著者

臺丸谷 政志 小林 秀敏

出版者

一般社団法人 日本機械学会

雑誌

日本機械学会論文集 A編 (ISSN:03875008)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.77, no.776, pp.638-646, 2011

被引用文献数

1

---

The Japanese sword is a weapon peculiar to Japan. The Japanese sword is interesting not only from the viewpoint of traditional crafts of arts, but also from the aspect of modern science and technology because the way of making and its functionality as a weapon are really consistent with science. The present study is concerned with the connection between <i>tohshin</i> (blade) and <i>tsuka</i> (hilt) of the sword. Only one <i>mekugi-take</i> (retaining peg made of bamboo) with about 5mm in diameter holds <i>Nakago</i> (tang) in the hilt. However the slender <i>mekugi</i> might not be broken, even though in the case of violent sword-fighting. This fact has been historically demonstrated in many battles by Japanese swords. In this study, using a <i>Tachi</i> being the typical Japanese sword, it is examined theoretically and experimentally from the viewpoint of impact engineering why a <i>mekugi</i> used in Japanese swords might not be broken. As a result, it is made clear that such a strong force as breaking <i>mekugi-take</i> does not act on it, because of the location of <i>mekugi-ana</i> (a hole for <i>mekugi</i>) in the tang, which has been made by the traditional code of sword-smiths.