Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Roman Alphabet
Category
Definition
A
Ai-guchi
Nomenclature
Aki
Mei
Aku
Manufacture
Ama
Mei
Amakusa
Culture
Aoko
Ashi
Ashi-kanamono
Ate-zuchi
Awa
Azuchi-momoyama
Culture
B
Binsui
Manufacture
Bizen-den
Culture
Bshi
Bu
Nomenclature make 1 sun and 100 bu make 1 shaku. It is divided in 10 rin. See
Chika
Mei
Chikei
Chji
Ch-
Nomenclature
Ch-nagura
Manufacture
Chtetsu
Manufacture
Daimy
Culture
Daish
Manufacture
D
E
Edo
Culture
Fuchi
Fud My
Culture
Fuigo
Manufacture
Bellows.
Mei
Fukai
Fukuoka
Culture
Fumaegi
Manufacture
Funbari
Nomenclature of most kot tachi and sometimes on other swords. See Kot,
Fuji
Nomenclature
Tachi
Counter for swords; One sword is pronounced "hito-furi", two
Nomenclature swords are "futa-furi" and then the common way of counting (3>san; 4->yon;5->go; etc.).
Furi ( -furi)
Fusa
Mei
Fusuma
Futs-zori
Nomenclature even all along the length of the sword, or rather centered. See
Fuyu
Mei
Nomenclature performed, the part with the mei was cut off and re-inserted in
Gatsu / Getsu
Culture
Gendait
Culture
Gimei
Gin
Manufacture
Silver.
Culture
G
Gaku-mei
Go
Mei
Goj
Culture
Gokaden
Culture
Gunome
Nomenclature
Litt. "fifth avenue"; A school of the late Heian and early Kamakura
period, usually linked to that of Sanjo; Refers to a famous "fifth
avenue" in the old capital of Kyoto. See Sanj
Litt. "five traditions"; Refers to five famous traditions in japanese
sword manufacture, i.e. (see each entry) Yamato, Yamashiro,
Bizen, Sshu and Mino. This approach was popularized in the 20th
century.
Litt. "eye between"; A type of hamon pattern. Refers to short sine
curves in wich the opening of each circle towards the edge is not
narrower than its diameter (it is called chji in the case it is
narrower). See Hamon, Chji
Culture
Ha
Habaki
Nomenclature
Habuchi
Hachi
Culture
Hagane
Manufacture
Haguchi
Manufacture
Ha-machi
Hamon
Hara
Mei
Mei
Hazuya
Heian
Culture
Hera
Manufacture
Hi
Hi
Culture
Hide
Mei
Hira-bashi
Hira-niku
Hira-sen
Manufacture
Hira-zukuri
Hiro
Hisa
Hi-sen
Hi-zukuri
Gunt
H
Ha
Hako-bashi
Haru
Ha-saki
Hashi
Hikaki
Hira
Culture
Manufacture
Notch at the junction between the tang and the ha; Where the ha
starts. See Machi, Ha, Mune-machi
Litt. "edge decoration"; Refers to the cloud-like mark appearing
Nomenclature near the edge and that is the result of differential quenchhardening.
Nomenclature
Nomenclature Litt. "cutting edge tip"; Actual edge of the cutting edge. See Ha
Manufacture
Manufacture
Tongs.
A type of polishing stone; Made from uchigumori stone. Used to
polish the ha. See Uchigumori, Ha
AD794-1185 Period in japanese history. Saw the emergence of
the japanese sword as we know it today.
Litt. "spatula"; In sword making refers to the spatulas used
when applying the yakiba-tsuchi in preparation for quenching.
See Tsuchi-oki, Yakiba-tsuchi
Litt. "sun"; Day. Thus the 15th sun, or day, of the month, is
pronounced "j-go nichi". Also pronounced nichi. Used in the mei.
See Mei, J, Go
Respect. litt. "excellence" and "England". Characters used in
proper nouns. See Mei
Manufacture
A forge rake. Used to push and pull the coals in the forge
Mei
Manufacture
Flat tongs.
Litt. "plane meat"; Refers to the roundness of the ji; "Not much
hira-niku" when it is rather profiled in the shape of a U. See Ji
Manufacture
Hch-tetsu
Manufacture
Hodo
Manufacture
Horimono
Hosoi
Nomenclature
Ichi
Culture
Ichimonji
Culture
Ie
Mei
Nomenclature
Nomenclature
Ji
Nomenclature
Refers to the area between the hamon and the shinogi; Area
where the jihada is appreciated. See Hamon, Shinogi, Jihada
Jigane
Nomenclature
Jihada
Nomenclature See Ji
Nomenclature Agglutinations of nie in the ji. See Nie, Ji
Culture
Jka-chji
J-nin
Culture
Jn
Manufacture
Fire shovel. Used to shovel the hot coals in and out of the forge.
Manufacture
Kabuto-gane
Nomenclature tachi pommels. Those on most other types of swords are called
Kado
Mei
Ikubi-kissaki
Iori-mune
Itame
Jimon
Ji-nie
Jinj
Jitsu
Jizuya
Juntetsu
Litt. "base metal"; Steel; Refers to the very stuff that the sword
or other object is made of.
Litt. "skin(texture) of base material"; Refers to the very texture of
Nomenclature
the steel made visible through proper polishing.
Kaeri-tsuno
Kage
Kaji-oshi
Kamakura
Litt. "return horn"; A tiny piece of fitting made from horn usually
in the shape of a water drop and placed on the side of the
scabbard at about its center lengthwise. Its purpose is to prevent
Nomenclature
the scabbard from slipping out of the obi belt when the sword is
unsheathed. Those made of metal are rather called origane. See
Obi, Origane
Respect. litt. "scenery" and "concurrently". Characters used in
Mei
proper nouns. See Mei
The final stages of the swordsmith's work in shaping a sword.
Manufacture Further work on the blade will then be performed by the polisher
after the swordsmith has completed kaji-oshi.
AD1185-1333 Period in japanese history. Saw the golden age of
Culture
japanese sword manufacture.
Culture
Manufacture
Mei
Kane
Kanmuri-otoshi-zukuri
Nomenclature to a half of the length in a curve from the tip to the mune. See
Kasane
Nomenclature
Kashira
Nomenclature
Kata-kiri-ha
Nomenclature
Katana
Nomenclature
Kata-ochi-
Nomenclature
Kazu
Kera
Manufacture
Kera-oshi
Manufacture
Kesho-yasuri
Nomenclature
Kichi-jitsu
Culture
Manufacture
Gold.
Mei
Ko-
Kbuse
Kgai
Kami
Kanashiki
Kanatoko
Kane
Katsu
Kin
Kin
Kinsuji
Kinzgan mei
Kissaki
Kitaeru
Kiyo
Manufacture
Mei
Mei
Mei
Shinogi-zukuri, Shinogi
Thickness of a sword at either the shinogi or the mune. See
Shinogi, Mune
Litt. "head"; Pommel. Used specically for katana, wakizashi and
tant, and usually matches the fuchi in style. It is called Kabutogane on tachi. See Fuchi, Kabuto-gane, Tachi
Litt. "one-sided cutting edge"; A type of sword shape in which
there is a ridgeline only on one side and it is nearer to the edge
than to the back.
Litt. "sword", "blade", knife", etc; A sword. Defined as any blade
with a nagasa over two shaku (>60.6cm), and usually refering to
those worn edge up and inserted in the obi belt. See Shaku,
Nagasa
Slenting on one side; Usually a prefix modifying the description of
a hamon. See Hamon
Litt. "win". A character used in proper nouns. See Mei
Respect. litt. "harmony" and "one". Characters used in proper
nouns. See Mei
Sponge iron; The actual product of the kera-oshi process; A
lump of a mixture of wrought iron, various grades of steel and
cast steel. See Kera-oshi, Zuku, sentetsu, Zuku-oshi
A type of archaic low-furnace iron smelting process which
produces a lump of sponge iron, a mixture of wrought iron,
various grades of steel, and cast steel. See Kera, Zuku, Sentetsu,
Zuku-oshi
Nomenclature Litt. "gold strips"; Bright streaks in the hamon. See Hamon
Nomenclature
To forge(v.).
Mei
Ko-gatana
Kojiri
Koma-nagura
Manufacture
Kona-zumi
Manufacture
Powdered charcoal.
Kong
Manufacture
Kore
Culture
Mei
Kore
Koshi-gatana
Koshirae
Nomenclature
Koshi-zori
Ktetsu
Kot
Culture
Kozuka
Nomenclature
Ku
Mei
Kuni
Mei
Kurikata
Nomenclature
Kyu / Ku
Culture
M
Machi
Maro
Masa
Notch; Both notches at the junction between the tang and the
Nomenclature
Matsuba-kado
Matsuba-saki
Mei
Nomenclature
Mei-kiri
Manufacture
Mekugi
Nomenclature
Peg used to hold the tsuka on the tang, and thus all fittings
together.
Menuki
Nomenclature placed under the hilt wrap in order to provide texture and thus
Mi
Nomenclature Refers to the section of the sword above the machi. See Ue
Michi
Midare / Midare-ba
Nomenclature In fact most hamon are midare since only a hanful actually follow
Midare-utsuri
Nomenclature
Mihaba
Nomenclature Litt. "body width"; In sword appreciation, the width of the sword.
Minamoto
Mei
Masame
Masu
Mekugi-ana
Mekugi-nuki
Nomenclature
Mei
Nomenclature
Mei
Mine
Min-den
Culture
Mitsu
Mei
Mine
Mitsu-kashira
Miya
Mizu-heshi / Mizu-beshi
Nomenclature
Manufacture
Culture
Mune-machi
Mune-saki
Mura
Momoyama
Mori
Moro
Moto
Muk-zuchi
Mumei
Mune
Mune
Mura-nie
Muromachi
Mei
Mei
Mokume
Mochi
Nomenclature
Mei
Mei
Mei
Manufacture
Notch at the junction between the tang and the mune; Where the
mune starts. See Machi; Ha-machi
The very edge of the mune (the edge created by the two faces on
a iori-mune; the top surface of a mitsu-mune, it is less clearly
Nomenclature
defined in the case of a maru-mune but should be obvious
enough).
Nomenclature
Mei
Litt. "village".
Culture
Mei
N
Naga
Nagamaki
Nagasa
Naginata
Nakago-saki
Nambokuch
Culture
Nana
Culture
Seven; Also pronounced shichi. Used in the mei. See Mei, Shichi
Mei
Litt. "straight".
Nagura
Nakago
Nakago-jiri
Nao
Nari
Manufacture
Nomenclature Tang
Nomenclature
Mei
Manufacture
Nata
Manufacture
NBTHK
Culture
Nendo-j
Manufacture
Ni
Culture
Nichi
Culture
Nie
Nie-deki
Nomenclature
Narutaki
Nie-utsuri
Mei
Nori
Noro
Manufacture
Notare
NSK
Culture
NTHK
Culture
NTHK-NPO
Culture
Nugui
Manufacture
Nomenclature
Obi
Nomenclature gatana, koshi-gatana, katana, wakizashi and tant are all inserted
Obi-tori
Nomenclature
-dachi
Nomenclature
Oite
Culture
At; In; On, As for; On one's part. Used in the mei when
describing a location such as in "in Edo" -- "Edo (ni) oite"
(the "ni" is always pronounced although not inscribed). See Mei
Oka
Mei
Nittho
Nobu
Mei
Oki
The traditional belt used to hold the kimono together. Uchiin it. See Uchi-gatana, Koshi-gatana, Katana, Wakizashi, Tant
Mei
Origane
Ori-kaeshi mei
Nomenclature mei was bent and inlayed on the ura of the tang. See Mei, -
Ori-kaeshi-tanren
Manufacture
Oroshigane
Manufacture
-suriage
Nomenclature
Mei
Litt. "come".
Manufacture
Rentetsu
Manufacture
Rin
Nomenclature rin make 1 bu, 100 rin make 1 sun and 1000 rin make 1 shaku.
Roku
Culture
Nomenclature Rust.
Sagami
Sage
Manufacture
Sageo
Nomenclature
Saka-ashi
Omote
On a sword that has had o-suriage performed, the part with the
suriage
Refers to what is commonly called tanren, the forge folding of
steel. See Tanren
Litt. "wholesale metal"; Recycle smelting of iron and steel. Refers
to both the process and the type of steel created through it. It
implies the re-smelting of pieces of iron and steel, such as old
tetsubin, into a regular forge in order to either raise or lower their
carbon content. See Tetsubin
P
R
Rai
Renk
S
Sabi
Sada
Saka-chji
Saki
Mei
Culture
Sakite
Saki-zori
Saku
Culture
Litt. "make"; Made by-. Used in the mei. See Mei, Z, Tsukuru
San
Culture
Sanbonsugi
Nomenclature
Sane
Mei
Sanj
Culture
Nomenclature Scabbard
Seid
Manufacture
Bronze.
Seik
Manufacture
Seiren
Manufacture
Sekkaboku
Seme-gane
Nomenclature
Sen
Manufacture
Saya
Saya-jiri
Litt. "pig iron-iron"; Refers to all cast steels, including the product
of the zuku-oshi tatara; the actual pig iron; also called zuku.
sentetsu contains a very high rate of carbon which makes it brittle
Manufacture
and unusable as is in a forge. It must pass through a
decarburizing process called sage. See Zuku, Zuku-oshi tatara,
Kera, Kera-oshi tatara, Sage
A traditional unit of length. Equival. to 30.3022cm. It is divided in
Nomenclature
10 sun, 100 bu and 1000 rin. See Sun, Bu, Rin
Sentetsu
Shaku
Shinogi-ji
Shinogi-zukuri
Shinsakut
Culture
Shin-shint
Culture
Shint
Culture
Shirasaya
Nomenclature
Shiro
Shobu-zukuri
Nomenclature
Shumei
Sori
Sosh-den
Sugata
Suguha / Suguba
Nomenclature the edge. It can then be described as having all sorts of additional
Nomenclature Line; Streak, Vein; For reference the shinogi is a suji by definition.
Shi
Shichi
Shige
Shinogi
Suji
Culture
Four; Also pronounced yon. Used in the mei. See Mei, Yon
Culture
Seven; Also pronounced nana. Used in the mei. See Mei, Nana
Mei
Nomenclature Ridgeline
Nomenclature
Mei