What is the difference

[Cryozombie]

between a Mogito and an Iaito?

Is it as simple as one is a "Real" sword with no edge, and the other is a soft "alloy" sword designed not to take an edge? Or is there something else that makes them different from one another?

Thanks.

 

[Chris Parker]

Nope, that's pretty much it.

Although......

We are dealing with the Japanese arts here, and the single term used by one system may mean something completely different in another. For example, Nagamaki refers to different things in different systems, within Toda-ha Buko Ryu it refers to a weapon pretty much identical to a Bisento (from the Kukishinden Ryu).

With a mogito, the term literally means "imitation sword", and most typically means a steel-bladed unsharpened weapon, although certain schools refer to bokken with wooden scabbards as such (as Sukerin mentioned on another thread recently, I think). Still others refer to weapons not made in a "traditional" fashion, although they can still be sharp. Think of the mass-produced, oil-cooled lumps of steel for WWII in this fashion, or the common "wall-hanger" type items.

But by far and away, the most common meaning is an unsharpened steel blade. The other thing to remember, though, is that outside of practitioners, this is not a common term at all, and there are manufacturers who make Mogito and simply label them as Iaito for less confusion in the marketplace. They will typically state that such a weapon can be sharpened if needed, though, and that will be your big clue. A good example of this is Furuyama, who can be purchased through www.j-armory.com. If you head over there, (http://www.j-armory.com/FYHaya.html) this is actually my personal Togakure Mogito I had them make for me. Wonderful toy.

 

[kaizasosei]

Mogito 模擬刀 are made out of brass,zinc or alluminum alloys(wiki). The opposite would be a shinken 真剣 real sword.　

iai 居合い as it is has to do with harmonizing oneself. So i would think, both a mogito or a real sword could be seen as iaito if used as such.　



j

 

[pgsmith]

Chris is correct in actual common usage today. The actuality of it is that mogito means "imitation sword" and iaito means "sword for iai". Any sword used for iai is therefore an iaito, but the most common usage is to refer to an aluminum bladed non-sharpened sword as an iaito. Mogito was originally used to denote pot metal swords that were made for decoration only, but common usage has come encompass unsharpened swords used for iaito practice.

Always remember that Japanese is a context driven language, and most of it depends upon the context within which a word is used. Here is an example from trips of mine to Japan. It is not unusual to hear people refer to mogito in the dojo differentiating between an aluminum bladed iaito and a sharp sword. These same people were with me in a martial arts shop later talking about the mogito display, which were inexpensive decorator swords and couldn't be used for practice, and the nicer aluminum bladed "iaito". It is a very tricky business trying to make a single definition for any Japanese word.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Yeah....what they said.....