As you know, we operate a Online shop for Japanese swordsa shop where you can buy Japanese swords. There are surprisingly few of these in Germany. In this article, we explain why not every shop for "Japanese swords" is really a shop where you can buy Japanese swords.
What is a real Japanese sword?
Swords from Japan have a long tradition and are popular and respected worldwide. Buying Japanese swords is therefore a dream of many people. As a rule, swords in the style of samurai swords are meant when Japanese swords are mentioned.
These swords have single-edged blades with a curvature.
The Japanese swords are particularly well-known:
Tachi
Tachi are relatively long, relatively strongly curved swords that were primarily developed for horsemen.
Katana
Katana are swords with a total length of approx. 1 metre.
Wakizashi
Wakizashi are a shorter version of the katana.
Tanto
Tanto is a "sword" the length of a knife.
As the katana is the best known, it is mostly about katana in the context of "buying Japanese swords".
These swords are a cultural asset of the Japanese nation that should be preserved. That is why Japan stipulates that these swords must still be made today using the same methods as 200 years ago.
The swords made in this way are genuine Japanese swords, also known as Nihonto. Nihonto is a Japanese word that translates as Japanese sword. The price of a newly manufactured Japanese sword today is at least around 8,000 euros.
In a further Article about prices at Nihonto we took a closer look at the subject of prices. If you want to buy genuine Japanese swords, you have to expect a price in this region.
In addition, if you really want to buy Japanese swords, it has to be a sword from Japan, made according to the tradition of Japanese swordsmiths.
Incidentally, every sword exported from Japan is checked to see whether it is a historical sword or a new, traditionally manufactured sword. Swords that do not fulfil one of these two criteria may not be exported from Japan!
Exception: Japanese Iaito
Exceptions to the above export rule are Training swords from Japan. These swords, called Iaito, have a modern blade made of a zinc-aluminium alloy and are blunt.
These may be exported from Japan, although they are swords with a modern blade.
In terms of price, these are of course far below the more elaborately produced Nihonto. If you want to buy such Japanese swords, you can expect entry-level prices of 400 to 500 euros.
What does Japanese sword mean on the Internet today?
The internet has its own interpretation of what a real Japanese sword is. Anyone looking to buy Japanese swords should definitely understand this before making a purchase.
On the internet, any sword that looks similar to one of the aforementioned swords from Japan is offered as a genuine Japanese sword. Regardless of whether it really is a sword from Japan.
Legal background: What real Japanese swords are
From a legal point of view, there is actually a very clear definition of what may be offered as a Japanese sword. Namely, only swords from Japan! Swords from China that only have a similar appearance to Japanese swords may not actually be sold as Japanese swords.
This is clear to anyone who is familiar with the cases surrounding the sale of Japanese knives. In the mid-2010s, a supplier of Japanese knives issued warnings to other sellers who were selling knives as "Japanese knives" even though the knives did not originate from Japan.
The reason for this was the misleading of the customer, who assumed from the labelling that the knives were from Japan. Courts also agreed with this and the wording had to be changed by suppliers who sold knives from countries other than Japan.
Incidentally, this is also the reason why such knives are often offered online as a Santoku, for example, instead of a Japanese knife.
Although buying Japanese swords is of course not about knives, the principle for using the term "Japanese" is exactly the same.
Although many sword sellers boast more than 20 years of experience on the market, they do not seem to be aware of this fact. Yet this case is actually very famous in the industry.
More information on the website of the Händlerbund: Warning letter Japan knives from "kochmesser.de"
We prefer to use our time for positive things rather than issuing warnings to such providers. At some point, consumer advocates or bruised buyers may take up the cause.
Anyone who believes that buying new, genuine Japanese swords is possible for 1000 euros, instead of investing 2 minutes for a short research to read texts like this one and expose the lie about buying Japanese swords themselves, is in a way also to blame themselves.
If the above information was new to you and you found the text before buying such a sword, the research was probably worthwhile.
