Kamakura: the samurai and the sword

The warrior class seized power, the sculptor Unkei gave Buddhist guardians muscle and life, and the swordsmith Masamune perfected the forerunner of the katana.

When Minamoto Yoritomo became shogun in 1192, power shifted from the court in Kyoto to the warriors in Kamakura. The ideals of the samurai – courage, loyalty and discipline – shaped the culture.

The sculptor Unkei and his workshop brought a new realism to Japanese sculpture. The mighty guardians at the South Gate of Tōdai-ji, made in 69 days in 1203, are full of movement and muscle. Statues were given gleaming eyes of rock crystal.

The swordsmiths reached their peak. Masamune and his contemporaries forged blades of layer upon layer of steel, with a hardening line, the hamon, that was both function and beauty. Zen Buddhism arrived from China and became the creed of the samurai.