Preserved tsurugi

[Jaak]

Obviously the highest profile sword of Japan is Kusanagi. Which has not been publicly shown for over a millennium and is only ever seen by the few priests attending it plus each emperor once at coronation.

A famed ancient sword which has been examined is the Seven Pronged Sword - not on regular public display, but has been examined for its inscriptions, dating it from 369.

Besides these two, are there any others?

In Shosoin, there is a number of 8th century swords which are chokoto. Straight, not curved - but one edged.

So, besides Kusanagi and Seven Pronged Sword, are there any genuine historical double edged swords preserved in Japan? Especially ones not lost or buried and found by archeological excavation, but kept by people all along?

[JLBadgley]

Yes.

[JLBadgley]

For a little bit more... double-edged chokuto were made up until modern times--and still are. More often then not, they are done as a donation, or else as a test of a smith's skill, but you still see them.

[nagaeyari]

There are numerous double-edged swords from the Yayoi and Kofun Periods. In fact, they were the major type during most of the former.

[Jaak]

When did Japanese stop producing bronze swords?

[nagaeyari]

Production of bronze swords dropped considerably in the latter half of the 1st century -- a majority of them were for ritual purposes by this point, anyway, however. Until the 1st century, stone was actually the major material for swords and daggers.

In contrast to this, bronze arrowheads continue rather prominently in burials until the middle of the 4th century (alongside iron examples, of course).

[Jaak]

Of course all descriptions of Kusanagi are very old - but is Kusanagi understiood to be an iron sword or a bronze one?

[Tatsunoshi]

More than likely iron, but it doesn't really matter, since the real Kusanagi sank to the bottom of the ocean at the battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185...and by all accounts, even that one was a reproduction, or a reproduction of a reproduction. And the one that's used now is surely a repro, and that's if there's even anything inside the box at all.

[Jaak]

Has Kusanagi original left Atsuta shrine since 686 (when it was returned there because keeping it in palace caused illness)?

[Glyre]

As Tatsunoshi mentioned Kusanagi sank in the ocean in 1185, and has never been recovered. So, yes.

[Tatsunoshi]

Jaak, you may be interested in Thomas Conlan's "From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth Century Japan". He has a section that documents the travels, trials and tribulations of the assorted pieces of Imperial Regalia (which varied wildly in their number through the years as it suited the Imperial Family).