Blades of that era are almost straight-edged, as evidenced by treasures
within the Shôsôin Repository at Nara, and in a few examples in temples,
such as Shitenôji in Osaka, Komuro Shrine in Kôchi, Kashima Grand Shrine
at Ibaraki, and Konogoji in Osaka. These blades have temper lines, sug-
gesting that forging methods were already highly developed at that time.
At the start of the Nara period, the erratic locations of the emperor
were converted to a permanent capital within the village of Nara in Yamato
province. The arts of swordsmithing were still primitive, but in order to
equip the national army, there arose a demand for a better killing sword.
There is but one tachi(long, slung blade of the Kotô, literally “old sword,”
period, as a reference for the period prior to 1596) attributed to this pe-
riod, the famous Kogarasu-maru. Once the heirloom of the Taira family,
who controlled the country during the late Heian period, this sword has
been greatly shortened (ôsuriage)
Very little is known concerning battle techniques within these two pe-
riods, but there must have been activity, else why the change from a straight
stabbing blade to a curved slicing blade? Woodblock prints surviving from
Sword, Japanese 565Dressed in traditional garb, sword-maker Nobufusa Hokke Saburo begins to form the front curve of the delicate
“samurai” blade at his forge in Matsuyama Japan, 1952. (Bettmann/Corbis)