Japanese Sword (Katana)

Timeline

1. c. 1400–1500Bizen Province · BizenAfter the Ōnin War, mounted combat declined and ashigaru infantry fighting rose; the katana, of moderate blade length and suited to quick-draw combat, replaced the suspender-carried tachi as the standard samurai sidearm; swordsmiths in Bizen, Mino, and elsewhere formed school traditions through folded forging and varied hamon techniques.
2. 1521–1530Kyoto · Ōmi · KinkiAfter Ashikaga Yoshiharu became shogun in 1521, Hosokawa Takakuni and Hatakeyama Yoshitoshi vied for power in Kyoto; both sides' retainers and shugo vassals wore katana as close-combat weapons and status markers. Though arquebuses had already arrived, the katana remained a reliable weapon in castle-town battles and night raids, with swordsmith orders rising alongside military mobilization.
3. 1525–1530Mino · Owari · ChūbuTerritorial struggles between the Saitō clan of Mino and neighboring provinces in the late 1520s, along with the reorganization of Owari–Mikawa local powers, drove demand for practical, sturdy katana of usable blade length; swordsmiths identified their schools by signature inscriptions, while samurai used 'tōmei' (blade signatures) to identify provenance and patronage ties, giving the katana a dual role as weapon and family emblem.