Knowledge of the Blade

(All info came from Wikipedia so I apologize if some are incorrect. Please let me know if you recognize some mistakes!)

Today is the day after my seventh birthday. I decided last night I wasn't going to start reading up on blade-working as I was quite tired from celebrating my birthday. So I'm starting now, fresh out of the shower I get dressed and power on the computer. Izuku and our mom went out to the park with the Bakugo's so I'm home alone right now. It's close to 11 in the morning and I've already eaten some food so all my attention can be focused and I won't be distracted by hunger.

Sitting in a chair I grab my notebook and set it to the right of the desk I'm at. The first website I locate is one titled 'All you can know'. It's known to have incredibly accurate information and all invalid or false info gets reported and fixed. I was going to use 'The Art of the Japanese Sword: The Craft of Swordmaking and its Appreciation' but decided to change my mind as this was a long book and a less efficient way to get the info I want.

The first section I make is a description: A katana is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. The blade length is greater than 60.6 centimeters. Historically, katanas have been regarded not only as weapons but also as works of art, especially for high-quality ones. For a long time, Japanese people have developed a unique appreciation method in which the blade is regarded as the core of their aesthetic evaluation rather than the sword mountings decorated with luxurious lacquer or metal works. It is said that the following three objects are the most noteworthy objects when appreciating a blade. The first is the overall shape referred to as Sugata. Curvature, length, width, tip, and shape of the tang of the sword are the objects for appreciation. The second is a fine pattern on the surface of the blade, which is referred to as hada or jigane. By repeatedly folding and forging the blade, fine patterns such as fingerprints, tree rings, and bark are formed on its surface. The third is hamon. Hamon is a white pattern of the cutting edge produced by quenching and tempering. The object of appreciation is the shape of Hamon and the crystal particles formed at the boundary of Hamon. Depending on the size of the particles, they can be divided into two types, a nie and a nioi, which makes them look like stars or mist. In addition to these three objects, a swordsmith signature and a file pattern engraved on the tang, and a carving inscribed on the blade, which is referred to as horimono, are also objects of appreciation. Western historians have said that the katana was among the finest cutting weapons in world military history.

It's been around half an hour and I've put down a good first draft of a description. I'm sure I could develop a better one once I've gathered more info but this will do for now. Next, I work on comparing different blades and weaponry of the era in which the katana was prominent.

The main weapons on the battlefield in the Sengoku period in the 15th century were yumi (bow), yari (spear), and tanegashima (gun), and katana and tachi were used only for close combat. During this period, the tactics changed to a group battle by ashigaru (foot soldiers) mobilized in large numbers, so naginata (pole weapon) and tachi became obsolete as weapons on the battlefield and were replaced by yari and katana. In the relatively peaceful Edo period, the katana increased in importance as a weapon, and at the end of the Edo period, shishi (political activists) fought many battles using katana as their main weapon. Throughout history, katana and tachi were often used as gifts between daimyo (feudal lord) and samurai, or as offerings to the kami enshrined in Shinto shrines, and symbols of authority and spirituality of samurai. Jōkotō (ancient swords, until around 900), Kotō (old swords from around 900–1596), Shintō (new swords 1596–1780), Shinshintō (newer swords 1781–1876), Gendaitō (modern or contemporary swords 1876–present). Katana originates from sasuga, a kind of tantō (short sword or knife) used by lower-ranking samurai who fought on foot in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). In the Nanboku-chō period (1336－1392) which corresponds to the early Muromachi period (1336－1573), long weapons such as ōdachi were popular, and along with this, sasuga lengthened and finally became katana.

The first use of katana as a word to describe a long sword that was different from a tachi, occurs as early as the Kamakura Period. These references to "uchigatana" and "tsubagatana" seem to indicate a different style of sword, possibly a less costly sword for lower ranking warriors. Starting around the year 1400, long swords signed with the katana-style mei were made. This was in response to samurai wearing their tachi in what is now called "katana style" (cutting edge up). Japanese swords are traditionally worn with the mei facing away from the wearer. When a tachi was worn in the style of a katana, with the cutting edge up, the tachi's signature would be facing the wrong way. The fact that swordsmiths started signing swords with a katana signature shows that some samurai of that time period had started wearing their swords in a different manner.

On the other hand, kenjutsu (swordsmanship) makes use of these characteristics of katana was invented. The quicker draw of the sword was well suited to combat where victory depended heavily on short response times. (The practice and martial art for drawing the sword quickly and responding to a sudden attack was called Battōjutsu, which is still kept alive through the teaching of Iaido.) The katana further facilitated this by being worn thrust through a belt-like sash (obi) with the sharpened edge facing up. Ideally, samurai could draw the sword and strike the enemy in a single motion. Previously, the curved tachi had been worn with the edge of the blade facing down and suspended from a belt.

~~Break~~

After a few hours of constant learning and coping down the knowledge I feel happy with my progress today and decide to stop. Standing up I stretch and grab my wooden katana walking out the door and to a quiet part of the forest nearby. I have to get used to using my legs for stances and I need the muscle memory for when I actually fight. So I get into the first stance. I call it stone stance and its useful for attacks against one enemy. So if several come at me I'll have to focus mainly on one and try to deflect or confuse other attackers.

What's great about it is the incredible versatility I'll have incorporating different stances. This is the first of many I plan to learn and one day create a style versatile enough to erase my innate limit others think I have. This won't be easy though and I know that, so I'll be in this stance for a couple of hours a day. For 5 years straight to be positive I can do this in any position. Of course, I'm also going to devote time to other styles when I'm confident in doing them but right now, stone stance only!

(Guys I'm sorry for the info dump and lame chapter but doing school and this is hard. I've decided to do this when I feel up for and since I love writing it will probably be often but not every day. I'm sorry again for those who like daily updates but it's something I don't want to burn myself out with. Thanks for reading and have a lovely day/night! This is unedited.)