A Cutting-Edge Tradition

An attraction truly on the cutting edge in Tokyo is the Sword Museum. Japan's cult of the sword is unique in a world that reveres guns. Japanese swordsmiths' technical and metallurgical mastery far surpassed medieval Europe in the age of chivalrous knights and armour. As well, the elegant shape of the samurai sword, its lines and textures, and even the shades of colour in the steel itself, reflect Japanese culture's marrying of the aesthetic and utilitarian.

Traditionally the densely forged steel from which Japanese swords are made is many times fold and cross-welded, sometimes with up to 10,000 layers of steel of higher and lower carbon content. Hammered to an extraordinary toughness, the resulting blade is unusually durable and capable of being polished to a razor-like cutting edge that can decapitate a man with a single graceful thrust.

Given the high status enjoyed by swords, it is not surprising that over the centuries the swordsmith traditionally was held in high esteem, as if he were a priest. Until modern times--which in Japan dates from the country's post-1945 rebuilding--there were more than 200 swordsmithing guilds. More than 1,000 master smiths are recorded, as well as 10,000 whose skill was only slightly less recognized.

It is estimated that more than 50,000 of these antique samurai swords crafted by guild members are extant today in museums and private collections, as well as surviving as family heirlooms. Perhaps millions of the cultural icons were destroyed following World War II when the American occupation forces ordered the swords melted down as a symbol of Japanese militarism that had to be extirpated.

The finest collection of samurai swords is preserved at Tokyo's Sword Museum. Thirty of the museum's 6,000 artifacts have been designated national treasures. The museum, near Tokyo's Shinjuku skyscraper district, is well worth a visit. The nearest subway stop is Hatsudai station on the Toei Shinjuku line.

Gil Kezwer

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