If you’ve watched the previous video Japanese Katana Vs Hand Gun and thought it was awesome, wait till you watch this clip. After proving that the Japanese Katana can slice an incoming 9mm bullet, it seems some dude is still not satisfied and convinced. So the same test team raised the ante and called-in the big guns and I mean really BIG guns. The Browning .50 caliber M2 heavy machine gun (HMG).

This time the M2 HMG is placed in position 5m away from the Japanese Katana (provided by good ol' Mr. Oda). Who do you think will win this time?

And the victory goes to – depends what the challenge was in the first place. The Katana did slice through the 50 caliber bullet - not one, not two, not three but a total of 6 bullets!! However the blade finally gave way at the 7th bullet. An amazing feat no less. But whoever’s behind the sword will still get riddled with bullet shrapnel.

So if you ask me, the Japanese Katana can slice through a heavy machine gun’s bullet but it can’t withstand a repetitive assault. As far as Mr. Oda is concerned - “I told you before, my sword still Rules!!” ^_^

This video is one cool showdown you don't wanna miss – Japanese Katana Vs Hand Gun. The MythBusters gotta check this myth out!! The demo is allegedly recorded at L.A. Gun Club’s indoor rifle range. Mr. Oda the owner of the Katana brought his sword to the gun club all the way from Japan to test if its sharp blade can slice through a speeding bullet (looks like a 9mm). I’ve only seen this in anime and manga, never on real TV documentaries.

They setup the Katana vertically in the middle of the shooting range with the Ha (sharp edge) facing the gun. Behind the Katana is a large piece of paper screen used to determine where the bullet shoots through. Check out how many holes appeared after the demo.

It looked real and since it was a Japanese documentary I guess it's genuine. At the end of the clip the Katana came out unscathed, its surface only stained by the bullet's metal residue. Guess Mr. Oda can rightfully claim “I told you, my sword Rules!!”

If you’ve read the previous post on basic sword terminology and think it was piece of cake, then you’ll certainly be able to digest the Japanese katana challenge. I tried to look for a cool pic of Hiro Nakamura’s ‘Takezo Kensei’ katana but none was detailed enough to describe with. So the one below will have to do. Since this is a post on Japanese sword terminology, all the terms will be in Nihongo (in roman letters of course). Yatta!


Let’s begin with the blade. Kissaki is the blade point also known as the most difficult part of a katana to be forged and polished. Both sides of the Kissaki surface are at a different plane than the rest of the blade and converges to the sharp blade tip. Therefore it’s no surprise one of the main factors that determine the katana value is the quality and condition of the Kissaki. It’s worthy to note here that there are 2 lines separating the Kissaki from the rest of the blade - Koshinogi and Yokote which will be explained in the following section. These dividing lines and the Kissaki tip determine the 3 types of Kissaki – Chu-Kissaki (medium), O-Kissaki (long) and Ko-Kissaki (short) as shown in the pic below. Feeling dizzy already?

Next comes the shinogi, the ridge line along the length of the blade. There’s also the Koshinogi which is the shinogi in the shape of a sharp arc that stretches along the Kissaki.

Yokote is the dividing line that separates the Kissaki (blade point) surface and blade plane.

Hi or Bo-hi is the blade groove designed to prevent the sword from bending and to reduce its weight without compromising strength. It’s similar to the fuller in European swords.

Yakiba is the tempered line with a particular pattern stretching across the blade. It’s the result of the different heat treatment applied to the blade to make the edge harder. The Yakiba comes in many different patterns known as Hamon. There’s the straight Sugu, wavy Notare, zig-zag Gunome and many others.

Boshi is the tempered line that stretches into the Kissaki (blade point). The Boshi also has various design styles.

Mune is the back ridge of the blade. There are 3 different types of Mune according to the design – Ihori (standard 2 surfaces), Mitsu (3 surfaces) and Maru (rounded surface).

Ha is the sharp cutting edge of the blade.

Hada is the visible design of the grain on the sword steel. The shape of the grain is a direct result of the way the sword was folded when forging.

Tsuba is the cross-guard made of steel, copper, silver or some other durable metal to prevent the hand from sliding to the blade during thrusting action and also to protect the hand from enemy attacks. Nothing to do with Captain Tsubasa ;)

Tsuka is the hilt or handle made of wood and normally wrapped in ray skin.

Kashira is the pommel at the end of the hilt.

Saya is the scabbard or sheath usually made of wood to protect the blade. If you’re an anime fan, Saya was the heroine character in Blood+. Now you see the connection.

Sageo is the cord used to secure the sword to the obi (belt).

Kurikata is the knob on the scabbard through which the Sageo (cord) is passed through.

Kojiri is the ornament at the closed end of the scabbard.

Koiguchi is the opened end of the scabbard where the sword is sheathed and unsheathed from.

Phew! So there you have it, a short marathon on katana terminology. But don’t let loose yet. All the above are just some of the basics. There’s still a lot more to it like the Nakago (sword tangs), Nakago-jiri (tang tip), various blade shapes, etc. Keep posted for future updates on some of these advanced terms.