The stories presented here are from by two books Legends and Stories Around the Japanese Sword and Legends and Stories Around the Japanese Sword 2, published in 2011 and 2012 respectively. With these books, I tried to bring the reader closer to the role of the Japanese sword – the nihontō (日本刀) – it played in the warrior class and the Japanese society, namely by the means of legends, stories, and anecdotes about famous swords and their swordsmiths, embedded in an explanation of the backgrounds and other relevant facts. In the end, the reader should have an idea about the high value that was placed on this proverbial legendary weapon over more than thousand years of Japanese history (and even still today as an object of art). It was tried to perform a balancing act between an easy access to beginners and detailed facts for confirmed enthusiasts. It must be noted that many of the legends described here are as the name already suggests legends, that means there are mostly several versions going round. Also the historical sources and records are often more or less divided but this was mentioned when required for the understanding of a certain handed down legend. Have fun!
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Onimaru, Hizamaru, Higekiri, and the big “sword renaming”
Tokugawa Ieyasu and the sohaya no tsuruki
The maladies healing Ōtenta-Mitsuyo
Tegai Kanenaga and the Bodhisattva Monju
Ishida Mitsunari and two Masamune less
Kannagiri and Daihannya-Nagamitsu
The thousand spears of the Kikuchi
The daily problems of the giant snakes
Juzumaru-Tsunetsugu and Ichigo-Hitofuri Yoshimitsu
Detective work on the Tenkyūwari-Kunimune
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak …
The legendary sharpness of Kotetsu´s blades
From women, geese, and naginata
Divination on the basis of sword blades
The life of a royalist swordsmith
The tragic love story of Hosokawa Tadamasa
The Kuronbogiri-Kagehide and other Date swords
The Nagashino and other Ichimonji
JAPANESE SWORD LEGENDS 
Thanks for the gift!
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Markus- Many thanks for yet again making available further information and background on Nihonto..much appreciated!
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Thank you Markus! You contribute so much to the Nihonto community- much appreciated!
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Thank you Markus, From Nihonto community down under in Oz.
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Markus, Thank you for your generosity.
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Thank you so much!
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I’m so happy i stumbled on this page! Excellent pieces Markus. Thank you!
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Thank you! I really am interested in nihontou. Your articles are awesome. 😀
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Thank you very much for all of this! I was searching information on the Dojigiri-Yasutsuna before and i am so pleased to have stumbled upon you, thank you very much on your writings!
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Thank you very much for your feedback! Great to hear that my writing provides useful info.
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But are these real or fictional swords????
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Nevermind, didn’t take a look at the pictures… I apologize, I tend to ask silly questions before looking…
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thank you so much for the treasure of information 🙂
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I am very happy to have found this blog. Thank you for making so many articles about Japanese swords and their history. For me who is studying Japanese swords now, your writing is very helpful for me.
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