AIKUCHI Tanto up to one foot long mounted without a guard (Tsuba).
ARA-NIE Large coarse Nie.
ASHI Leg or foot. Short lines extending from patterns of Nie or Nioi.
AYASUGI A pattern of grain (Hada) forming regular wavy lines used
mostly by the Gassan and Satsuma Naminohira schools.
BOHI Wide groove almost filling the shinogi surface.
BONJI Sanscrit characters occasionally carved onto the blade surface.
BOSHI The shape of temper line in the point of the sword.
BO-UTSURI Straight faint mirror like reflections of the temper line.
CHIISA KATANA A general term for all swords shorter than a katana
but also used to indicate a length between wakizashi and standard katana.
CHIKEI A bright curved line ( e.g.Nioi) occurring in the ji.
CHOJI Temper line in the shape of cloves.
CHOJI-MIDARE Clove shaped temper line mixed with irregular shapes
in the Hamon.
CHU-KISSAKI Blade point of medium length in proportion to the width
of the blade near the tang.
CHU-SUGUBA Medium width straight Hamon.
DAISHO A matched pair of swords (large-small) and/or fittings.
DAITO A long sword. Literally a large sword.
FUKURA The cutting edge of the sword point.
FUKURE Flaws
FUMBARI A term used to describe a blade which becomes noticeably
wider as it approaches the hilt. A feature of Koto blades.
FURISODE A tang shape with the end deeply curved toward the back
side which resembles a kimono sleeve.
GAKUMEI The signature removed from the original tang and inserted
into the shortened tang.
GINSUJI A silvery color kinsuji line in the temper line (yakiba).
GUNOME A type of Hamon (temper) resembling regular half circles.
GUNOME-MIDARE An irregular mixture of ragged gunome.
GUNTO Machine made army swords.
HA The cutting edge of the sword.
HABAKI The collar around the blade above the tang to fit the blade
securely into the scabbard.
HA-BUCHI The border line between the Ji and the Yakiba.
HADA The surface grain of the blade. There are many types and more
than one type can be on the same blade.
HAGANE Steel
HAGIRI A flaw where the blade edge is cracked entirely through the
edge of the blade at a right angle to the edge.
HAKIKAKE A feature of the tempered edge in which Nie appear in a
swept or brush-stroke pattern.
HAKO BA A box shaped Hamon.
HAMACHI The edge notch where the blade joins the tang.
HAMON The temper line.
HANDACHI A katana with partly Tachi mountings.
HI Grooves cut into the sword.
HIRA Flat surface of the blade.
HIRA-ZUKURI A blade shape which is flat without shinogi ridges.
HITATSURA A temper pattern known as full temper.
HITSU ANA One or two holes in the sword guard (Tsuba) through which
the kozuka and/or kogai are inserted into pockets in the scabbard.
HORIMONO A general term for carvings on the blade surface.
IHORI-MUNE Two surface shape to the mune (back edge) of the blade.
IKUBI-KISSAKI A short and stubby point said to resemble the neck
of a wild boar.
INAZUMA Lightening shaped bright lines in the Yakiba or the Hada.
ITAME HADA Wood grain pattern in the surface steel.
JI The surface of the blade between the Yakiba and the Shinogi
JIHADA Surface texture. The various patterns of Hada.
JI-NIE The presence of Nie in the Ji.
KAEN A flame shaped boshi pattern.
KAERI The shape of the turn back of the boshi pattern.
KAI GUNTO Modern Navel swords.
KAJI Swordsmith
KAKU-MUNE A square shape to the back of the Mune.
KANJI Chinese writing characters used in Japan.
KANTEI The study and appraisal of swords.
KASANE Thickness
KATANA The general term for a long sword (over two feet) worn cutting
edge up through the sash.
KATANA KAJI Swordsmith
KATANA MEI The signature of the outside of the blade when it is worn
cutting edge up.
KATANA TOGISHI Sword polisher.
KATANA KAKE A sword stand horizontal display.
KATAKIRIBA A sword shape with a ridgeline on one side only and the
other side flat.
KEN Straight sword which is double edged.
KENGYO A butt end of the tang with a symmetrical V-shape.
KINSUJI Whitish golden lines along or in the Yakiba.
KISSAKI The point of the blade. Many shapes.
KITAE The style of forging.
KIZU Various flaws or defects in a blade.
KODACHI Short tachi blades usually two feet or less from the Kamakura
period.
KODOGU Collective term for all the fittings except the Tsuba.
KOGAI A hair arranger which fits into a pocket in the scabbard and
is withdrawn through the tsuba (Hitsu Ana).
KOJIRI Fitting on the bottom end of the scabbard.
KO-KISSAKI A blade point of short length in proportion to the width
of the blade near the tang.
KOMARU A small round boshi.
KO-MOKUME Small wood burl grain Hada.
KO-NIE Tiny Nie (Martinsite) crystals along the Hamon.
KOSHIRAE Sword mountings including scabbard, fittings, and handle.
KOSHI-ZORI A type of blade curve which has the maximum curve point
nearer the tang than the middle.
KOTO Old swords. Usually means swords made before 1596.
KO-WAKIZASHI Short wakizashi.
KOZUKA Small utility knife which fits into the pocket in the scabbard.
KURI-JIRI Chestnut shaped tang end. A rounded asymmetrical shape.
KURIKATA Knob on the side of the scabbard for the belt cord.
MACHI Notches in the blade to stop the Habaki. Edge=Hamachi; back=Munemachi.
MACHI OKURI When the notches have been moved up the blade.
MAKI ITO The braid for wrapping handles.
MARU-DOME The round end of a groove.
MARU MUNE Rounded back edged of the blade.
MASAME-HADA Straight grain
MEI Signature
MEKUGI The peg holding the handle on the sword.
MEKUGI-ANA The hole for the Mekugi
MENUKI Ornaments under the handle wrapping to improve the grip.
MIDAREBA Irregular Hamon patterns.
MIDARE-CHOJI Irregular clove shapes in the Hamon.
MIHABA The width of the blade.
MITSU MUNE A three surface back edge of the blade.
MIZUKAGI White diagonal stripe at the base of a retempered blade.
MOKUME-HADA A burl wood grain Hada.
MONO -UCHI The striking area of the blade 4-5 inches below the point.
MOROHA Doubled edged sword.
MOTOHABA The width of the blade measured at the Hakabi.
MUMEI Without signature.
MUNE The back edge of the blade.
MUNE MACHI The notch in the back of the blade to stop the Habaki.
MUNEYAKI Temper pattern along the back edge of the blade.
MUSORI Without curve. As in the shape of the blade.
NAGAMAKI A kind of koshirae used on a Naginata in the late Kamakura
and early Muromachi days. It came from the fact that the hilt for the long
blade was wrapped with a cord or a leather strip wound around it. Sometimes
this term is used incorrectly to describe a type of halberd.
NAGASA The length.
NAGINATA A halberd. A sword blade of one of several similar shapes
that was used attached to a long pole. Also called a polearm.
NAKAGO The tang of the blade. The part of the blade which fits into
the handle.
NAKAGO JIRI A general term used for the butt end of the tang.
NAKAGO MUNE The back edge of the tang.
NAMBAN TETSU Foreign steel.
NAMBOKUCHO The period of the Northern and Southern dynasties, ca.
1300"s.
NAOSHI Corrected or repaired.
NIE Martinsite crystals formed during the heating and quenching process.
Nie are crystals which are large enough to be viewed as individual particles.
NIOI The same as Nie except that these particles are too small to
be discernible to the naked eye and appear like a mist or fog.
NOTAREBA A term refering to a Hamon outline that is wavelike.
O-CHOJI Hamon of large choji patterns.
OMOTE The side of the sword away from the body as it is worn. The opposite
side is called the ura or back.
ORIGAMI A certificate of appraisal.
ORIKAESHI-MEI Blade signature folded into the opposite of the tang
when the blade is shortened.
OSHIGATA A rubbing of the inscription on the tang.
O-SURIAGE A shortened sword losing all or most of the original tang.
O-WAKIZASHI Longer Wakizashi, almost two feet long.
SAGEO The cord or braid attached to the Kurikata on one side of the
scabbard.
SAIHA A retempered edge.
SAKA-CHOJI Choji shapes slanting down toward the base of the blade.
SAKI-HABA The width of the blade at the Kissaki.
SAKI-ZORI Curvature of the blade with the more pronounced curve toward
the point.
SAME Patch of skin from a ray fish used on sword handles and sometimes
on scabbards.
SANBONSUGI A three tree pattern Hamon. Kanemoto of Mino was famous
for this.
SAYA The scabbard.
SEPPA The washers used to fill the space between the tsuba and the
sword.
SHAKU The Japanese unit of measurement equaling 11.93 inches.
SHINAE Small cracks cross-ways in a blade. A flaw.
SHINOGI Ridges on each side of the blade.
SHINOGI-ZUKURI Blades made with a ridge line.
SHINTO New swords. Swords made between 1596 and ca.1800 SHIN-SHINTO
New,new swords. Swords between 1800 and 1870.
SHIRASAYA White wooden scabbard.
SHOWA-TO Hand made blades made since 1926.
SORI Curvature of the sword.
SUGUBA Straight Hamon paralleling the edge curve.
SUN The Japanese measure for one-tenth of a shaku.
SUNAGASHI Sweeping lines along the Hamon like floating sand ridges.
SUN-NOBI Longer than average Wakizashi or Tanto.
SURIAGE Shortened blade.
TACHI General term for all slung swords.
TACHI KAKE Sword rack or stand for a Tachi.
TACHI MEI Signature on the side of the body when the blade is worn
slung with the cutting side down.
TAMESHIGIRI Cutting test on a sword.
TANTO Daggers less than one foot long.
TOGI Polish on a sword.
TORII ZORI Curvature of the sword with the deepest part in the center
of the blade.
TSUBA Sword guard.
TSUKA Sword Handle.
TSUKA ITO Braid for wrapping handle.
TSUKA MAKI Sword handle wrapping.
TSUNAGI Wooden sword made to keep in Koshirae.
UBU NAKAGO Original unaltered tang.
UCHIZORI A type of curve that bends slightly towards, rather than
away from, the cutting edge.
URA The side of the sword next to the body when the sword is worn.
UTSURI Reflections. Faint lines appearing to reflect the Hamon.
WAKIZASHI Medium length sword between one and two feet.
WARI KOGAI Kogai split to form chopsticks.
YAKIBA The tempered surface along the edge.
YAKIDASHI The end section of the Hamon near the tang.
YAKINAOSHI Retempered blades.
YARI Spear
YASURI ME File marks on the tang.
YOKOTE The line separating the blade portion of the sword from the
point portion.