Katana
The iconic curved sword of the Japanese samurai
The katana is the representative single-edged curved sword of Japan, regarded as the symbol of the samurai class and a weapon in which the soul dwells. With a gently curved blade of about 60 to 80 cm, it is made by a distinctive forging in which tamahagane, jade steel, is folded and hammered again and again. The spine of the blade, the mune, is soft steel and the edge, the ha, hard steel, so it has flexibility and cutting power together. The hamon, the temper line, produced by yaki-ire, hardening different parts differently with clay applied, is unique to each blade. Its present form took hold in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), and worn edge-up in the belt, the obi, it makes possible the fast draw, iai, that cuts in the very act of drawing the sword.