Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - The Sword of Kanta, a Nimcha and Some Clues as to the Origins of Both

Jim McDougall · 28th November 2024, 02:31 PM

The katana amidst this regalia is truly intriguing!
Interesting that despite their isolationism, the Japanese had diplomatic embassies pretty much worldwide as it would appear. However it does not seem these contacts were directly connected to the regions where these katanas would turn up.

I recall an article by Dr.Peter Bleed concerning the occurrence of Japanese katana with the Plains Indians in latter 1800s. This if course recalls the 1971 Charles Bronson film "Red Sun" with Toshiro Mifune as a Samurai set on recovering a diplomatic katana in the 1870s western US.

Also, it seems a Japanese katana was among weapons recorded with early American colonists at Jamestown.

Trade and its complex networks were far more notably dynamic than ever accurately recorded, and certainly account for the diffusion of influences and materials that exceeded any direct contact between peoples and cultural spheres.

28th November 2024, 02:31 PM	#9
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,100	The katana amidst this regalia is truly intriguing! Interesting that despite their isolationism, the Japanese had diplomatic embassies pretty much worldwide as it would appear. However it does not seem these contacts were directly connected to the regions where these katanas would turn up. I recall an article by Dr.Peter Bleed concerning the occurrence of Japanese katana with the Plains Indians in latter 1800s. This if course recalls the 1971 Charles Bronson film "Red Sun" with Toshiro Mifune as a Samurai set on recovering a diplomatic katana in the 1870s western US. Also, it seems a Japanese katana was among weapons recorded with early American colonists at Jamestown. Trade and its complex networks were far more notably dynamic than ever accurately recorded, and certainly account for the diffusion of influences and materials that exceeded any direct contact between peoples and cultural spheres.