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The history of samurai sword making is often unclear as it is surrounded by legends and myths. The very first single edged katana was made, according to legend by Amakuni, a master of sword making, somewhere around 700 AD. Amakuni made swords for the Emperor but they were not the best swords and were easily broken when used against the enemy who had tough armour. After seeing the disappointment of the Emperor, Amakuni with his son, worked for thirty days and nights and emerged from his workshop with a single edged curved katana, the most famous samurai sword of all.
More accurate, historical accounts relate that the warring, elite Japanese families in the eighth century were instrumental in the development of superior swords as the swords in use at this time were poor quality. Sword making flourished as the families warred over the agricultural land which, at only 20% of the total land was in short supply. During the Heian period, which lasted for three hundred years, sword making continued to flourish.
Folded steel making techniques were developed during this period and single edged katanas, called koto, were manufactured regularly. Trade from China during the tenth century helped the industry and many improvements were made to the techniques including refinement of iron ores by mixing with carbon and anvil water for harder blades. Swords from this period are highly prized and are widely regarded as masterpieces of sword making.
Samurai usually fought on horseback so the design of katanas reflected this. A long weapon was needed to slash at the enemy and a curved weapon caused greater damage when wielded in an upward motion. However when the country was invaded by the Mongols horseback combat became ineffective as the enemy used arrows and bombs. The Mongols also had tough armour to which the delicate katanas proved useless. The long, curved katana blade gave way to straighter, thicker swords.
By the fifteenth century the traditional sword making techniques used for the curved, long katanas was in decline. More advanced combat weapons and later firearms proved more effective than the katanas and they ceased to be made in any great number.
By the seventeenth century the art was lost although many swordsmiths tried, unsuccessfully, to rediscover the techniques. The new swords made at this time, called shindo, were inferior to the ancient swords.
Image of Samurai Swords At the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK by Androfire
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