Kiso Hida Katana - 飛騨刀

Specifications:

• Full tang construction
• SHARP blade
• Hand-forged
• Blade material: High-performance red Damascus steel
• Habaki material: copper
• Copper tsuba
• Solid wood saya, painted with engraved dragon design
• Solid wood tsuka wrapped in genuine ray skin
• Cotton tsuka-ito
• Total length: 105 cm
• Blade length: 72 cm
• Blade width: 3.2 cm
• Blade thickness: 0.7 cm
• Handle length: 30 cm

• Includes: Katana and matching scabbard

Kiso Hida Katana - Forest Mountain Japanese Samurai Sword

That scabbard is pure forest - rich brown with visible wood grain flowing along its length, creating this organic texture that looks like it was carved directly from a tree trunk. The Kiso Hida doesn't hide behind lacquer; it celebrates natural wood beauty, letting the grain patterns tell their own story about growth, seasons, and time.

The name references two legendary Japanese mountain regions - Kiso and Hida - both famous for their pristine forests and master woodworking traditions. For centuries, these areas supplied timber for temples, castles, and fine woodwork. This katana channels that heritage directly, turning the scabbard into a tribute to mountain forests and the craftspeople who shaped their wood into art.

The glossy black secondary scabbard provides perfect contrast with elaborate golden dragon engravings running its length. Where the brown scabbard represents earth and forest, the black one suggests night and shadow, creating this duality between day in the woods and darkness under the canopy.

That guard is genuinely impressive - dual-tone brass with dragons carved in full three-dimensional relief. The warm golden outer ring frames darker bronze interior where creatures coil through clouds and flowers. The level of detail is museum-worthy; you can trace individual scales and whisker strands. The golden habaki continues the intricate work with precise geometric honeycomb patterns.

The handle wraps in black diamond pattern with white menuki providing subtle contrast. That black-and-white scheme against the wood-brown scabbard creates this earth-tone aesthetic that feels grounded, natural, connected to forests and mountains rather than courts and palaces.

What makes this special is how it connects material to meaning. Using wood-grain finish isn't just decoration - it's direct reference to the regions in the name, to forestry traditions, to the relationship between Japanese craftspeople and their mountain landscapes. Every element tells the forest story.

The blade (from what we glimpse) appears clean and mirror-polished, providing that necessary cool steel contrast to all the warm wood and brass tones. It's the refined steel edge emerging from organic forest materials - technology born from nature.

The black-and-white twisted sageo adds nice textural detail without introducing new colors, maintaining that disciplined earth-tone palette throughout. Everything exists in browns, blacks, golds, whites - forest colors, mountain colors, natural world rendered in sword form.

For collectors who appreciate natural materials, Japanese regional heritage, or anyone drawn to that intersection where weapon craft meets woodworking tradition - the Kiso Hida delivers forest mountain energy in authentic form. It's not trying to be flashy; it's being honest about its materials and honoring the regions that inspired it.