The Samurai Sword: Techniques and Cutting Patterns

The Samurai Sword, or katana, is used more for cutting than stabbing, with its two handed hilt allowing great leverage for cutting and increased agility when warding off another weapon.

The flexible katana also has the ability to be used single handed. The art of testing swords, called Tameshigiri, utilizes multiple types of materials to both determine the swords sharpness and practice various techniques. You can find variances in technique in the use of Japanese swords as methods change to match the military fighting style of a particular era.

You also find differences in sword length and technique depending on the different applications for which it was used. An example of this is longer swords designed for horsemen with shorter katate-uchi for the footmen that accompanied them. This shorter katana was designed for one handed fighting, with a shorter handle and overall length. We can also see a change in sword blade change in response to changes in the armor that was worn by enemies.

The primary weapons for use on the battlefield are the bow and the spear, with the sword being used as a last resort. There are, however, examples from the Edo period of Samurais not using armor and using the daisho as their first weapon.


Below are descriptions of the traditional cutting patterns for a katana:

Kasumi – This pattern involved two horizontal cuts which are performed consecutively. The second one should cut the first piece before it is able to fall to the floor.

Dotan – Multiple targets are stacked horizontally and a single downward cut slices through them.

Yoko Narabi – Multiple targets are set up vertically side by side and a single cut goes through them either diagonally downward, diagonally upward, or horizontally.

Mizu Gaeshi – Two cuts are made, first a diagonal upward cut then a horizontal cut is made on the piece that has been cut prior to it hitting the floor.

Testing the cut of a sword:

To ensure that the skill of the swordsman did not play a part in how well a sword was said to cut only the most highly skilled swordsmen would be chosen to test swords during the Edo period. While many different materials were used to test swords the materials of choice were cadavers and condemned criminals. Other common materials used in sword testing included bamboo, wara (rice straw), goza (the top layer of Tatami mats), and thin sheets of steel.

Cadavers would be cut in a variety of ways, including O-kesa (diagonal cut from shoulder to opposite hip) and tabi-gata (ankle cut). The types of cuts made were given descriptive names that showed the exact location of the cut on the body. Today you can still find old swords with inscriptions such as "5 bodies with Ryu Guruma (hip cut)" on their nakago (tang).

The standard cuts of Japanese swordsmanship included upward diagonal (Kiri-age), horizontal (Yoko), downward diagonal (Kesa), and stright downward (Jodan-giri, Happonme, or Dotan). These standard cutting types could then be used on cadavers. The downward diagonal cut is the easiest, with the next difficult being the upward diagonal, followed by the straight downward. The most difficult cut to make is the horizontal.

 

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