Tales Of The Tang: Has Your Samurai Sword Ever Dismembered Anybody?
It’s a gruesome question to ask, and I’m certainly not accusing you of foul play, but I have a little known tip for you which you can use to see if your samurai sword is holding any dark secrets.
What on earth am I talking about? I’ll explain…
Many, many moons ago, when samurai swords were not made simply for decorative and collectable purposes, but to maim and kill, they had to be tested to ensure they performed and held up well – after all, a samurai’s life and a sword smiths reputation and livelihood depended upon it.
Anyway. As brutal as it may be, what better way to test how a sword performs against the human body than to use it on a human body?
That’s precisely what went on. Convicted felons – some alive, and some dead – would be used to test the might of a newly forged blade, and if that weren’t fascinating enough, the results of the tests were often inscribed on the tang.
So, if you ever get the chance to see the tang of your sword, and you can understand Japanese, then just maybe your sword has some very gruesome secrets to reveal to you.