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Traditionally, the steel used in Japanese and Ninja sword making is ‘Tamahagane‘.
Tamahagane
Steel is produced by combining iron with carbon. Carbon is  essential in sword making as without it iron on its own would be too soft to keep an ‘edge’ for cutting. Steel can be manipulated, stretched and bent without snapping, to different degrees all due to the amount and ratio of carbon and iron it contains and the heat processes it is subjected to.
The more carbon in the iron, the harder the eventual steel becomes. However, there …

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Excerpt from ‘The Book of Five Rings‘ by Musashi Miyamoto, one of the greatest samurai warriors of old Japan.
“I have been many years training in the Way of strategy, called Ni Ten Ichi Ryu, and now I think I will explain it in writing for the first time. It is now during the first ten days of the tenth month in the twentieth year of Kanei (1645). I have climbed mountain Iwato of Higo in Kyushu to pay homage to heaven, pray to Kwannon, and kneel before Buddha. I …

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Excerpt from ‘Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai‘ by Tsunetomo Yamamoto.
Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent. Consequently, if someone were to ask, “What is the true meaning of the Way of the Samurai?” the person who would be able to answer promptly is rare. This is because it has not been established in one’s mind beforehand. From this, one’s unmindfulness of the Way can be known.
Negligence is an extreme thing.
The …

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Chapter One: Calculations
Sun-tzu said:
Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life;
it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined.

Therefore, go through it by means of five factors; compare them by means of calculation, and determine their statuses:
One, Way, two, Heaven, three, Ground, four, General, five, Law.

The Way is what causes the people to have the same thinking as their superiors; they may be given death, or …

Visit the Americn branch of ‘Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai’ with information on all things related to Japanese swords.
This manual is taken from the NBTHK.
“Traditionally, the Japanese sword has been a most important treasure of the Japanese people. We should do what we can to preserve it in order to pay respect to our ancestors who created such a great form of art. Swords must be treated with utmost caution so as not to injure the handler. Precautions to protect them from scratches and rust are also necessary.

I. Precautions to …