School
Most old Japanese swords can be traced back to one of five provinces, each of which had its own school, traditions and "trademarks" (e.g., the swords from Mino province were "from the start famous for their sharpness"). These schools are known as Gokaden (The Five Traditions). These traditions and provinces are as follows:
- Sōshū School, known for itame hada and midareba hamon in nie deki.
- Yamato School, known for masame hada and suguha hamon in nie deki.
- Bizen School, known for mokume hada and midareba hamon in nioi deki.
- Yamashiro School, known for mokume hada and suguha hamon in nei deki.
- Mino School, known for hard mokume hada and midareba mixed with togari-ba.
In the Kotō era there were several other schools that did not fit within the Gokaden or were known to mix elements of each Gokaden, and they were called wakimono (small school). There were 19 commonly referenced wakimono.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Swords, Classification
Famous quotes containing the word school:
“By school age, many boys experience pressure to reveal inner feelings as humiliating. They think their mothers are saying to them, “You must be hiding something shameful.” And shucking clams is a snap compared to prying secrets out of a boy who’s decided to “clam up.””
—Ron Taffel (20th century)
“Green, green is El Aghir. It has a railway station,
And the wealth of its soil has borne many another fruit:
A mairie, a school and an elegant Salle de Fetes.
Such blessings, as I remarked, in effect, to the waiter,
Are added unto them that have plenty of water.”
—Norman Cameron (b. 1905)
“The happiest two-job marriages I saw during my research were ones in which men and women shared the housework and parenting. What couples called good communication often meant that they were good at saying thanks to one another for small aspects of taking care of the family. Making it to the school play, helping a child read, cooking dinner in good spirit, remembering the grocery list,... these were silver and gold of the marital exchange.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)