Japanese Sword Glossary

AIKUCHI - a tanto without tsuba (guard)
AOI - hollyhock, commonly used as Mon
ARA-NIE - coarse or broad nioi
ASHI - legs (streaks of nioi pointing downwards towards the edge)
ATOBORI - horimono added at a later date.
ATO MEI - signature added at a later date.
AYASUGI - large wavy hada (grain)
BAKUFU - military government of the Shogun.
BO-HI - large or wide groove
BOKKEN - wooden sword for sword kata practice.
BONJI - Sanskrit engravings
BO-UTSURI - weak utsuri
BOSHI - dipping line in kissaki (point)
BU - Japanese measure (about 0.1 inch)
BUKE - military, samurai
BUSHIDO - the samurai code
CHIKEI - dark lines that appear in ji
CHISA KATANA - short katana
CHOJI - clove-shaped hamon
CHOJI OIL - oil for the maintenance of swords.
CHOJI-MIDARE - irregular choji hamon (temper line)
CHOKUTO - prehistoric straight swords
CHU - medium
CHU-KISSAKI - medium point (kissaki)
CHU-SUGUHA - straight, medium width temper line
DAI - large or wide
DAI-MEI - student smith signing his master's name
DAIMYO - feudal lord
DAISHO - pair of matching long and short swords
DAITO - long sword (over 24 inches)
FUCHI - collar on the hilt
FUCHI-KASHIRA - set of the neck of the hilt (fuchi) and the stock (kashira)
FUKURA - curve of the ha or edge in the kissaki (point)
FUKURE - Defect, usually a blister in the steel.
FUKURIN - cover of the edge of a tsuba.
FUNAGATA - Nakago in the shape of a boat bottom.
FUNBARI / FUMBARI - tapering of the blade of the kissaki machi.
FURISODE - shape of the sword's tang that resembles the sleeve of a kimono.
GAKU-MEI - original signature inlaid in a cut silk (o-suriage).
GENDAITO - Sword blades traditionally forged by modern smiths.
GIMEI - false signature (mei)
GIN - silver
GOKADEN - the five schools of the Koto period.
GOMABASHI - parallel grooves
GUNOME - wavy hamon
GUNOME-MIDARE - irregularly waved hamon
GUNTO - army sword mounts.
GYAKU - angular back, inverted

HA - sharp
HABAKI - collar of the blade
HABUCHI - the line of the hamon
HADA - steel grain, steel bending pattern
HAGANE - steel
HAGIRE - cracks on the edge of the blade (fatal defect)
HAKIKAKE - swept parts of the boshi with a broom
HAKO BA - box-shaped shaft
HAKO-MIDARE - irregular box-shaped shank
HAKO-MUNE - back of the blade in a square shape
HAMACHI - notch at the beginning of the edge
HAMIDASHI - Tanto or dagger with a small guard (tsuba)
HAMON - hardening pattern along the edge of the blade
HANDACHI - tachi mount used on a katana or wakizashi.
HATARAKI - activities or work inside the hamon or temper line.
HAZUYA - finger stones used to show the hamon and hada.
HI - grooves in the blade
HIRA-MUNE - flat back of the blade
HIRA-TSUKURI / HIRA-ZUKURI - blade without shinogi (flat blade)
HIRO-SUGUHA - wide and straight temper line (hamon)
HITATSURA - fully tempered hamon
HITSU / HITSU-ANA - holes in the tsuba for the kozuka or kogai.
HO - kozuka blade HONAMI - family of sword evaluators
HORIMONO - arvures on sword blades
HOTSURE - wandering lines of the hamon in ji.
ICHI - one or first
ICHIMAI - construction of a sword in one piece
ICHIMAI BOSHI - the area of the point (kissaki) that is fully tempered.
IHORI-MUNE - spiked dorsal crest
IKUBI - boar's neck (a short, wide kissaki)
INAZUMA - lightning
ITAME - grained wooden hada
ITO - silk or cotton handle cover
ITOMAKI NO TACHI - tachi with the top of the saya wrapped in ito.
ITO SUGU - thin, thread-like hamon.
JI - surface of the sword between the shinogi and the hamon.
JI-GANE - surface of the steel
JI-HADA - pattern of the hada surface.
JINDACHI - tachi
JI-NIE - islands of nie in the ji
JIZO BOSHI - boshi in the shape of a priest's head
JUMONJI YARI - a yari with crossed pieces.
JUYO TOKEN - very important origami for the sword by NBTHK
JUZU - hamon like rosary beads
KABUTO - helmet
KABUTO-GANE - tachi style pommel cap
KABUTO-WARI - helmet breaker
KAEN - flame-shaped boshi
KAERI - reversal (refers to the boshi at the mune)
KAI GUNTO - marine sword
KAJI - swordsman
KAKIHAN - monogram of the sword or tsuba maker
KAKU-MUNE - square backbone
KAMIKAZI - divine wind
KANJI - Japanese characters
KANMURI-OTOSHI - bevelled back edge like a naginata
KANTEI - evaluation of the sword
KAO - monogram of the swordsman engraved on the silk (nakago)
KASANE - thickness of the blade
KASHIRA - pommel or butt of the sword
KATAKIRI - sword with a flat side (without shinogi)
KATANA - sword carried in the obi with the edge upwards
KATANA KAKE - sword rest
KATANA-MEI - the side of the signature which faces outwards when the sword is carried with the edge upwards

KAWAGANE - skin or surface steel
KAZU-UCHI MONO - mass-produced swords.
KEBORI - engraving of lines on sword mounts.
KEN - double-edged straight sword
KENGYO - triangular or pointed nakago-jiri
KESHO YASURIME - decorative file marks on nakago.
KIJIMATA - nakago shaped like a pheasant's leg
KIJIMOMO - pheasant thigh nakago
KIKU - chrysanthemum
KIKUBA - chrysanthemum temperament line (hamon)
KIN - gold

KINKO - soft metal (not iron) sword frame
KIN-MEI - assessor's signature in gold inlay or gold lacquer.
KINZOGAN MEI - same as a kin-mei
KINSUJI - golden line (type of activity in the hamon)
KINZOGAN-MEI - gold inlay attribution on the nakago
KINSUJI - whitish line along the hamon
KIRI - paulownia
KIRI HA - flat sword with both sides bevelled to the edge
KIRI KOMI - cut or slash on the blade of another sword
KISSAKI - point of the blade
KITAE - forging
KIZU - defect
KO - old or small
KOBUSE - blade made with hard steel around a soft core
KO-CHOJI - small hamon choji
KODACHI - small tachi
KODOGU - all parts of the sword except the tsuba.
KOGAI - accessory for the hair pick
KOIGUCHI - mouth of the scabbard or its fitting
KOJIRI - end of the scabbard
KOKUHO - national treasure class sword
KO-MARU - small round boshi
KO-MIDARE - small irregular hamon
KO-MOKUME - small wood-grained hada
KO-NIE - small or fine nie
KO-NIE DEKI - composed of small nie
KOSHIATE - leather hangers (hooks) for a sword.
KOSHIRAE - sword mount or sword accessory
KOSHI-ZORI - the curve of the blade is near the hilt.
KOTO - Early sword period (before about 1596)
KOZUKA - handle of an accessory knife
KUBIKIRI - small tanto for cutting the neck or removing heads
KUNI - province
KURIJIRI - rounded nakago jiri
KURIKARA - Horimono (engraving) of dragon
KURIKATA - scabbard (saya) used to attach the sageo
KUZURE - to crumble or disintegrate
KWAIKEN - short knife carried by women

MACHI - notches at the beginning of the ha and mune
MACHI-OKURI - shortened blade by winding up the ha-machi and mune-machi
MARU - round
MARU-DOME - end of the round groove
MARU-MUNE - round mune
MASAME - straight grain (hada)
MEI - signature of the swordsman
MEIBUTSU - famous sword
MEKUGI - sword pin
MEKUGI-ANA - hole for mekugi
MEMPO - face guard or mask
MENUKI - ornaments of the handle
MIDARE - irregular, uneven temper line (hamon)
MIDARE-KOMI - irregular pattern in the boshi.
MIHABA - width of the sword blade at the machi.
MIMIGATA - ear-shaped hamon
MITOKOROMONO - matching set of kozuka, kogai and menuki
MITSU KADO - meeting point between yokote, shinogi and ko-shinogi
MITSU-MUNE - three-sided mune
MIZUKAGE - a blurred line in the ji, usually due to a new temper.
MOKKO - four-lobed shape (a form of tsuba)
MOKUME - bramble like hada
MON - family crest
MONOUCHI - main cutting part of the blade (the first six inches from kissaki).
MOROHA - double-edged sword
MOTO-HABA - width of the blade near the habaki
MOTO-KASANE - thickness of the blade
MU - empty or nothing
MUJI - no visible grain
MUMEI - no signature (unsigned blade)
MUNE - back edge of the sword blade
MUNEMACHI - notch at the beginning of the mune
MUNEYAKI - tempered areas along the mune.
MU-SORI - no bend
N.B.T.H.K. - Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (sword preservation group)
NAGAMAKI - halberd mounted as a sword.
NAGASA - length of the blade (from the tip of the kissaki to the munemachi)
NAGINATA - halberd
NAKAGO - tang of the sword
NAMBAN TETSU - foreign steel
NANAKO - raised dimple (fish eggs)
NAOSHI - corrected or repaired
NASHIJI - hada-shaped pear skin
NENGO - Japanese era
NIE - shiny crystals in the hamon or ji
NIE-DEKI - hamon made of nie
NIKU - meat (very thick blade)
NIOI - cloud-shaped hamon
NIOI-DEKI - composed of nioi
NIOI-GIRE - break in the hamon
NODACHI - large tachi worn by high officials.
NOTARE - wave similar to hamon
NOTARE-MIDARE - irregular wave like hamon.
N.T.H.K. - Nihon Token Hozon Kai (sword evaluation group)
NUNOME - overlapping metal work
O - large
OBI - belt
O-CHOJI - large hamon choji
O-DACHI - very long sword (over 30 inches)
O-KISSAKI - large kissaki
O-MIDARE - large irregular hamon
OMOTE - signature side of nakago
O-NIE - large nie
O-NOTARE - large wavy hamon
ORIGAMI - evaluation certificate
ORIKAESHI MEI - folded signature
OROSHIGANE - specially treated steel for sword making
O-SEPPA - large seppa (usually on the tachi)
OSHIGATA - rubbing of the signature on the nakago
O-SURIAGE - a shortened silk from which the signature has been removed.
SAGEO - a cord used to attach the saya to the obi.

SAGURI - hook for hanging on the saya
SAIHA/SAIJIN - sword tempered
SAKA - inclined
SAKI - tip or point
SAKI-HABA - width of the blade at the yokote
SAKI ZORI - curvature in the upper third of the blade
SAKU - made
SAME' - ray skin used to cover the tsuka (handle)
SAMURAI - Japanese warrior or warrior class
SANBONSUGI - "three cedars" (hamon with three repeated spikes)
SAN-MAI - three-part sword construction.
SAYA - sword scabbard
SAYAGAKI - attribution on a rough wooden scabbard
SAYAGUCHI - scabbard mouth (koi-guchi)
SAYASHI - scabbard maker.
SEKI-GANE - soft metal plugs in tsuka hitsu-ana.
SEPPA - washers or spacers
SHAKU - Japanese unit of measurement of approximately one foot.
SHAKUDO - an alloy of copper and gold used for sword fittings
SHIBUICHI - Copper and silver alloy used for the armouring of swords.
SHIKOMI-ZUE - sword stick.
SHINAE - ripples in the steel due to the bending of the blade.
SHINAI - bamboo sword used in Kendo
SHINGANE - soft core steel
SHINOGI - crest line of the blade
SHINOGI-JI - flat sword between mune and shinogi
SHINOGI-ZUKURI - sword with shinogi
SHIN-SHINTO - New sword period (1781 to 1868)
SHINTO - New sword period (1596 to 1781)
SHIRASAYA - ordinary wooden storage scabbard
SHITODOME - small collars in the kurikata and/or kashira
SHOBU ZUKURI - blade where the shinogi goes to the end of the kissaki (no yokote)
SHOGUN - supreme military leader
SHOTO - short sword (between 12 and 24 inches)
SHOWATO - sword made during the Showa era (usually refers to low quality blades)
SHUMEI - signature in red lacquer
SHURIKEN - small throwing knife
SORI - curvature
SUDARE-BA - bamboo blind effects in the hamon
SUE - late or later
SUGATA - shape of the sword blade
SUGUHA - straight line of temperament
SUKASHI - cutting
SUN - Japanese measurement, about one inch
SUNAGASHI - activity in the hamon like brushed sand
SURIAGE - shortened silk
TACHI - long sword carried with the edge downwards.
TACHI-MEI - signature facing away from the body when the edge is lowered.
TAKABORI - carving in high relief
TAKANOHA - hawk feather style of the yasurime.
TAMAHAGANE - raw steel for making swords.
TAMESHIGIRI - cutting test
TAMESHI-MEI - cutting test inscription
TANAGO - fish belly nakago
TANAGO-BARA - fish belly nakago
TANTO - Dagger or knife with a blade less than 30 cm long.
TATARA - foundry for making sword steel.
TO - sword
TOBIYAKI - islands of temper in ji
TOGARI - pointy
TOGI - polishing or sword polisher
TORAN - high wave like hamon
TORII-ZORI - curve of the sword in the middle of the blade
TSUBA - sword guard
TSUCHI - small hammer or bit for removing mekugi
TSUKA - sword handle
TSUKA-GUCHI - mouth of the handle
TSUKA-ITO - wrapping of the handle or tape
TSUKAMAKI - The art of wrapping the hilt of a sword.
TSUKURI / ZUKURI - sword
TSUKURU - made by or produced by
TSUNAGI - wooden sword blade for displaying armatures
TSURUGI - straight double-edged sword.
UBU - original, complete, unaltered silk (nakago)
UCHIGATANA - fighting katana
UCHIKO - fine powder used to clean sword blades
UCHIZORI - curved inwards.
UMABARI - horse needle
UMA-HA - horse tooth hamon
UMEGANE - plug used to repair kizu
URA - side of nakago facing the body
URA-MEI - signed on the ura (usually the date)
UTSURI - reflection of the temperament line in the ji
WAKIZASHI - short sword (blade between 12 and 24 inches)
WARE - opening in the steel
WARI-BASHI / WARI-KOGAI - Chinese chopsticks
YAKI DASHI - straight temper line near the hamachi
YA-HAZU - hamon in the shape of an arrowhead.
YAKIBA - hardened and tempered sword edge
YAKIDASHI - hamon starting just above the ha-machi.
YAKIHABA - width of the yakiba.
YAKI-IRE - quick quenching of the sword (tempering)
YAKIZUME - line of tempering in the boshi without turning over.
YANONE - arrowhead
YARI - spear
YASURIME - file marks on the nakago
YOKOTE - line between ji and kissaki
YOROIDOSHI - tanto piercing the armour
ZOGAN - inlay
ZUKURI - sword