The japanese katana is an elegant and lethal weapon ideally suited for the slashing and thrusting motions of mounted warfare and on-foot combat. Its single-edged blade (mune) is thicker in the back and softer in the cutting edge, allowing it to withstand the shock of impacts with hard armor. This durability is achieved through a unique lamination process known as hadagane, in which two different steels are hammered together to form the blade. The softer steel, called tsukagane, is forged around the harder, more resilient tamahagane. The resulting mixture of tsukagane and tamahagane forms the unique pattern of martensite in a katana’s steel, which is also called hamon. This intricate steel pattern gives the sword its distinctive beauty and elegance as well as its practical qualities.
In the later Heian period, when swordsmanship became more sophisticated, the katana began to develop its own artistic qualities. The swordsmiths Kotetsu Nagasone, Kunihiro HORIKAWA and Shinkai INOUE developed a style of sword making that produced magnificent weapons with picturesque Hamon designs. The demand for these lavish Wakizashi (medium length swords) grew among financially-well-off merchants who were willing to pay for the artisanry of the fittings and appearance.
The katana’s curved design also made it more effective for throwing, as the user’s weight is centered over the blade and can cause the sword to fly through an enemy with great speed and accuracy. These factors combined made the katana a powerful and versatile weapon, and its popularity spread throughout the country. Katana sword