Legends of Yamato Province

There was a legend from the smiths of Yamato Province in the history of Japan. The legend was about that the smith Amakumi in Yamato about A. D. 700 made the first samurai sword. Amakumi and his son gathered and examined the sword remnants after they found that nearly half of the returning soldiers from the war were carrying broken swords that they made. At that moment, Amakumi made a vow to himself that, "If they are going to use our swords for such slashing, I shall make one which will not break." After that, Amakumi and his son prayed for seven days and nights to the Shinto gods. Besides, Amakumi selected the best sand ore he could obtain and refined it. They worked hard and tried to improve of making the better swords. Later, the smiths emerged with a single-bladed sword, which had curvature. Finally, Amakumi and his son continued with their work and made many improved types of swords. After the other war during the spring, all the returning soldiers were carrying the swords in perfect condition.

Generally, there are four categories of samurai swords as weapons, which are made of steel, single bladed, curved, and tempered. Besides, there are four periods in the history of the samurai swords:
  • Ancient sword (Chokuto or Ken) Period (until A. D. 900): The swords chiefly made by the smiths from China or Korea or by the early Japanese smiths during this period. The swords were made of steel and mostly were straight (chokuto) type. The imitation of Chinese sword was gradually developed into the typical samurai sword. Top officials usually carried expensive swords made in China.
  • Old sword (Koto) period (900 ~ 1530): Power was obtained only by means of warfare during this time. So, the sword became an everyday weapon and was carried constantly by the samurai. The swords with the cutting edge of more than 4 feet were often employed. The straight sword for stabbing was replaced by a single-bladed sword with curvature. About the year 900, the smith Yasutsuna in Hoki began forging excellent samurai swords. The most famous swords’ smiths appeared in Japanese history during the years 900 to 1450. After the year 1467, the smiths turned out blades in mass production due to the increasing demand for swords. So, there were only a few swords can be considered very good.
  • New sword (Shinto) period: The end of the long civil war caused the sword lost its functional value. The length of the long sword (daito) was shortened, the cutting edged being reduced to about 2 feet, and the samurai began carrying it by inserting it between the hip and the sash. The smiths engraved extravagant of flowers, shrubbery, and dragons on the swords, instead of the simple Sanskrit characters or grooves of older swords. Besides, pictures of maple leaves, cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, or Mount Fuji could be found in the tempered lines of the swords. More than half of the samurai swords in today were made during this period.
  • Modern (Shin-shinto) period: The feudal system and the prestige of the samurai came to an end. Swords could no longer be worn. The smiths of swords lost their trade and turned to make hoes, scissors, and knives for their livelihood. So, a lot of the swords and its ornaments were exported to Europe and United States. Many books about the swords and its ornaments were published. Since 1926 until now, there has not been a single great smith of sword. A stamp of a cherry blossom with the character for Sho (1/8" diameter) could be found above the signature of the smith on the tang of many blades. Besides, many swords like police and parade sabers, which were manufactured during the last forty-year cannot be considered samurai swords because of the plating and methods of forging contrary to the conventional methods of hand-forging and tempering of samurai swords.