Masakari Japanese Axe

The mizuno seisakujo warikomi jigata masakari japanese axe 010 002 is great for various purposes and for different types of wood.

Masakari japanese axe. These names are very inconsistent in japan and also vary a great deal by region. With this axe the end of the head hangs fairly close above the handle. This is an antique japanese masakari or ono ax head was made of hand forged tempered iron over 100 years ago by a master japanese blade maker using the skills of the samurai sword maker by hand forging soft steel on the outsides and high carbon steel in the middle. Also know as ono 斧 or as fuetsu 斧鉞 this weapon is one of the less related within the samurai warfare context.

Because of its large head this axe is perfect for the small splitting tasks. As with axes in other cultures ono are sometimes employed as weapons. That makes this axe great for lighter splitting work. But the latter name is more frequently used to mean an adze.

For many years inside the internet i ve read a lot of stuffs about the fact that samurai didn t use axes in battle. This axe was designed for precise cutting tasks and not for the blunt stroke. It should not be mistakenly interchangeable with the term ono 斧. Detail from the 春日権現験記.

The masakari 鉞 is an axe of the larger variant in japan. The ono 斧 historically wono をの or masakari is the japanese word for an axe and is used to describe various tools of similar structure. Samurai holding a battle axe. The mizuno seisakujo warikomi kariwaku masakari japanese axe is suitable for various applications and for various wood varieties.

The axe is made for the precise cutting jobs and not for blunt blows. Masakari is translated for instance as battle axe but we have been assured that it is certainly not a weapon but simply means a hatchet with a broad blade. Axe which is the general classification term for axes in japanese while the term masakari is specifically given to large axes or an axe with an exceptionally long cutting edge. There is a number 1905 on the blade which was probably the year this ax head was made see picture 7.