Parts of the Japanese sword
Toshin: The sword as a whole
Kami: The blade. The portion of the sword inserted into the saya, from kissaki to machi
Nakago: The part of the blade below the machi inserted into the tsuka. Finished with hammering or yasurime, it often bears the mei of the forger. The tsuka is fixed by inserting the mekugi into the mekugi ana of the nakago.
Nakagojiri: The final part of the nakago, the shape of which is important in determining the province and school of the smith.
Mune: The back of the blade, opposite to the hasaki, from kissaki to machi
Shinogi: The raised line running along the side of the blade, between the mune and the hasaki, extending from the yokote to the nakagojiri. The thickness of the shinogi and mune can be "low" or "high".
Ko shinogi: The diagonal line that separates the kissaki from the shinogiji.
Yokote: The line perpendicular to the hasaki that separates the kissaki from the hiraji.
Hasaki: The cutting edge of the blade.
Fukura: The edge of the kissaki. This can have a more or less pronounced curvature and therefore be defined as "curved" or "not curved".
Iori: The highest raised line of the mune; in Japanese the "top of the roof".
Oroshi: The surface that runs from the line of the mune to the top of the iori, the angle of which can be defined as "steep" or "gentle".
Munesaki: The tip of the kissaki mune, also called matsubasaki (pine needle tip).
Kissaki: The fan-shaped part of the blade above the yokote and ko shinogi. It can be made white with polishing. Its definition can be "large" or "small".
Machi: The two steps that characterize the point of separation of the kami from the nakago. The one on the hasaki side is called hamachi while the one on the mune side of munemachi.
Mitsukado: The point where yokote, shinogi and ko shinogi meet.
Monouchi: The main cutting area. In tachi and katana this is a 15cm area that starts about 10cm below the yokote. In the so much and in the wakizashi it is proportionate to the size of the blade.
Hiraji: The area between shinogi and hamon, also known as hira. With the polishing the area becomes black-blue. Its surface is curved and its thickness is referred to with the term niku (flesh), which can in turn be "full", "scarce" or "not full".
Shinogiji: The flat surface between shinogi and mune, which can be brought to a bright black color during the polishing phase. Shinogiji can be described as "wide" or "narrow".
Hamon: By ha we mean the hardened side of the blade, obtained through yaki ire, a procedure aimed at making the blade able to support the cut. The hamon is the line between the ha and the hiraji. Japanese swords feature an incredible variety of hamon, both in form and hada, brilliant when exposed against a light source. Activities within the hamon are known as hataraki, which are important elements in evaluating a sword.
Boshi: In the Japanese language "hat", in the field of swords it refers to the hamon of kissaki.
