The pairing of the swords, daisho, was formalised in the Edo period. Towards the second half of the 16th century, it was characteristic for the samurai to wear two swords вЂ“ one long and one short. These swords usually fall into one of three classifications: tachi, suspended with cords with the sharp edge down, in use from the 8th century through to the early 16th century katana, the longer of the two swords carried through the belt, in use from the middle of the 16th century and the wakizashi, the shorter sword worn through the belt with the katana. As BushidЕЌ вЂ“ вЂThe Way of the WarriorвЂ™ changed and developed, so did the design and purpose of the Japanese sword. They came to prominence through their military prowess вЂ“ they were experts in archery, swordsmanship and horseback riding. Gloved and ready, I gave the sword an initial tug and then went on to slide the sword out slowly and carefully as it rested along the back of the sheathing вЂ“ I had drawn my first sword!Дeeply embedded in Japanese politics, economics and culture, the samurai first appear in historical records in the 10th century. If you pull in an uncontrolled way, you can cut someone. Whether drawing a tachi or a katana, the toughest part is the initial pull to extract sword collar, before drawing the entire length of the blade.

These edged weapons are still sharp вЂ“ and the long, slender and gleaming metallic blades can be fearsome. Training in the storesД«efore we could get started, we spent a fascinating afternoon of Samurai stories and training with Gregory Irvine, senior curator, from the East Asian Department.

In collaboration with the Studio Photography and Technical Services teams, over 2 months we audited, photographed and condition checked each of these bladed weapons individually at the collections store in Blythe House. The V&A has collected arms and armour as examples of ornamented design and metalworking techniques from 1857 вЂ“ and we have over 200 Japanese swords in the collection.

The way of the sword