Tameshigiri is the action of using a sword to cut objects (tamesu in Japanese means "try out", while giri means "cut").

Iaido is the only martial art where one practices with a sword in order to "polish" one¹s spirit/heart (kokoro). Tameshigiri is forbidden by the Zen Nihon Iaido Renmei, the only specialist iaido organization in Japan.

There are several reasons for not doing tameshigiri.

Firstly, one has to consider that the Japanese sword is not a tool, irrespective of whether the blade is live or not. In Japan, the Japanese sword has held a very important, and sometimes mystical, position in society. It is still one of the 3 treasures of the Imperial family, along with the mirror and orb. Thus, a sword is thought to have sacred properties.

Taking this into consideration, the act of using a sword to cut something is akin to someone using a Catholic cross to bash a tree.

Furthermore, swordsmiths put their heart and soul into making Japanese swords great works of art. Therefore, using a sword to cut something is a most disrespectful act towards the swordsmith and the sword, which samurai thought of as their soul. (In fact, etiquette towards the sword requires one to treat it with the greatest respect at all times; for example, one shouldn¹t step over it, or touch the blade with one¹s hands.)


--- Esaka Sensei

Some thoughts about tameshigiri:

Sometimes you can find on the tang (nagako) of old Japanese swords an inscription listing what kind of cuts were performed with this blade during “tameshigiri.” This test-cutting with a new blade was done to test the blade. In order not to ruin the blade by ignorance a person able to wield a sword efficiently would perform the cuts. However, it was the blade that was tested, not the swordsman.

The inscription on the tang describing tameshigiri says nothing else than, “this is a sword which cuts well.” It is nothing more then a quality sign, like “made in Japan” or “special edition.” It has nothing to do with the classical training of a Japanese swordsman.

Techniques used in tameshigiri would be very useful if you ever got attacked by a non-moving bamboo stick, or a straw mat. In other words, techniques used for tameshigiri would not be useful for combat against a living, moving opponent.

If you would like to adapt tameshigiri to “combat training,” it would be necessary to change the target to a moving one. Maybe a lemon tossed at you would work, but then a lemon is a fruit and is very small, so a chicken then? But a chicken is not big enough, so perhaps a dead pig swinging on a rope? But a dead pig does not move, so maybe a living one? But a living animal does not fight back… This line of thought leads to a violent and despicable end: tameshigiri is bad for personal development.

A Japanese sword is made to cut. Proving that you can cut with a sword is like proving that water is wet. If you feel like you have to prove something, you are already displaying insecurity and doubt about your ability. If you doubt yourself, then you will not be able to react immediately. Tameshigiri undermines trust in yourself. If you do not trust in yourself, you will try to prove your ability to yourself and others. If you try to show others that you are ”better” than them, you will create conflict. Tameshigiri creates an aggressive mind which is not in harmony with its environment.

Most Japanese swords which still exist today do so because they were never used. Many are 400 or more years old. Every time a sword is used, it must be re-polished. Every time a sword is re-polished, it loses a bit of its substance: eventually, the sword will be polished to such a degree that it loses its ability to cut, its characteristic hamon, and so much of its material, that it is ruined. Today’s generations are the custodians of the existing blades from long ago; a part of that history is diminished every time a sword is used. Performing tameshigiri with an old blade destroys an irretrievable part of history.

These are my personal thoughts about tameshigiri. I do not intend disrespect towards others; however, I deeply believe that there is nothing of value in the performance of tameshigiri. On the contrary, I believe it is harmful for the developing of good technique, a mature and peaceful spirit, and respect for others and ourselves.

This is why I do not perform tameshigiri.

--- Andrej H. Diamantstein