara Nagamitsu, Gassan Sadakatsu, Kawano Sadashige and Kosaka Masayoshi made blades for the Osaka Rikugun Zoheisho (7).

On May 20, 1984, a Nagamitsu blade was awarded Shinteisho origami by the NTHK(4). Nagamitsu blades have also received Hozon origami from the NBTHK in Japan (3). This attests to the high regard that these blades are currently getting in Japan and the fact that they are judged to be true gendaito.

Swordsman Saruta Mitsuhiro, head of the Musashi Dojo Ryuseika of Osaka, used a blade made by Ishiryushi Nagamitsu to perform kabutowari (helmet cutting). The blade successfully cut several centimeters into the iron plate helmut without sustaining significant damage, thus demonstrating the excellent quality and resilience of Nagamitsu's swords.(5)

It has been thought that Ichihara Nagamitsu and Chounsai Emura were the same swordsmith or at least that their work was related in some way. It has been speculated that perhaps Nagamitsu also worked at the Okayama Prison; however, I have not seen nor heard of documentary evidence to this effect. It is now known, thanks to new evidence developed by Chris Bowen, that they are totally different and unrelated swordsmiths, but this debate has been a tale of confusion.

Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu carved mei use an unusual style of Kanji for the "naga" character. "Naga" is usually written with three horizontal strokes to the right of the top vertical stroke. On Ichihara Nagamitsu blades the "naga" Kanji is written with only two horizontal strokes. It is my belief that this is a "trademark" of Ichihara Nagamitsu and an important kantei point in distinquishing his blades from those of other swordsmiths who signed Nagamitsu during this period.

There were several other swordsmiths working during the Showa era using the name Nagamitsu. They signed Noshu (Seki, Mino) Nagamitsu, Kawazaki Nagamitsu, Kuruma ju Nagamitsu, Takayama Uhei Nagamitsu and Endo Nagamitsu. They are of no known relation to Ichihara Nagamitsu. There are also several "fantasy" Nagamitsu signatures on Showa era blades. These fantasy signatures are in imitation of the Koto period Nagamitsu and are of no importance as they are considered "gimei" (false signatures).

NAGAMITSU OSHIGATA

Below are examples of the known signatures (mei) of Ichihara Nagamitsu. I have shown only the mei rather than the entire oshigata to save bandwidth and download time. The mei are not

to the scale of the nakago, they have been enlarged or reduced for readability. The translation of the oshigata are indexed below by letter codes.

A. Ichihara Nagamitsu (kakihan) B. Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku C. Ichiryushi D. Bizen (no) Kuni (no) ju Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku E. Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku F. Ichihara Nagamitsu G. Nagamitsu

H. Nagamitsu I. Ichiryushi saku (note different carving of characters from "C") J. Nagamitsu saku L. Bizen (no) Kuni (no) ju Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku M. Bizen (no) Kuni (no) Oite Karasu Jyuka Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku N. Bizen (no) ju Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku

P. Nagamitsu (slightly different strokes from "J" -maybe normal variation?) Q. Nagamitsu (another form different from "E" or "P") R. Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku (different rendering of characters from others.) S. Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu saku (different carving from "B") T. Nagamitsu (slightly different from Q) U. Ichiryushi saku (different from I or C)

It is not uncommon to find a serial number and a small stamp on the nakago-mune of Nagamitsu blades.

Given the number of variations of signatures (mei) found on Nagamitsu blades, combined with the quantity of blades known, it seems unlikely that they are all the work of one lone swordsmith. It is likely that Nagamitsu had a number of students and assistants who also produced blades at his forge and who signed sword blades on his behalf. Therefore each blade must be judged on its own merits and not simply on its signature.

Besides my own collection, the above oshigata are courtesy of Dic Marxen, Malcolm Cox, Philip Wilsey, Gordon Bailey, Richard Fuller and Aoi-Arts, Tokyo.

BLADE DETAILS

Nagamitsu worked in the Bizen tradition. The blades which he made are quite elegant in proportion and shape. The hamon is generally in suguha, choji-midare or gunome-midare. There is much "activity" in the hamon. Hada is ko-itame. Oshigata courtesy of Aoi-Arts, Tokyo.

STYLES OF MOUNTINGS

Nagamitsu blades are found mounted in both standard shingunto mounts and in late 1944 type (so-called Marine mounts) mounts. Some Nagamitsu blades have recently been mounted in shirasaya or buke' koshirae by current collectors. Those in late 1944 mounts have saya which are generally quite dark brown with a slight bark finish to the saya lacquer as opposed to the light brown, metal saya commonly found on late '44 style gunto. The tsuka of the late '44 style is usually rough lacquered fiber ito over burlap. Many tsuka have two mekugi-ana (one or both may be screws). [caution - I have seen folks nearly destroy a tsuka trying to remove the blade not realizing there were two mekugi or screws.]

The following articles are available: (1) JSSUS Newsletter, August 1982 and (2) JSSUS Newsletter, Sept 1985.[NOTE: These two articles were written in the 1980's prior to new information and consider Emura and Nagamitsu to be the same swordsmith. This is now known to be incorrect.]

Thanks to all who have contributed to the knowledge of Nagamitsu. Special thanks to Philip Wilsey (1,2), Chris Bowen(3), Richard Fuller, Ron Gregory, Malcolm Cox, Gordon Bailey, Dic Marxen, Mike Carman, Mike Axelrod (4), Chris Lau (5), Aoi Arts- Tokyo (6) and John Slough (7).

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Shinobi-JutsuNinja Skills

Dear reader, in ninjutsu training, there is no such section as "Shinobi-Jutsu". The reason on why the author has designed this section, was due to the confusion by students on what section does this group of skills belong to and what section that group of skills belong to. So to help students understand what are the more involved skills of physical ninjutsu training

besides unarmed and armed combat, weapons training and spiritual training, the author devised a section he now uses when teaching ninjutsu, which he calls Shinobi (means ninja) Jutsu (means skill or training). This is the more modernized style of teaching ninjutsu to students today.

Shinobi Ira: Stealth and Concealment Skills

These techniques are normally only shown in training camps, to give students and idea to what ancient ninjutsu training was like. Students are exposed to camolflage skills, quiet movement, observation skills and other factors which come under this section.

Shinobi Aruki: Silent Walking Skills

Nuki Ashi - Normal WalkingYoko Ashi - Wall WalkingSuri Ashi - SweepingTsuke Ashi - RunningO-Ashi - Crane WalkKo Ashi - Small SteppingYukkuri Aruku - CrawlingKani Aruke - Crab walk

Inton Jutsu: Natural Concealment

Henzo Jutsu - Disguise techniquesGiso Jutsu - Impersonation SkillsShinobi Shozuki - Ninja Uniforms

Gotton-po: Elemental Concealment

Donton Jutsu - Ground ConcealmentSuiton Jutsu - Water ConcealmentKaton Jutsu - Fire and Smoke ConcealmentMokuton Jutsu - Use of Trees For ConcealmentKinton Jutsu - Use of Building and Structures for Concealment

Chiren Jutsu: Knowledge Training

Knowledge Training is such a diverse area of training and never can a person ever achieve every skill due to own personal reasons. Students, who have skills in one area, are encouraged to attend courses to help develop their knowledge in other areas. Not so much in the sense for training, but for there own personal development as a member of society. The skills of chiren jutsu interlock with the skills of suiren jutsu. Another way that student undertake this training, is to research books on the following disciplines and others, to increase their knowledge. We then ask the student to write an essay on the subject or a report style assignment, to which we see how in-death their research was on the title.

MedicinesHerbal Medicine (Australia only in Aboriginal Bush Medicine)Poisons

StrategyPsychologyMusicReligionDialects / LanguagesAgricultureTradesCommerceLawPoliticsPhotography and SurveillanceActingForecasting

Suiren Jutsu: Survival Skills

These skills are only taught in camps, workshops, seminars  and set lectures organised by the taught by qualified licensed  instructors in that field of experience.

Urban SurvivalBush SurvivalHuntingTrappingCampingNavigation SkillsFinding WaterTrackingBush Foods (Australia only)Emergency Stress CallsMountaineeringHorsemanshipScuba DivingSky Divingetc

Ankoku Tohin Jutsu: Techniques for seeing In Darkness

The techniques used here teach the ninjutsu practitioners, the secrets of how to see clearly in the dark, when training in the night.

Shinobi Dogu: Tools used by Ancient Ninja

Shinobi Dogu is a knowledge based training, where students are encouraged to research about ancient ninjutsu methods used in ancient times. We ask them to write their own essay on the subjects and do a short presentation to their fellow instructor and students within their dojo, as apart of their grading.

Shinobi Kagi - Staff with hook, used for climbing.Tobibashigo - Climbing Ladder.Kagiwara - Grappling Hook and Rope.

Kasugai - Wall / Sealing Clamps. Used to support Ninja, Like a fly on the ceiling.Zukin - Long piece of material, it is laid along the ground, so it would mask a Ninja’s walking sounds.Kaiki - Door Opening ToolsTakezutsu - Bamboo Pipe, Used to hide under water to allow ninja to breath.Mizukakigeta - Webbed Sandals. Used for the purpose of swimming under water.Mizugmo - Water Spider. Tool used by ninja, to walk across water.Tojimi - Japanese Sliding Door Jammer.Kameikada - Raft made of Japanese Pots or Shells of a Sea Tortoise.