Sensei Paul Martin gave us a detailed history of Japanese swords in volume 20, issue 3 of the “SMAA Journal.” Here’s a brief overview from that article:
Jokoto are ancient straight blades with no curvature. They are usually constructed in the hira-zukuri and kiriha-zukuri styles. Hira-zukuri swords have no ridgelines, and they are flat on both sides, whereas the kiriha-zukuri swords have a ridgeline near the blade edge.
It is thought that the shift from straight blades to Japanese swords with curvature happened around the mid to late Heian period (794-1184). This was during the mid-10th century: about the time Taira Masakado and Fujiwara Sumitomo rebelled against the government in the Johei (931-938) and Tengyo (938-947) eras. Blades before these are continental style blades called jokoto, and they were brought to Japan from the Asian continent. Examples of these blades have been excavated from Kofun period tombs, and some still reside in the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara.
Learn More About Japanese Swords at a Martial Arts Association
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