Blade Structure and Accessories of Samurai Sword
1. The structure of the samurai sword
(1) KASHIRA (Butt cap): The cover of the head of the tsuka, the wire rope on the handle is knotted on the head, and most of them are metal products such as copper and iron.
(2) ITO(Handle Wrap): The wire rope wrapped around the handle of the sword acts on the centre of the fixed surface and makes the handle easy to hold and not easy to fall off.
(3) MENUKI (Ornament): Most of the ornaments on the handle are metal products with fine workmanship and are the favourite of collectors in the field of Japanese metal craftsmanship.
(4) TSUBA (Hand Guard): That is now commonly known as the handguard. The function is the same as that of the hand guard. In addition to protecting the palm, it is also a must-use part when drawing a sword. It is also the most exquisite accessory for knife decoration.
(5) KURIGATA (Knob): When the sword is tied to the waist, the scabbard is fixed to prevent it from slipping off. Most are made of wood or corners.
(6) SAGEO (Cord): When the sword and fork are placed on the waist, tie the end of the sageo to the belt. To prevent the scabbard from slipping, the material is mostly silk.
(7) Kojiri(End-cap): The sheath at the tail of the scabbard is mostly made of metal or angle.
(8) SAME (Rayskin): The shark skin wrapped on the handle of the samurai sword, commonly known as shark skin. The fish is native to the South China Sea and grows about one and a half feet long. The surface of the leather is covered with protruding fine stone particles, which makes the handle roll easy to wrap around the handle.
(9) KOGAI: It is used for fixing the blade and decoration, and can also be used as a hairpin and ear palladium. Most of them are copper or copper alloy products.
2. The handle of the samurai sword
The samurai sword in Japan is very particular, and different types have different decorations in different periods. For example, the hair-pulled sword "storage" (Japanese characters), the Hyogo-locked sword, the Weifu Zhenzhida sword, the leather-wrapped sword, the song fairy, and the Musashi store, etc. In history, the silk roll sword of Fujiwara Chuyuki was a sword characteristic of ancient military commanders. Depending on the type of sword, the way the samurai carried it was also different. It's no wonder that there are so many ways samurai match swords in movies, TV dramas or anime. And there are many samurai sword sets for sale online, which is very convenient for people who want to buy samurai sword.
The handle of the sword is called "tsuka" in Japanese, and the handle must have a good grip in use. The most difficult thing to master in the use of a sword is the balance between power and speed. The powerful one is slow, and the fast one is less powerful. The two resist each other. Therefore, the design of the handle plays a key role in whether the function of the samurai sword can be fully exerted. It is common for a knife to have several hilts at the same time, and it was fashionable at that time for samurai to change hilts to match different clothes or attend different occasions. The connotation of the hilt fully shows the spiritual control of the samurai's level of thought.
