Evening journal., 1910-07-09
SWORDS OF JAPAN
Old Samurai Blades Are Looked
Upon as Sacred.
HANDLED WITH REVERENCE.


Bushido" Is Drawn From lts Sheath
by Hand Which Grssps II In Peace.
II one were in a friends house In
Japan and should ask to examine one
of the old samurai swords that rest In
the lacQuered sword rack in a place
OF honor there a curious formula of
etiquette would be followed by the
host
He would go to a closet and return
With little square of silk In his hand.
This he would wrap about the shark
skin handle OF the sheathed sword be
fore touching his bare hand TO the
sheath. Then. with his right hand |
grasplng the silk covered handle and |
the fingers OF his left gingerly raising |
the lacquered hilt from the rack, the |
Japanese host would lift the sword 70 |
the level OF his forehead and bow to IT,
All this in reverential spirit and with
utmost gravity. The square OF silk,
preserved for no purpose but this and
having its own name in the Japanese
vocabulary. is TO prevent the dehle-
ment OF the handle by a hand which
grasps It in peace. The bow is meant
for the spirit OF the swordsmith who
forged this weapon. The reverence Is
for the sword itself. soul Of the ga
mural" IN the japanese poetical con-
ception and aptly called by foreigners
''the steel Bible OF Bushido."
But this is only the beginning OF the
formality. When the Japanese host
unsheaths the blade he does 1t with
the edge toward his own body and the
point directed away from his guest.
When the guest receives the sword In
his own hands he must be careful to
keep the outer edge always away from
the direction OF his friend the host
II he wishes 10 examine both sides OF
the blade he must even turn his back
so that never VIII the menace Of the
sharpened edge be directed toward his
friend.
After the examination is completed
the sword is returned to It's scabbard,
and the owner receives It with an
other bow and places It once more on
its rack.
The etiquette of the sword Is no
empty thing. with the high spirited
Japanese. who have not forgotten the
many centuries OF chivalry and Of
hand fighting behind them. the deli
cately curved and curiously welded
sword OF the samurai has a signin-
cance almost sacred. There is a phi
losophy OF the sworn no less stern
than the use OF the weapon.
In the old days when the Japanese
fighters wore the war masks and the
steel armor seen nowadays IN ths
curiosity shops the boy was taught
that as the shining blade must be kept
free from spot and corruption. so must
his soul be ever clean. Neglect Of the
! blade brings rust; neglect OF the sou
!, an impure character.
! Then the sharp edge was held no
: only as a constant guardian Of pei
! sonal safety and honor. but as a sacre'
disciplInarian 10 punish whenever It
possessor stepped from the marrow
, path OF the Yamato spirit OF chivalry
Again. the sword was emblematica
! Of true gentillty. which is never over
bearing or vulgar in department bu
sternly self repTessive.
! No man knows when first the forg
. for fighting weapons was set up in tn
T dawn Of japanese history nor wh'
. was the man who first replaced thu
+ rude bronze blades Of a primitive foil
/ by the tempered steel of the Yamat'
= blade. There is in the imperial collec
, ton OF swords at the castle of Mari
the weapon worn by the Crown Prince
Shotoku, who compiled the constitu
ton of seventeen articles I'm A. ID. 693
the oldest sword known In Japan. Brou
that weapon. which was straight anc
not curved as ali other swords OF Nip
pom are. down 70 the fall OF the Toku
gawa shogunate In the middle OF the
last century there is an unbroken his
tory OF the art OF the swordsmith
Twelve centuries OF recorded art II
swordmaking and the names OF ovel
10000 makes constitute the history OF
the sword in Japan.
The japanese blade. placed almost
on a par with the Damascus product
. In art and utility. differs from the
Arabian weapon in one material detail
OF manufacture. Instead OF having 8
uniform high temper. which gives the
remarkable fiexibility possessed by the
Damascus blade. the japanese SWORD
has two tempers, a hard and milo
steel.
The edge Of the blade is hard with
the finest temper. the body and bacl
OF a milder temper. sufficient to give
some elasticity. A japanese sworC
cannot be bent half double with the
, pressure of hand: it is nearly rigid
Though sword manufacture has ceas
, ed to be In Japan today outside OF the
, government arsenals. which turn ou
! only the accepted military blade Of thu
! modern army, the country is filled witt
, priced relics Of the past art. and thes'
are relics which the japanese will no
sell. A pOssessor OF one Of the ole
swords. keen and blue white in lustel
, as the day 1t was forged. would sci
y his house, even himself maybe, before
: he would part with his iron Bible o.
] - MQUQyfna