JAPANESE SWORD COLLECTOR
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DEFINITIONS
This is a list of definitions with respect to yari and certain polearms. If you have any questions regarding yari please ask and I will try to help you out as best as I can.
BO-BI A wide groove in a blade that takes most of the place of the shinogi-ji.
BO-BI NO SOYE BI A wide groove with smaller groove.
BONJI Japanese Sanskrit Characters carved into the surface of a blade, often referring to Buddhism.
BOSHI The tempered area within the kissaki.
CHIDORI YARI A jumonji yari with two downward pointing side blades, with each having a small kissaki.
CHOHO A long spear as described in the mid Muromachi era, also known as an "Omi no Yari".
DO-GANE A metal collar usually made of copper, used to strengthen the area where the nakago is supported by the spear shaft.
FUKURA The rounded ha between the yokote and the point of the blade.
FUKURO A socket yari, having a socket which a pole is inserted instead of a nakago.
FUTA-SUJI-BI A pair of identical grooves on a blade.
FUTOMATA YARI A yari with a forked blade. Also, Gekken, Saumata and Kutoji yari.
GINNANBO YARI A blade with a blunt tip. It resembles teh ginko biloba seed.
GYAKU YARI A jumonji yari with the side blades resembling buffalo horns.
GYO-NO-KURIKARA A horimono depicting a dragon entwining a ken.
HA The edge of the blade.
HAGUNA A white tassle on shaft of the spear.
HA-MACHI The notch in the Ha where it meets the nakago.
HAMON The whitish outline where the tempered area meets the ji.
HIRUMAKI The butt of the spear shaft, also ishizuki and sontai.
HO The tip of the blade.
HOKO A term for any single bladed yari used in ancient times.
HORIMONO Carvings in the surface of a blade.
HOSAKI Tip of the blade.
ICHIO YARI A blunt tipped blade usually 4 sided.
INOSHISHI NO YARI A leaf shaped hunting spear for boar.
IORI MUNE The back "V" section of the blade
ISHIZUKI Metal butt end of the shaft.
JOGEKAMA YARI A jumonji yari with one side blade pointing up and one blade pointing down.
JUMONJI YARI A spear with two side blades in the form of a cross.
KABURA MAKI A rattan or string wrap around the handstop of the shaft.
KACHI YARI A term used in Muromachi times for a su yari.
KAGI YARI A hooked spear with a hadome(deflecting bar).
KAKUDOME Squared off end of a groove.
KANMURI OTOSHI A sword with the shinogiji tapering to a high ridge, normally seem on a nagamaki.
KARIGATA YARI A jumonji yari with both side blades pointing down - resembling a goose in flight.
KATA KAGI A parrying bar (hadome) with a right angled upward projection on one of the arms.
KATA KAMA YARI Like a jumonji yari but with only one side blade.
KERABUKI the neck of a spear below the machi, often made of several facets.
KIKUCHI YARI A tanto like spear with a single sharp edge and a long nakago. Originating in the 14th Century.
KIRI HA A blade with a very wide shinogi ji nearing the ha and extending the same width from the machi to the hosaki.
KISSAKI The portion of the blade from the yokote to the hosaki.
KOSHA YARI An old term for a Jumonji yari.
KOSHI BI A groove in a sword that is only a partial length of the blade.
KOSHINOGI The portion of the Shinogiji that extends from the yokote to the tip.
KUCHIGANE The ring below the blade of the yari and just above the gyakuwa.
KUDA YARI A yari that has a metal tube that slides up and down the shaft allowing the shaft to be thrust through the tube.
KUKI Same as nakago.
KUMA SAYA Bear fur covered saya (Kuma means bear).
KUTOJI NO YARI A forked yari (same as saumata and gekken).
KYU SHAKU E NO YARI A 9 foot shafted spear used by Ashigaru.
MACHI The shoulders of the blade at the nakago area.
MAKURA YARI A short shafted smaller yari kept by the bed for night defence.
MANJI KAGI A parrying bar or Hadome.
MARU DOME A rounded mune.
MEI The signature on the nakago.
MEKUGI ANA The hole in the nakago used to affix the blade to the shaft by using a Mekugi (bamboo or hardwood peg).
MITSU MUNE 3 sided mune with a flat top.
MIZU GAESHI A metal collar or cord at the lower end of the shaft, near the ishizuki, used to protect the shaft from water damage.
MON A family crest.
MORO GAKI A parrying bar with both ends turned upwards 90 degrees.
NAGAYE The shaft of the spear.
NAGE YARI A short shafted yari carred inside a Kago, used for protection.
NAKAGO The long metal protrudence that is inserted into a tsuka or shaft.
OMI NO YARI A long bladed yari over 2 shaku.
RYO HA Double edged blade.
RYO SHINOGI YARI A yari blade with 4 sides.
SANKEN An old term used for a jumonji yari.
SAYA The cover that is used to protect a blade.
SEI SANKAKU YARI A Hira Sankaku blade with 3 equal sided blades.
SHAKUJO YARI A priests yari.
SHIHO KAGI A four armed parrying bar.
SHIN NO KURIKARA A horimono cut into a blade depicting a dragon wrapped around a ken.
SHINOGI The ridge running the length of a blade on both sides.
SHINOGI JI The flat surface between the shinogi and the mune
SHIRASAYA Literally meaning "resting scabbard", used for storing a blade when not in formal use. Made of Honoki wood.
SO-KAN The spear shaft.
SO-NO KURIKARA A raised relief horimono of a dragon on a blade.
SONTAI A metal ferrule at the lower end of a shaft.
SUGU YARI Same as su yari - or straight spear.
SUJIGANE Thin pieces of metal arranged and fixed to a shaft, used to protect it against strikes.
SURIAGE A shortened blade still retaining part of its signature.
SU YARI A Yari blade, double edged, with either socket or nakago.
TACHI BA HI RI The part of the shaft that retains the nakago.
TE YARI A short spear used in confined spaces.
TORI A Another name for a jumonji yari.
TSUKIGATA YARI A jumonji yari with both side arms curved upwards like a crescent moon.
UEKAMA TSUKUSHI YARI A jumonji yari with upward curving blades.
YAKIBA The area between the hamon and the ha.
YARI Japanese spear
YARI KAKE Spear rack.
YARI SAKI The tip of a yari blade
REFERENCE:
"JAPANESE SPEARS, Polearms and their use in old Japan" by Roald and Patricia Knutsen, Global Oriental, ISBN 1-901903-56-7