Are you looking for information on the Ninja sword and Japanese swords? Do you want to buy a Ninja sword for your own collection? Are you interested in the history of ninja sword fighting and sword crafting techniques?

Here at our site you can find great info on the ninja sword and where to buy the best Japanese swords on-line!
Most of us have seen examples of a ninja sword – ‘shinobigatana’ and Ninjas themselves mostly from films and movies or through the modern weapon replicas and reconstructions. My schooldays often involved ducking under improvised ’shurikens’ knocked-up in metal work class. Many of us were fairly obsessed with everything to do with these dark anti-heroes. I progressed to books by ‘Eric Van Lustbader’ – ‘The Ninja‘ etc before dabbling in various martial arts of the Japanese variety. How accurate were all those early impressions in reality though? Not very accurate I would guess.

Ninja swords in the Media

TV and movie Ninjas have a lot to answer for with regards the modern image of these dark assassins; all those black clad orientals dropping smoke and/or stink bombs and balancing on telephone wires. If anyone remembers ‘The Master’ with Lee Van Cleef‘ you’ll  know what I’m talking about. There are also some great scenes in the film version of ‘You only live twice’ by Ian Fleming, where Bond San 007 is what can only be described as some serious fast-tracking! at a ninja training school (“welcome to ninja island Mr. Bond“).

Ninja sword

What about the Ninja sword itself? Did they really exist?If they did, it seems likely that no serious sword smith was producing great quality swords for the ninja clans. Those working in the assassination business had a more pragmatic and unsentimental take on the sword – it was merely a convenient weapon which if broken, due to poor manufacture, would be discarded easily. It wasn’t an extension of one’s being like a blade belonging to a samurai warrior.

The ninja sword of legend, the ninjato or ninjaken included these characteristics :

• Shorter blades which enabled quicker drawing time and use in smaller spaces.
• Straighter blades made for quick, lethal strikes rather than continued sword fighting.
• Sharpened and pointed tips for stabbing.
• Larger guards which enable using the swords as a climbing tool.

Supposedly the swords were often kept in longer scabbards to deceive opponents into thinking that a longer sword existed and would therefore take longer to draw. This would give the ninja a tactical advantage. It seems unlikely though, as the ninja philosophy would be to try and avoid open fighting as much as possible. Most likely their shorter swords were kept on their backs for quick use in sudden, unexpected encounters.

Buying a ninja sword

For anyone fascinated with Japanese culture and history or Samurai and Ninja films it seems a natural progression at some point to want to own a part of that world. The sword is a wonderful example and representation of the Japanese quest for perfection and mastery of detail. Over centuries that pursuit has led the art of the art and craft of the sword smith to an incredibly high level of production. Take a look at some of the swords available at Amazon.com on my ninja sword shop page.

Not all swords produced today are going to be anywhere near the classical Japanese examples in terms of finish but there are certainly many makers and forges that strive for good quality and high standards in their work. These swords are worth having in your collection or worth starting your collection with and when you decide to buy a sword you will in a small way be feeding that desire inside yourself; that  part of you that longs for the mystery, excitement and honour of old Japan.

The Ninjato – the ninja sword

When that section of the peasant farmers of old Japan had evolved into the shadow warriors known as the Ninja they had developed a variety of useful, practical and devastating weapons with which to practice the art of assassination and subversive attack. From “Black Eggs” to “Shurikens”, their armoury was eclectic and unique. One of the mainstays that any self respecting Ninja wouldn’t be without however, was the Ninjato, or Ninja Sword!

The sword was made with the principles of deception in mind as it had a short blade enclosed in a slightly longer scabbard. This provided a fraction of a seconds advantage when drawing the sword in battle. The sword was straight with a pointed tip for stabbing if the need arose. You had to be fast on the draw if you jumped of the roof and into the path of a wandering samurai guardsman!

This awesome blade of legend combined terrific cutting power with incredible speed in order to to deal a series of quick and deadly strikes upon an unsuspecting or slower moving enemy. The best made examples had tempered steel that could cut through armour. The ninja sword could probably cut through about four to six inches of flesh which would lead to massive blood loss and that meant Death not long after.

It is still an area of some debate whether these swords held pride of place in the life of a Ninja just as the samurai sword had for that warrior class. It is unlikely whether this was the case and most evidence seems to point to the blades being more quickly and less carefully made and therefore liable to break sooner; they existed as an entirely practical weapon to be used and replaced by another if needed. This would explain the relatively small number of good quality examples of this sword being found in modern times.