Etymology
The word katana was used in ancient Japan and is still used today, whereas the old usage of the word nihontō is found in the poem, the Song of Nihontō, by the Song Dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu. The word nihontō became more common in Japan in the late Tokugawa shogunate. Due to importation of Western swords, the word nihontō was adopted in order to distinguish it from the Western sword (洋刀, yōtō?).
Meibutsu (noted swords) is a special designation given to sword masterpieces which are listed in a compilation from the 1700s called the "Kyoho Meibutsucho". The swords listed are Koto blades from several different provinces, 100 of the 166 swords listed are known to exist today with Soshu blades being very well represented. The "Kyoho Meibutsucho" also listed the nicknames, prices, history and length of the Meibutsy with swords by Yoshimitsu, Masamune, Yoshihiro, and Sadamune being very highly priced.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Sword
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)