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blades and Keigen-Shinto is Kasane. Kasane in now is thick.
blades and Keigen-Shinto is Kasane. Kasane in now is thick.
These shape will appear again in the end of Edo Era
These shape will appear again in the end of Edo Era
The influence of the European culture increased with the increasing of
commercial exchanges.
Goods where excanged between Europe and Japan in this period and
european iron was imported, too.
The japanese name for this iron is '''Nanban-Tetsu''', "steel of the Southern
Barbarians". Smiths begun to proudly sign on the tang of their creatures
"made with NanbanTetsu" because european items were really fashinating
japanese people, but Kokan Nagayama quotes in his "Token Kantei Dokuhon"
that such a steel wasn't better then Tamahagane for making NihonTo due
to the impurities in it, especially phosporus. This foreign steel is
brigter then the japanese one and soon the fashion went out.
* Kanbun-Shinto period (1658 -1683)
In this period the center of swordmaking were Edo and Osaka, and new style
of sword appeared. This sword has extremely little Sori. In 1683, Tokugawa shogunate prescribed the maximum size of Katana and Wakizashi. Therefore, swordsmiths commonly made long swords around 70cm. These two main centers of swordmaking had different features reflecting the different nature of the cities.
Being Edo the center of the Military power, the Shogunate, swordsmiths put emphasis on the sharpness and functionality of the blade, as expected by a military point of view. Shape was functional and Hamon wide. The waves of the Hamon lowered round the Monouchi, that’s the part used for cutting and the more exposed to shocks. Lowering the hardened part means to leave more softer steel there, allowing a better shocks-resistance. '''Kotetsu''' is the most famous example of the edo production in this period.
On the other hand, Osaka was the business heart of the nation. Being the traders considered much lower then Samurai in the actual cast system, we find much more Wakizashi
made in this school of swordmaking, being the traders forbidden to own a
long sword. Nonetheless this wealthy class begun to show their real status wearing extremely well made koshirae and pretending top-quality swords. '''Sukehiro''' is the most famous smith of the Osaka school in this period. As Kotetsu’s ones, their blades are rated as
'''Sai Jo O Wazamono''', the top of the top in cutting ability. Tests were made to fix such a classification, but this tests weren’t performed with Koto blades, considered too valuable to risk them in '''Tameshigiri''', so this classification must be taken with a grain of salt. Most swords in this period shows '''Yakidashi''' and from now on the hamon type
called '''Toran-Ha''' becomes in fashion.
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*** works in progress.....
*** works in progress.....
