Japanese swords, samurai, thesis discussion

[tiarnol]

For those of you that have read and replied to my previous posts, hello again and thank you!

I'll do a quick intro for those who have no idea what i'm doing...I'm an anthropology student who is doing a Japanese sword museum display case for her senior project. I'm wanting to post a bit of my hypothesis here to see if anyone has any suggestions on where i could find some material for my research. I already have a ton of books i'm going through, but i still feel that i am unable to answer my questions. My hypothesis is a two-parter.

I'm trying to understand what happened in history to make the Japanese blade change styles. I know a lot of this has to do with history related events and the world wars/Westernization.

The problem that i am really having is answering my second question. I am trying to understand how the Japanese sword has been portrayed throughout history (from traditional to contemporary culture). I am using the Samurai as one of the representatives for the use of the Japanese sword and I will be using a lot of depictions of Samurai in my display case. I will also focus on other Japanese warriors thoroughout history (especially of WWII, since most of my swords are from that era). I'm looking at how the Samurai have been depicted back in traditional Japanese culture and how they were viewed and i'm contrasting that with contemporary culture view using films, books, and anime/manga. I'm hoping to overlay the portayal of the Samurai with the Japanese sword. Feel free to let me know how you view them, since that is what i'm trying to get at. Finding articles on popular/material culture that talk about the Samurai is proving to be difficult to find for me and i've been looking everywhere i can think of. Any thoughts people have are very welcome and constructive criticism is too. Any suggestions of sources to look at is also most welcome! I'm hoping that my question makes a bit of sense. I know what i'm trying to do, but explaining it is a bit hard...

Thank again for all your help! Everyone here is wonderful and very informative!

~Tiffany

[John A Stuart]

May I suggest you do not overly romanticize the mythos of the samurai. They were the military elite and being man had all the positive and negative aspects we all are subject to. There were outstanding examples of sacrifice and ability, just as found in many militaristic groups throughout history and abject failures too. The rise of the buke is particularly interesting and how the class became redundant in modern history a sad tale. The sword in Japanese culture became iconic and a symbol of national pride ie. WW II was noted for this in that it represented a particular form of 'manifest destiny' per say. A fun and complex undertaking. Luck. John

[Bugyotsuji]

Are you hoping to mark, and find reasons for, each and every change in the shape of the Japanese sword throughout Japan's history, such as demands of the latest battle formations/tactics, maximum length by Imperial Edict, etc.?

[bridgeofdreams]

Tiffany,

 

You have come to the right place, though you might be quickly overwhelmed by all the suggestions that will be coming your way.

 

First, there are some good studies that have been done on the changes in the shape (curvature, length, construction, etc.) of the Japanese sword through the roughly 15 centuries of examples we have to study. There are articles as well as sections of books that deal with these practicalities, but a few good ones will probably be all you have time for between now and Spring. Some of this time period includes revivals of older styles, and to some extent that is true of the mass produced blades that served in WWII.

 

John's point about understanding the historical context and avoiding romanticism - or at least understanding how the Japanese have romanticized aspects of their own history at different times for different reasons and purposes - will provide a solid scholarly ground to work from.

 

I highly recommend Karl Friday's "Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan" for an understanding of the earliest transformations of the warrior class during the Heian period.

 

At the other end of the historical spectrum it would be important to understand the role of the book "Bushido: The Soul of Japan" by Inazo Nitobe, originally published in 1900, and it's role in romanticizing the notion of the Samurai both in Japan and in the West. This was used effectively by political interests leading up to and during WWII to sell the whole concept of the Japanese Empire and the rightness of the Japanese aggression. Ironically it has remained popular in the West and feeds the common romantic notions of the Samurai, showing up in movies like "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999), a movie that needs to be seen once - and only once.

 

Just a start ...

 

Craig

[W K Clifford]

"Ghost dog: the way of the samurai" is a good movie, man. Not Jarmusch's best, but unique in his oeuvre. It needs multiple viewings for someone who likes films (for someone who likes the samurai it is not required at all).

 

I also highly recommend Yoji Yamada's The Twilight Samurai (the fighting scenes are the most realistic involving nihonto i have seen), sort of the antithesis to the romanticization of the samurai.

[Toryu2020]

First I would seek out the Samurai-Archives for a quick source of good information online -

Next you might contrast the Bushido of the Kamakura Period with that of the Edo period and that of the Pacific War. The swords were different in shape and size, worn in different ways, and thought of very differently in the society of the times. A big idea perhaps but with a very few simple examples you could easily illustrate this idea - the hard part will be finding good examples of sword and armour from the earliest period...

-t

[jason_mazzy]

Are you telling the story of the samurai? or are you telling the story of the transendence of the samurai to the mythical god like people they are portrayed as today?

[sanjuro]

You have chosen a difficult subject to encapsulate in so small a work as a display or even a thesis. However, within that task, if you are trying to portray the influence and far reaching effects of bushido within Japanese society and ultimately also within Japanese foreign policy, then please at least remember that it was not only a martial spirit of which the sword was only one aspect, it was also an ethical system, a training regime, and a religiously based system of belief for the warrior class, as well as a foundation for the Japanese civilisation and social character. lt was also a crucial element in the Japanese judicial system and the attitudes of Japanese government. All these aspects by turn have taken precedence over the ages until their ultimate corruption and misrepresentation during the 19th and 20th centuries. If you tell only that which concerns the warrior and the sword, though they be central to the theme, then I fear you will do little justice to the subject.

[Henry Stewart]

Tiffant;

 

I would firstly endorse all that has been said about romantisism. If you think of Robin Hood,and Dick Turpin in this country it gives a good idea of how to initialise original thought attempts about The Samurai.

As a very amatuer social scientist I have for some time been studying the social structures of historical Japanese society in an effort to understand the place of the amurai in Japanese culture,only to be bedevilled by the gaps in their historical records.and despite reading screeds of book text, I have ended up with three books, at first seemingly unconnected but each spattered with facts as the authors warm to their chosen subjects. 1) The Samurai by Turnbull, 2)Mino-To. Swords and Swordsmiths of Mino Province by Malcolm E Cox and Japanese Polearms by Roald M Knutsen, and the film to see - 'The Twilight Samurai'.

I wish you luck in your endevours,and would just comment you have chosen a 'Lulu' of a subject.

 

Henry

[Henry Stewart]

Tiffany,

Let me first apologise for typographical errors in the last place,and follow up with it may be that you are sinking in recommendations and instead seek ideas; please try this:-

As a retired engineer it did occur to me that in seeking reasons for the changes in the actual sword, one should consider that the Swordsmiths were the engineers of the day in historical Japan. As such they were Artisans rather than Academics interested more in seeking improvements in their craft,continually making experimental improvements as they went along.

They did not necessarily write everything down,indeed the social fabric of the time would suggest that a lot of them were illiterate. Engineers the world over did and still do seek the continual improvement of their wares and nothing suggests the Japanese Swordsmith did not behave in a similar way. The problem being that this behaviour would lead to continual small changes being evident until when added up the sum actually produced a marked change. This is complicated by a number of different schools of manufacture and thereby a diversity of thought; this further "muddied" by customer differing requirements.

Where any endevour which is customer led is concerned, one cannot avoid marked differences in wares (in this case swords) as no two customers are the same. Of course as time goes on, scientfic knowledge increases and new materials are discovered, this too adding no small amount of confusion;

 

Henry

[Ford Hallam]

Hello Tiffany,

 

I'd encourage you to have a look at are "Giving up the gun, Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543 ~1879" by Noel Perrin

 

It may provide some helpful context in regard to how the sword was regarded as being central to the ethos and myth of the warrior class.

 

For a de-romanticised and fairly recent "pocket history" of the samurai class I would highly recommend; "The Samurai - A New History of the Warrior Elite"by Jonathan Clements. It's a fairly easy and engaging read and cuts through the propaganda and myth making to provide a fairly well balance and sober account of the rise, development and eventual decline of the warrior class. Their continuing influence in modern Japanese society is also addressed. Incidentally, the single review on Amazon ( in the link I provided) is spot on in my opinion.

 

For an attempt to identify those characteristics that modern Japan has inherited for the samurai class I think "The Japanese Samurai Code: Classic Strategies for Success" by Boye Lafayette De Mente is possibly the most specific, and it's written by someone with a great deal of experience in the field. It would be unwise to regard this work as being a completely objective study but it does provide a wealth of information that may help to flesh out the notion of the enduring warrior legacy.

 

regards,

 

ford

[Stephen]

Tiff

 

All good info before me, also google the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, the Mirror, the Comma shaped Beads, and the Sword.

Id also read John Yumoto's The Samurai Sword if you have not already.

i have copies to loan if needed. Good luck

[Brian]

Tiffany,

When you say: "I know a lot of this has to do with history related events and the world wars/Westernization. " you have to understand that the parade-type swords you have pictured in other threads have nothing to do with the Samurai, and are the only Western-influenced swords. They fall under a completely different category and should not not be regarded when talking about "samurai swords"

The genuine Nihonto had very little to nothing to do with Westernization as such, and in fact the shape and style of the Japanese sword probably had a lot to do with resisting Westernization. The mass produced NCO Shin Gunto probably keeping that style to demonstrate that they were not going to move towards the Western style and keeping it patriotic.

I second Tom's recommendation of going through http://www.samurai-archives.com/ as the historical info there can not easily be beaten anywhere out there. Fantastic source of info and many of our members participate there too. Their focus is on the historical side and less on the swords themselves.

 

Regards,

Brian

[O koumori]

Tiffany,

To attempt to answer your second question, you might try Samurai William, The Englishman who Opened Japan, by Giles Milton. (Compare this with Clavel's Shogun).

 

A very good hisorical source to get a feel for the society through folklore is Tales of Old Japan by Lord Redesdasle.

 

As for your first question, an excellent source for seeing blade changes over time is Teiryo Yoji by Honami Koson, translted by Yamanaka and Scott. It depicts hand-drawn illustrations that show the most representative traits of the smiths that are included, ranging from early koto through shin shinto.

 

Hope this helps

Dan K.