Abstract
No Japanese artefact is as iconic as the Katana and other iterations of the long sword. A 20 minute-presentation being hardly sufficient to introduce the topic of Japanese sword-making to a novice audience, I focus this talk on one feature of the sword, the “Hamon” or temper line. The Hamon concentrates both the artistic crafting skills of the sword maker, the unique technological characteristic of folded steel, and the complex interaction between the identity of the sword, that of the swordsmith, and that of the user of the sword. This paper summarizes the sword-making process and illustrate the many categories and meanings of the Japanese blade.
Presenters
Laurent DitmannAssistant Professor of French, Humanities Department, Georgia State University, Perimeter College, Clarkston Campus, Georgia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Japan, Katana, Tachi, Shinken, Bushido, Folded Steel, Samurai, Metallurgy, Hamon
