Wars had played revolutionizing parts in Japan's long line of history. For thousands of years, war clans controlled the country. Each clan is comprised of several related families and each is lead by a chief who are the families' ancestors. Wars were almost always centralized on the struggle for land- only 20 % of Japan's land is suited for farming, thus this condition gave rise to the knights of the Japan who are named as Samurais.

Duty is first and foremost at the heart of each Samurai warrior along with the Bushido or the Way of the Warrior. To become a Samurai is to overcome the fear of death. By this, they may serve their masters and their clan loyally and if serving would mean to forfeit their own lives, then that will be done.

To ensure that their lands are protected and the battles they fight are victories, ancient Japanese developed armors, codes and weapons. The weapons revolutionized along with the battles.

By the 9th-12th A.D. the Samurais had become a separate class. Within these periods, Samurais were divided into two: the knight-retainers or the Samurais and the warriors or the Bushi. Some of these were hired men and some are members of the ruling class. They surrender their lives to their Daimyos or landowners who are often the ruling member of the family and in return they were given fiefs or lands and position. Each Samurai is employed to serve and protect the properties of the Daimyo and in battles for land expansion and power.

Samurais made most of what are present in their environments. When horses were first introduced, they became masters in horses. Horseback riding were then incorporated into battles. They practiced both unarmed and armed combat. Bows and arrows were primarily used in combat; swords were just used for beheading the enemies. However, in the 13th century when they seriously engaged battles with the Mongols, they started to make use of their Samurai swords more and eventually manufactured more of these and the naginata and spears. They easily transformed to fighting on foot from fighting on horseback.

Samurais swords were generally divided into two: the daito-katana or the long sword which on average is more than 24 inches long and the shoto-wakizashi or the short sword that were 12-24 inches long. Samurai swords were often given names as to immortalize the soul of warriorship.

The earliest swords were straight and were typically fashioned after Chinese or Korean designs. But in the course of the battle, the Samurai swords were recreated to give much tougher design with sharper curved edge. This is the type of Samurai swords that went down to history.

Samurai swords were fashioned to near perfection. The basic elements combined to make Samurai swords are carbon and iron. To shape them, the sword smith makes use of anvil water, fire and hammers. Once the sword is forged, the sword polisher will set up the blade for the furniture that will enclose it. Once this is done, the sword tester will put the new blade to test by cutting through condemned criminals and dead corpses. He will first cut through the smaller bones moving to the tougher bones. The results of which are transcribed on the nakago or the metal piece that connects the handle to the Samurai sword.

Through their rise to power, the these knights and their Samurai swords were heralded as the ruling class in Japan's hierarchy for several centuries well up to the 19th century. This era is noted for the Shogun or the most powerful ruling Samurais in their own time.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides samurai sword resources on http://www.about-samurai-swords.info