Top 5 Sharpest Katana in History / History of Japanese Swords

among swords from around the world the Japanese Katana is famous for its sharp Cutting Edge the Japanese generally small in stature and not as physically robust did not rely on the weight of their swords to slash like Western swords but instead focus on developing the sharpness of the katana for slicing there are numerous stories and anecdotes about the sharpness of these swords in this video we will introduce the top five sharpest katanas in history number five honami toiro honam toiro is a famous Japanese sword designated as an important cultural property it is known for its fearsome sharpness with an anecdote that casually swinging it could shatter an opponent's bones among Japan's historical swordsmiths the top three are called the tasan Saku and one of them toshiro yoshimitsu crafted this sword originally made as a naginata it was later reshaped into a katana through grinding the katana has an overall length of 28 in and a blade length of 23.1 in on the surface it features an engraving of a dragon entwining around a cikata sword which is the sword held by the standing statue of fudo miol a Buddhist deity the dragon wrapped around the sword is said to be an incarnation of fomo himself this sword made in the Kamakura period was a treasured possession of the ashikaga shanet which ruled Japan during the mamachi period in 1565 during the aoku incident the 13th Shogun ashikaga yoshu known as a master swordsman was assassinated by the mioshi trio the sword was stolen during this event hearing this osin claimed that the Timo family was its rightful owner and bought it back for 3,000 gold Yol equivalent to about 300 million to 900 million yen in today's value however later toyoto mioshi the unifier of Japan sought the honam mitoshi and it came into his possession it was then treasured in the toyotomi family's first ranked treasure box in 1615 during the siege of Osaka Osaka Castle was set Ablaze and amidst its fall the sword was miraculously found unscathed in the Castle's moat after being coveted by various feudal Lords It ultimately became the property of the toyokuni shrine the name of the sword derives from his sharpness in the koho Mayo a list of famous swords from the adal period the origin of the sword's name is noted as being due to its incredible sharpness capable of breaking bones just by pretending to cut towards someone honami me means bone eater in Japanese signifying a sword so sharp that it could consume bones this sword is thus named for its extraordinary cutting ability number four kitsu kotetsu is a Japanese katana said to have been owned by condo isami the leader of the shinsen Gumi this sword was crafted by a swordsmith of the adal period who shared the same name nagas kotetu since the specific kotetu used by condo isami does not survive its details are unknown however the swordsmith style is characterized by a slight curvature and a bright steel that forms the body of the sword condo isami was the leader of the shinen Gumi a group of elite Swordsmen formed to maintain order in kilo during the turbulent end of the Ado period condo isami renowned for his unmatched skill with the real sword was a warrior suited for actual combat he was also known for his love of Swords often discussing them whenever he had the chance a notable event that brought Fame to both him and his sword was the ikad incident in Kyoto this was an attack by the shin Zumi a security force of the shogunate on a group of pro- Emperor anti-foreigner Samurai gathered at an inn the Shinsengumi with only four members including condo stormed the Inn where over 20 Samurai were plotting against the Tokugawa shanet in the fierce battle two of the shinen Gumi were wounded and withdrew leaving kondo and one other to fight until reinforcements arrived condo unscathed from the battle as did his kotetu after the incident he wrote in a letter to his father in his hometown that while the swords of the other members were badly damaged his own life was saved because his sword was a kotetu today swords made by nagasi kotetu are permanently exhibited at the Iwakuni art museum in Yamaguchi prefecture number three Tombo kii the third position is held by Tombo Ki which while not a katana is said to be the spear with the finest Cutting Edge among all Japanese Spears among the many Spears the top three renowned as the tenka sun Soul include this spear it was crafted by the swordsmith Fuji masan During the midachi period and is famously known to have been used used by one of the strongest Warriors of the Waring States period Honda Tatu Tombo Kitty is a spear but it is not limited to the typical image of a thrusting weapon the blade part is 17.2 in Long 1.2 in at its widest and 0.4 in thick resembling the appearance of a sword the blade shaped like a Bamboo Leaf is excellent for thres in and creates a wide wound upon penetration this spear which is nearly 20 ft long was carried into battle by Hond taraku who supported his Lord Tokugawa yasu while it was common for swords and Spears to change hands among multiple owners During the singul period this spear remained a personal favorite and a Hallmark weapon of tadakatsu from the age of 16 until his death one legendary battle involving tataku and this spear was the 1584 Battle of Kaki and nagak where tokuga yasu confronted toyot mioshi initially assigned to guard the rear Tatu upon learning of his Lord's perilous situation against hideyoshi's massive Army led a small force of just 500 men to the battlefield armed with his spear toiri [Music] he boldly confronted the large enemy Force across the river and in a daring display rode into the river alone to allow his horse to drink impressed by Tat's Brave and loyal actions hioshi reportedly ordered his men not to harm him the name of the spear comes from a legendary incident during a battle as tadakatsu rested with his spear planted in the ground a dragonfly flew and landed on its tip only to be split in two this incident gave rise to the Spear's name tomoki meaning dragonfly cutter after Tat's death the Tombo Kitty along with his iconic helmet was passed down through his descendants however during World War II it left the family and is now entrusted to the Sono art museum in Mishima City the spear was displayed in January 2015 for the first time in 11 years number two hesik hasab hesik hasab is a sword that was possessed by the famous warlord OD noaga known as one of the three great unifiers of the sangoku period this Katana was crafted by hasap kunish a swordsmith active during the namb period the blade length is 25.5 in with a base width of 1.2 in and a tip width of 0.98 in the wide blade width coupled with the thin blade thickness is a characteristic feature of the swords from this era one of the highlights of this sword is its notare a wavy undulating pattern on the blade which along with the Blade's Edge has similar tempering patterns this aspect of the blade is among its most distinctive and admired features there is a famous anecdote about noaga the owner of the sword demonstrating its sharpness to the world during the Soka period a monk who is one of his retainers committed an act of disrespect enraged he pursued the monk who fled and hid under a shelf when noaga discovered the hiding place he drew his sword and pressed it against the Shelf where the monk was concealed astonishingly the blade cut through the shelf and the Monk's body at the time the action of pressing and cutting was known as hesik and hence the sword came to be known as hesik has normally Japanese swords require a pulling or pushing action against the target to cut making this incident not only a testament to the sword sharpness but also a reflection of nobunaga's Ruthless character regarding the sword's subsequent ownership it is said that noaga bestowed it upon Kuroda kbe kbe was a genius strategist known for his wit political skills and exceptional negotiation abilities serving under Naga and toyoto mioshi this sword passed down through generations in the Cota family was designated a national treasure in 1953 in 1978 it was donated to Fukuoka City by the wife of the 14th head of the kurota family since then it has been carefully preserved at the Fukuoka City Museum number one DOI kii yasuna DOI Kitt yasuna is the premier blade among the tenen the five best swords under heaven and is designated as a national treasure the ten Goen represents the five most exemplary swords in the history of katana this sword one of the earliest in the history of Japanese swords was crafted during the hon period by the swordsmith Oar yasuna known as the pioneer of swordsmith doiki yasuna measures 31 5 in in blade length 1.1 in in base width and 0.8 in in tip width characterized by a strong curvature and a broad Blade the blade pattern is a small wavy line known as K the name doik Kitt originates from a legend involving the warrior minamoto yitu who is said to have slain the demon Shen DOI one of the most famous demons in Japanese folklore during thean period shutendoji and his demon followers were notorious for abducting people and committing evil acts in kilo yitu received an imperial order to subdue these demons he infiltrated the demon stronghold and hosted a banquet serving wine laced with poison as the intoxicated demons became immobilized yitsu used his sword to finish them off beheading Shen doji with it thereby giving the sword its name DOI Kiti meaning Shen DOI cutter before being named DOI Kitt the sword bored the ominous name Chui blood sucking reminiscent of a cursed blade during the ad period a practice known as tamish was conducted to test the sharpness of the finest Japanese swords this involved stacking the bodies of deceased criminals and determining the sword sharpness by how many bodies it could BCT the tamish for this sword was performed by The Swordsman machira Chu when this sword was swung at the stack bodies it is said to have cleaved through six bodies and even cut into the wooden base beneath them these Tales attest to the extraordinary sharpness of this sword currently this sword is housed in the Tokyo National Museum the largest museum in Japan there exhibitions featuring doik katuna are frequently held allowing the public to witness this legendary sword we hope you enjoyed this exploration into the world of Japanese swords don't forget to like share and subscribe for more exciting content about the history of Japanese swords until next time say

Channel: History of Katana 【HOK】

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Length: 15min 6sec (906 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 19 2023