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→Muromachi Era (1394-1595)
finally '''Tokugawa Ieyasu''' managed to gain the power, and pacify the country.
finally '''Tokugawa Ieyasu''' managed to gain the power, and pacify the country.
In Muromachi Era samurai gradually began to use Uchigatana instead of Tachi. They still used Tachi in this stage and the shapes looks like the first stage of Kamakura Era, that is, Mihaba is narrow and Kissaki is small. But Sori (curvature) is different. In Kamakura Era, the center of Sori is near Nakago or little upper, but the center of Sori in Muromachi Era moved ahead. Curved around '''Monouchi''', the last part of the blade toward the point, is a characteristic often found of sword in Muromachi Era. This curvature is called '''Sakizori'''.
In Muromachi Era samurai gradually began to use Uchigatana instead of Tachi. They still used Tachi in this stage and the shapes looks like the first stage of Kamakura Era, that is, Mihaba is narrow and Kissaki is small. But Sori (curvature) is different. In Kamakura Era, the center of Sori is near Nakago or little upper, but the center of Sori in Muromachi Era moved ahead. Curved around '''Monouchi''', the last part of the blade toward the point, is a characteristic often found of sword in Muromachi Era. This curvature is called '''Sakizori'''.
This is a transitional period from Tachi to Katana, so starting from now it is hard to distinguish between the two types. Sword smith made both, and often the shape is not enough to make the difference. The only way to distinguish in between is to watch at the '''Mei''', the swordsmith’s signature. The Mei must face out from the body when worn. Tachi were worn edge down and Uchigatana edge up. So the position of the Mei on the tang tells us which type of blade it is. If no signature is present, the difference is often merely in the mounting type.
This is a transitional period from Tachi to Katana, so starting from now it is hard to distinguish between the two types. Sword smith made both, and often the shape is not enough to make the difference. The only way to distinguish in between is to watch at the '''Mei''', the swordsmith’s signature. The Mei must face out from the body when worn. Tachi were worn edge down and Uchigatana edge up. So the position of the Mei on the tang tells us which type of blade it is. If no signature is present, the difference is often merely in the mounting type.
Swords were a major Japanese export good throughout the pre-modern period, and especially in the Muromachi era, alongside [[copper]], [[sulfur]], [[folding fans]], and [[lacquerware]]. The number of swords shipped out of the country was at times quite large; according to one source, as many as 37,000 Japanese swords were imported into China in the year [[1483]] alone.<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 213.</ref>
The swords of this era can be divided to three groups:
The swords of this era can be divided to three groups: