Daisho Part 1

First Published: December, 1994 by Mirage Publishing

• Miyamoto Usagi
• General Fujii
• Hanako

Sword-making

According to legend, the first true samurai sword was created by the swordsmith Amakuni, in Hoki Province around 700 A.D. Previously, all swords were based upon the straight, double-edged Chinese design, but many of these tended to break during battle. Amakuni designed a new blade with a single edge and a slight curve. After the next campaign, he was rewarded by the Emperor because not a single one of his swords had broken.

From Hoki Province came five major schools of sword-making: Bizen, Yamashiro, Yamato, Soshu and Mino. By 1500, these five schools had divided into hundreds, each led by a master who greedily guarded his own secrets and cautiously passed them down to a son or apprentice. However, with the fall of the samurai, the swordsmiths also went into a decline and by the 18th century many smiths made more money making pots and pans than weapons. As a result, many of the secrets of the craft have been lost over the centuries and today, even with our modern technology, we are unable to duplicate these amazing blades.

As usual, I tried to do my research into the making of a sword but there was some conflicting information and some visuals I had to guess at and so I apologize for any mistakes I may have inadvertently made.

My most valuable reference was Introduction to Japanese Swords by W.M. Hawley. It's a 20-page booklet but loaded with information for the collector.

A National Geographic special on the Living Treasures of Japan included a segment on a swordsmith at work and was the basis for much of the visuals on pages 2-3.

The Dawns of Tradition, published by Nissan Motor Co., not only had a section on sword-making but also on the honing master and the scabbard maker.

The November 1994 issue of Delta Airlines' Sky Magazine included an article on Nagoya, Japan, a center for traditional sword-making. This was given to me by an unnamed fan at a convention. Thank you.

The children's book The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, by Katherine Paterson, was short on the process of sword-making but it gave me some insights into the personality of a swordsmith.

Musashi, the Gekiga King series #224, is one of the many manga (Japanese comics) dealing with the life of Miyamoto Musashi. In this story, he's apprenticed to a hermit/sword-maker and the visuals of the scraping tools is gotten from vol. 1 of this series. Unfortunately, I was never able to find the other volumes.

Other references included Stephen Turnbull's Samurai Warriors; Arms and Armor of the Samurai by Bottomley and Hopson; Japanese Arms and Armor by Crown Publishers; The Sword of the Samurai by George Parulshi, Jr.; and an issue of Science News with the article "Cutting curves in Samurai Swords" (another gift from a fan).

Usagi and the villagers attempt to catch Fujii, but he delays them off by cutting the bridge and stranding some of his men. Usagi follows, led on by a deserter who was more afraid of getting between the two. In one village, he finds his swords have been used to harm the village elder, and heals him. In return, the peasant girl Hanako leads him to Fujii's hideout.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.