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62-458: The blade of the sword is 65.5 cm and the tang is 9.4 cm long. There is no hole on the tang to fasten the sword with a hilt. The sword is broken at the top of the tang. In the past, the material was considered to be forged mild steel from the state of fracture surface, but the theory that it was cast became the mainstream through the latest research by Tsutomu Suzuki and experiments to create replicas by swordsmith Kunihira Kawachi. As

124-640: A 60-year cycle based on 12 animals and 5 elements, but while the first year of the Chinese cycle is always jiǎzǐ (the year of the Wood Rat ), the first year of the Tibetan cycle is dīngmǎo ( 丁卯 ; year 4 on the Chinese cycle, year of the Fire Rabbit ). *The names of several animals can be translated into English in several different ways. The Vietnamese Earthly Branches use cat instead of Rabbit . As mentioned above,

186-541: A Jin envoy was sent to the Baekje court, granting the title of “General Stabilizing the East and Governor of Le-lang" (鎭東將軍). He hypothesizes the sword was given to the king around this time. The king of Baekje ordered the creation of a replica of the sword with the second inscription and sent it to Wa for an alliance as peers under Eastern Jin. Thus no vassalage relationships are involved between Baekje and Wa. He claims that this explains

248-519: A chronological list of events from 722 to 481 BC, use this system in combination with regnal years and months ( lunations ) to record dates. Eclipses recorded in the Annals demonstrate that continuity in the sexagenary day-count was unbroken from that period onwards. It is likely that this unbroken continuity went back still further to the first appearance of the sexagenary cycle during the Shang period. The use of

310-479: A knife or sword to offset the weight of the blade moves the rotational balance point back toward the hand where it can be more easily manipulated to great effect, making for a nimble, agile tool. In general, a forward-balanced blade excels at chopping but sacrifices agility and ease of manipulation; a centre or rear-balanced blade excels at agility but sacrifices raw chopping power. Knives and swords intended for specific purposes will usually incorporate whichever design

372-468: A year, the earliest use of branches to indicate a twelve-fold division of a year was in the 2nd century BC. They were coordinated with the orientations of the Big Dipper , ( 建子月 : jiànzǐyuè , 建丑月 : jiànchǒuyuè , etc.). There are two systems of placing these months, the lunar one and the solar one. One system follows the ordinary Chinese lunar calendar and connects the names of the months directly to

434-643: Is a river-source which issues from Mount Cholsan in Gong-na. It is distant seven days' journey. It need not be approached, but one should drink of this water, and so having gotten the iron of this mountain, wait upon the sage Court for all ages." The inscription states: In original Chinese characters, inscribed vertically: First Side : 泰■四年十(一)月十六日丙午正陽造百錬(銕)七支刀(出)辟百兵宜供供候王■■■■ (作 or 祥) Second Side : 先世以來未有此刀百濟王世(子)奇生聖音故爲倭王旨造傳示後世 Characters in parentheses are ambiguous. Characters represented with black blocks are entirely unreadable. In English: First Side : "At noon on

496-574: Is above 10, subtract 10 until the result is between 1 and 10. If the sum for the branches' N is above 12, subtract 12 until the result is between 1 and 12. For any date before October 15, 1582, use the Julian century column to find the row for that century's N. For dates after October 15, 1582, use the Gregorian century column to find the century's N. When looking at dates in January and February of leap years, use

558-439: Is an era name at all. And also does not line up with dates. And if this sword is bestowed from Jin, it is strange to only mention Baekje as the one who created the sword, with no mention of (East) Jin by name. It would also be strange to mention the sword was made with iron from Baekje's Gong-na. Even if 泰和四年 is the correct theory, using Chinese era names as standard was a common practice around East Asia at this time. Regardless,

620-515: Is most suited to how the tool will be handled for that specific purpose. A partial tang knife or sword is generally not able to leverage as much force against the resistance of material being cut as a full tang design would allow. This limits the amount of force which a user should apply to the handle of such a weapon. Such designs may be optimal in light-weight knives or swords designed to be kept extremely sharp and used to cut less-resistant materials. Scalpels and Japanese samurai swords are perhaps

682-530: Is rather an exception among Japanese historians because he “has maintained that the Seven-branched sword was ‘bestowed’ on the Wa ruler by the king of Baekje.” Ueda “based his interpretation on the argument that the term ‘候王 koo’ [huwang] appearing in the inscription denotes a ruler in vassalage to the Baekje king and that the inscription is written in the commanding tone of a superior addressing an inferior, exemplified by

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744-399: Is regarded to be either "音"(Sound) or "晉"(Jin dynasty). The former interpretation indicates that the phrase "奇生聖音" has a Buddhist or Taoist nuance, and that the bestower has "lived under august (holy) sounds". Other scholars suggest that the phrase means "born coincidentally on august (holy) Jin dynasty". 19th to 23rd characters on the second side, and the presentee : The phrase, "爲倭王旨造",

806-656: Is translated in various ways through different interpretations of the 22nd character " 旨 ". Treating it as a personal name leads to the Baekje-centric idea that Baekje's presenter boldly writes the name of the King of Wa, and thus regards him lower. Treating it as "order" leads to the Japan-centric idea that Baekje presented the sword because the King of Wa ordered him to do so. Therefore, the interpretation of this character tends to be controversial. Ueda Masaaki (quoted by Saeki, 1977)

868-581: The Ahom people (descendants of the Dai people of Yunnan who migrated to Assam in the 13th century) also used the sexagenary cycle known as Lak-Ni. This traditional method of numbering days and years no longer has any significant role in modern Chinese time-keeping or the official calendar. However, the sexagenary cycle is used in the names of many historical events, such as the Chinese Xinhai Revolution ,

930-632: The Japanese Boshin War , the Korean Imjin War and the Vietnamese Famine of Ất Dậu , Tết Mậu Thân . It also continues to have a role in contemporary Chinese astrology and fortune telling . There are some parallels in this with Tamil calendar . Each term in the sexagenary cycle consists of two Chinese characters, the first being one of the ten Heavenly Stems of the Shang-era week and

992-401: The ambiguous 2nd letter, this puts this traditional theory in dispute. Kim Sok Hyong , a North Korean scholar, proposed a theory that the first two characters instead refer to a local era name of the Baekje, but this theory has been challenged since no other archaeological discovery reveals the existence of unique era names assigned by the Baekje. Furthermore, the creation of the sword being on

1054-484: The ancient era. The following is the original Classical Chinese text; 則獻七枝刀一口 七子鏡一面及種種重寶 仍啟曰 臣國以西有水 源出自谷那鐵山 其邈七日行之不及 當飲是水 便取是山鐵以永奉聖朝 In English; :(52nd year, Autumn, 9th month 10th day. Kutyo and others came along with Chikuma Nagahiko) and presented a seven-branched sword and a seven-little-one-mirror, with various other objects of great value. They addressed the Empress, saying :-"West of thy servants' country there

1116-453: The central solar term ( 中氣 ; zhōngqì ). The jiànzǐyuè (( 建 ) 子月 ) is the month containing the winter solstice (i.e. the 冬至 Dōngzhì ) zhōngqì . The jiànchǒuyuè (( 建 ) 丑月 ) is the month of the following zhōngqì , which is Dàhán ( 大寒 ), while the jiànyínyuè (( 建 ) 寅月 ) is that of the Yǔshuǐ ( 雨水 ) zhōngqì , etc. Intercalary months have the same branch as the preceding month. In

1178-457: The combinations—such as jiǎchǒu ( 甲丑 )—unused; this is traditionally explained by reference to pairing the stems and branches according to their yin and yang properties. This combination of two sub-cycles to generate a larger cycle and its use to record time have parallels in other calendrical systems, notably the Akan calendar . The sexagenary cycle is attested as a method of recording days from

1240-422: The commanding tone of the first inscription and the respect paid to Jin (owes his life to august Jin) in the second inscription. However, the major flaw in this suggestion, is hypothesizing up an "original sword" without any evidence to its existence. Also, Eastern Jin never had a "泰和" era name, and used "太和" instead. And it is unclear what the 2nd letter of the inscription is, for it was written 泰■四年, or whether it

1302-514: The corresponding sexagenary year in the dates before the Lunar New Year would require the Gregorian year to be decreased by 1. As for example, the year 2697 BC (or −2696, using the astronomical year count), traditionally the first year of the reign of the legendary Yellow Emperor , was the first year (甲子; jiǎzǐ ) of a cycle. 2700 years later in 4 AD, the duration equivalent to 45 60-year cycles,

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1364-501: The cycle first started to be used for indicating years during the Han dynasty, but it also can be used to indicate earlier years retroactively. Since it repeats, by itself it cannot specify a year without some other information, but it is frequently used with the Chinese era name ( 年号, 年號 ; niánhào ) to specify a year. The year starts with the new year of whoever is using the calendar. In China,

1426-546: The cyclic year normally changes on the Chinese Lunar New Year . In Japan until recently it was the Japanese lunar new year, which was sometimes different from the Chinese; now it is January 1. So when calculating the cyclic year of a date in the Gregorian year, one has to consider what their "new year" is. Hence, the following calculation deals with the Chinese dates after the Lunar New Year in that Gregorian year; to find

1488-617: The earliest written records in China, records of divination on oracle bones , beginning c.  1100 BC . Almost every oracle bone inscription includes a date in this format. This use of the cycle for days is attested throughout the Zhou dynasty and remained common into the Han period for all documentary purposes that required dates specified to the day. Almost all the dates in the Spring and Autumn Annals ,

1550-417: The eleventh month)" suggests the year 408, because for the 16th of November to be 丙午 in the sexagenary cycle , the year needs to be 408, which is also the 4th year of King Jun-ji's reign (腆支王) in Baekje. From this we can speculate that Baekje assigned era names autonomously (Goguryeo and Silla had their own era names). In 409, Wei's envoy visited Baekje, and King Jun-ji extended hospitality to him, so that sword

1612-421: The fact there was a respectful and sincere relationship between the rulers of Baekche and Wa. Yet another theory proposed by Kōsaku Hamada of Kyushu University suggests that the original seven-branched sword was created by Eastern Jin in 369 (泰和四年 4th year of Taihe) for a vassal lord with the first inscription. In 372, King Geunchogo of Baekje sent an embassy to arrive at the court of Eastern Jin in 372, and then

1674-647: The first Chinese written texts, the oracle bones of the late second millennium BC Shang dynasty . Its use to record years began around the middle of the 3rd century BC. The cycle and its variations have been an important part of the traditional calendrical systems in Chinese-influenced Asian states and territories, particularly those of Japan , Korea , and Vietnam , with the old Chinese system still in use in Taiwan , and in Mainland China . In India,

1736-402: The first method, the equivalent sexagenary year for 2012 AD is the 29th year (壬辰; rénchén ), as (2012–3) mod 60 = 29 (i.e., the remainder of (2012–3) divided by 60 is 29). Using the second, the equivalent sexagenary year for 221 BC is the 17th year (庚辰; gēngchén ), as 60- [(221+2) mod 60] = 17 (i.e., 60 minus the remainder of (221+2) divided by 60 is 17). Step-by-step example to determine

1798-446: The first month was jiànzǐyuè (during the Zhou dynasty ) or jiànchǒuyuè (traditionally during the Shang dynasty ) as well. For astrological purposes stems are also necessary, and the months are named using the sexagenary cycle following a five-year cycle starting in a jiǎ ( 甲 ; 1st) or jǐ ( 己 ; 6th) year. The first month of the jiǎ or jǐ year is a bǐngyín ( 丙寅 ; 3rd) month,

1860-459: The five last characters are undecodable, the last character indicates that the previous ones were either the name of the author or a prayer phrase such as "永年大吉祥"(Have Great Fortunes Forever"). In both cases, the phrase should generally indicate the end of inscription, and that the text on the second side is not a continuation. There is also a theory that the second side was written by different person, or at different time. 11th to 13th characters on

1922-415: The full length of the handle. There are a wide variety of full and partial tang designs. In perhaps the most common design in full tang knives, the handle is cut in the shape of the tang and handle scales are then fastened to the tang by means of pins, screws, bolts, metal tubing, epoxy, etc. The tang is left exposed along the belly, butt, and spine of the handle, extending both the full length and width of

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1984-412: The handle against the resistance of material being cut by the blade, an advantage when used against harder materials or when the blade begins to dull. A full tang also increases the amount of stock metal in the handle of the tool which can be beneficial in altering the balance point of the tool since the blade of a knife or sword is often quite heavy compared to the handle. Adding weight to the handle of

2046-480: The handle so that dull or contaminated blades may be quickly exchanged for fresh ones, or so that one style of blade may be exchanged for another style while maintaining the same handle. Hollow-handled knives also incorporate a partial tang. Many inexpensive knives and swords designed for decorative purposes incorporate partial tangs and are not intended to be used for cutting applications. A full tang knife or sword generally allows for increased force leveraged through

2108-453: The handle. Partial tang designs include stub, half, and three-quarter tangs, describing how far the tang extends into the handle of the tool. The most common partial tang design found in commercial knives is on folding knives , where the tang extends only as far as the pivot-point in the handle. Scalpels , utility razor blades, and a number of other knives are commonly designed with short partial tangs that are easy to fasten and unfasten from

2170-543: The hope that it might be passed on to later generations." 2nd character on the first side, and when the sword was made : The first four characters 泰■四年 were traditionally decoded as "4th year of Taihe" which might be the era name of Emperor Fei of the Eastern Jin dynasty in China used around in the East Asian world, so Taihe 4 would correspond to year 369 CE. But that era name, Taihe, was never written as 泰和, but 太和, so with

2232-449: The manner in which they attach to a handle, and by their length in relation to the handle. Nakago is the term in Japanese , used especially when referring to the tang of the katana or the wakizashi . A full tang extends the full length of the grip-portion of a handle, versus a partial tang which does not. A full tang may or may not be as wide as the handle itself, but will still run

2294-403: The most well-known examples of such tools. Most of these design styles can be used with full or partial tangs and the use of one does not exclude the use of another. For example, a sword may have a hidden, encapsulated, rat-tail tang. The tang of a blade often contains so called tang stamps identifying the manufacturer of the knife and the (often encoded) year of manufacturing, sometimes also

2356-420: The next one is a dīngmǎo ( 丁卯 ; 4th) month, etc., and the last month of the year is a dīngchǒu ( 丁丑 , 14th) month. The next year will start with a wùyín ( 戊寅 ; 15th) month, etc. following the cycle. The 5th year will end with a yǐchǒu ( 乙丑 ; 2nd) month. The following month, the start of a jǐ or jiǎ year, will hence again be a bǐngyín (3rd) month again. The beginning and end of the (solar) months in

2418-407: The other system ( 節月 ; jiéyuè ) the "month" lasts for the period of two solar terms (two 氣策 qìcì ). The zǐyuè ( 子月 ) is the period starting with Dàxuě ( 大雪 ), i.e. the solar term before the winter solstice. The chǒuyuè ( 丑月 ) starts with Xiǎohán ( 小寒 ), the term before Dàhán ( 大寒 ), while the yínyuè ( 寅月 ) starts with Lìchūn ( 立春 ), the term before Yǔshuǐ ( 雨水 ), etc. Thus in

2480-468: The position of the 60-cycle term yǐmǎo ( 乙卯 , 52 of 60), corresponding to that year. Use of the cycle to record years became widespread for administrative time-keeping during the Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 8 AD). The count of years has continued uninterrupted ever since: the year 1984 began the present cycle (a 甲子 — jiǎzǐ year), and 2044 will begin another. Note that in China the new year , when

2542-513: The reverse, even for its final battle in the Battle of Baekgang and its subsequent aftermath of building Korean-style fortresses in Japan . The majority of Japanese scholars do not agree with Kim's theory. They note that the meaning of the term "候王" varied in the different periods. After the Han dynasty , the term was used fluently and always just as an honorific . End of the first side : Although four of

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2604-508: The second being one of the twelve Earthly Branches representing the years of Jupiter 's duodecennial orbital cycle. The first term jiǎzǐ ( 甲子 ) combines the first heavenly stem with the first earthly branch. The second term yǐchǒu ( 乙丑 ) combines the second stem with the second branch. This pattern continues until both cycles conclude simultaneously with guǐhài ( 癸亥 ), after which it begins again at jiǎzǐ . This termination at ten and twelve's least common multiple leaves half of

2666-475: The second side, and who presented the sword : the 11th to 13th characters may be decodable as "王世子"(Crown Prince), causing some scholars to regard that the sword was presented by the Crown Prince of Baekje, who eventually ascended as King Geungusu . However, as this segment includes ambiguous characters, it is not entirely clear who in Baekje presented the sword. 17th character on the second side : The character

2728-450: The sentence reading ‘Hand down [this sword] to [your] posterity." However, Saeki (1977) argues that one can not interpret the inscription to mean either “to bestow” the sword on the King in vassalage or “to respectfully present” to the emperor, as many Japanese scholars have maintained since the Meiji period. Saeki seems to be inclined to take Hirano's argument that the inscription simply indicates

2790-428: The sexagenary count increments, is not January 1, but rather the lunar new year of the traditional Chinese calendar . For example, the jichou 己丑 year (coinciding roughly with 2009) began on January 26, 2009. (However, for astrology, the year begins with the first solar term "Lìchūn" ( 立春 ), which occurs near February 4.) In Japan, according to Nihon shoki , the calendar was transmitted to Japan in 553. But it

2852-466: The sexagenary cycle for recording years is much more recent. The earliest discovered documents showing this usage are among the silk manuscripts recovered from Mawangdui tomb 3 , sealed in 168 BC. In one of these documents, a sexagenary grid diagram is annotated in three places to mark notable events. For example, the first year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang ( 秦始皇 ), 246 BC, is noted on the diagram next to

2914-529: The shrine. There is a two-sided inscription on the sword which is inlaid in gold . This sword appears to have been mentioned in the Nihon Shoki . Many scholars have engaged in study to interpret the vague inscription. Closeup pictures of the sword taken with X-ray were published in 1996. Analysis and archeology have suggested that the sword's origins lie in Baekje Kingdom . The sword's peculiar design—with

2976-455: The sign for 1967: Step-by-step example to determine the cyclic year of first year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang (246 BC): Start from the AD year (1967), take directly the remainder mod 60, and look into column AD of the table "Sexagenary years" (just above). Remainder is therefore 47 and the AD column says 'Fire Goat ' as it should be. For a BC year: discard the minus sign, take the remainder of

3038-459: The sixteenth day of the eleventh [fifth] month, fourth year of Tai■, the sword was made of 100 times hardened steel. Using the sword repels 100 enemy soldiers [Appropriate for the polite duke lord] It is given [bestowed] to the duke lord. (Manufactured by or good fortune to...) [ ]" Second Side : "Never before has there been such a blade. The crown prince of the king of Baekje , who lives under august sounds, had this sword made for King of Wa in

3100-431: The solar system a month starts anywhere from about 15 days before to 15 days after its lunar counterpart. The branch names are not usual month names; the main use of the branches for months is astrological. However, the names are sometimes used to indicate historically which (lunar) month was the first month of the year in ancient times. For example, since the Han dynasty , the first month has been jiànyínyuè , but earlier

3162-505: The sword proves there were very close ties between the Baekje and the Wa , and the opening of friendly relations between two countries probably dates to the year 372. In connection with the date of fabrication, Hong Sung-Hwa, a scholar of Korea University, says in 396–409, Baekje came under attack by Goguryeo, so Baekje needed to form an alliance with the Wa (Japan); King Jun-ji of Baekje gave King of Wa

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3224-418: The sword. In popular media, the seven-branched sword has appeared in: Tang (tools) A tang or shank is the back portion of the blade component of a tool where it extends into stock material or connects to a handle – as on a knife , sword , spear , arrowhead , chisel , file , coulter , pike , scythe , screwdriver , etc. One can classify various tang designs by their appearance, by

3286-406: The table below are the approximate dates of current solar terms; they vary slightly from year to year depending on the leap days of the Gregorian calendar. Month of Mao ( 卯月 ) The table above allows one to find the stem & branch for any given date. For both the stem and the branch, find the N for the row for the century, year, month, and day, then add them together. If the sum for the stems' N

3348-404: The time period in which East Jin used 太和 for its era name, which was only from 366 to 371. A Japanese research team in 1981 used X-rays to decipher the month, and concluded what was inscribed was 十(一) not 五, so a month greater than ten 十(一), so the theory of the inscription noting "fifth month" was ruled out. Hong Sung-Hwa, a scholar at Korea University, argues that "十(一)月十六日(the sixteenth day of

3410-573: The tip of the blade counting as the "seventh" branch—is indicative of contemporary Korean tree-motifs. Other examples of this motif include the Baekje Crown and the Silla Crown . If the weapon had indeed been produced in Korea, it would have represented one of the prime artistic accomplishments of Baekje swordsmithery. The sword is mentioned in the biography of Empress Jingū , a legendary Japanese empress in

3472-459: The type of metal used or serial numbers. Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle , also known as the ganzhi or stems-and-branches is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and the rest of the East Asian cultural sphere and Southeast Asia. It appears as a means of recording days in

3534-436: The year 369 is solely based on interpreting the "泰■四年" inscription as "泰和四年" yet also leaving out what comes right after, the 十(一)月十六日丙午正陽 which means "At noon on the sixteenth day of the eleventh [fifth] month." Yet neither May 16 nor November 16 are days of 丙午 in the year 369, but instead May 27 or November 30. May 16 of the year 362, however, is 丙午. If interpreted as November 16, the year 408 has it as 丙午. Both 362 and 408 avoid

3596-490: The year mod 60 and look into column BC. Applied to year -246, this gives: When doing these conversions, year 246 BC cannot be treated as −246 AD due to the lack of a year 0 in the Gregorian AD/BC system. The following tables show recent years (in the Gregorian calendar) and their corresponding years in the cycles: The branches are used marginally to indicate months. Despite there being twelve branches and twelve months in

3658-535: The ‘branches’ appear to be quite delicate, and their functionality in melee combat doubtful, it is unlikely that the Seven-Branched Sword was used as a military weapon. Instead, it probably had a ceremonial function. The sword has been stored in the Isonokami Shrine since ancient times. The inscription on the blade had been hidden by rust and was rediscovered in the 1870s by Masatomo Kan, a Shinto priest at

3720-399: Was also the starting year of a 60-year cycle. Similarly 1980 years later, 1984 was the start of a new cycle. Thus, to find out the Gregorian year's equivalent in the sexagenary cycle use the appropriate method below. The result will produce a number between 0 and 59, corresponding to the year order in the cycle; if the remainder is 0, it corresponds to the 60th year of a cycle. Thus, using

3782-477: Was formed by 408. Middle of the first side : The characters show the sword was made of steel and can repel an enemy. The subsequent characters are the most controversial part of the inscription. Kim notes that the sword uses the term "候王" translated as "enfeoffed lord," and thus claimed that the Wa king was subservient to the Baekje ruler as could be seen in 6th and 7th centuries, 3 times the Wa were conscripted for Baekje's wars against Silla (554, 562, 662) but never

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3844-486: Was not until the Suiko era that the calendar was used for politics. The year 604, when the Japanese officially adopted the Chinese calendar , was the first year of the cycle. The Korean ( 환갑; 還甲 hwangap ) and Japanese tradition ( 還暦 kanreki ) of celebrating the 60th birthday (literally 'return of calendar') reflects the influence of the sexagenary cycle as a count of years. The Tibetan calendar also counts years using

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