The names of the types of cuts on cadavers show exactly where on the body the cut was made. In addition, there was a wide variety of cuts used on cadavers and occasionally convicted criminals, from tabi-gata (ankle cut) to O-kesa (diagonal cut from shoulder to opposite hip). Some substances were wara (藁 rice straw), goza (茣蓙 woven rush mats) or tatami-omote (畳表 the top layer of tatami mats), bamboo, and thin steel sheets. The materials used to test swords varied greatly. Origins Tameshigiri on a convicted criminal (illustration from a 1927 book)ĭuring the Edo period, only the most skilled swordsmen were chosen to test swords, so that the swordsman's skill was not questionable in determining how well the sword cut. It continues to the present day, but has evolved into a martial art which focuses on demonstrating the practitioner's skill with a sword. This practice was popularized in the Edo period (17th century) for testing the quality of Japanese swords. The kanji literally mean ' test cut' ( kun'yomi: ためし ぎり tameshi giri). Tameshigiri (試し斬り, 試し切り, 試斬, 試切) is the Japanese art of target test cutting. Japanese art of target test cutting Tameshigiri using a goza target on a stand (2006) Ren Kuroda demonstrates Shofu at the Mugairyu Meishi-ha dojo in Tokyo, Japan
