About

About Swords of the East

Swords of the East is an independent editorial reference covering the history, craft, and culture of Japanese blades, edged weapons, and the martial traditions that shaped them.

The site covers the full breadth of the subject: metallurgy and steel types, the major periods of Japanese sword history, the five classical smithing schools, individual historical smiths and their work, practical guidance for collectors and practitioners, and the martial arts traditions that give these objects their living context.

What This Site Covers

The core subjects are Japanese swords in the widest sense: the tachi, katana, wakizashi, tanto, naginata, and yari. The steel traditions behind them – tamahagane, Damascus-family steels, modern production alloys. The martial arts that use them: Iaido, Iaijutsu, Kendo, Kenjutsu, Toyama-ryu, and the contemporary HEMA revival that has brought Japanese and European weapon traditions into dialogue.

About the Author

Editorial content is written and reviewed by Kei Brennan, a Japanese-American blade historian and collector based in Portland, Oregon. Kei has studied Japanese sword-making traditions for over two decades, trained in traditional Iaijutsu, and consults for private collections and museums on Japanese edged weapons. His focus is on making the specialized knowledge of nihonto – historically the province of a small community of dedicated scholars and collectors – accessible to a broader audience without simplifying it to the point of inaccuracy.

Correspondence and editorial inquiries can be directed to [email protected].