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Old 2nd July 2013, 06:01 AM   #27
HangPC2
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Originally Posted by HangPC2
Pedang Jenawi Patani

Origin : Pattani (Sultanate Patani / Ayutthaya Period)






However, they come from another country's long swordmaking tradition which includes double-edged blades and single-edged blades. This particular design sees to have been strongly influenced by Japanese swords, though it could have also been influenced by Chinese swords. Japanese swords did however reach this area. I've seen one sword that dates from the Sultanate Patani that has a Japanese blade and a proper habaki.

Probably Edo, with not much sori. Rather rusted now, and engraved with local designs, with a tsuka made of the local wood and bound with thread, but still a functional sword. Presumably the blade got there via trade.

Having done some digging yes, there were direct and indirect trading links between Japan and the Sultanate Patani. Chinese merchants started trading there in the early 15th century and played a major role in its rise as a regional trade centre. The Chinese were soon joined by the Portuguese (who traded with Japan) in 1516, the Japanese in 1592, the Dutch (who traded with Japan) in 1602, the English in 1612, and many Malay and Siamese merchants. After 1620 the Dutch and English both closed their warehouses, but a prosperous trade was continued by the Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese for most of that century. Most foreign merchants abandoned trading with Patani after the 1688 invasion by Ayudhya which resulted in fifty years of political disorder and widespread lawlessness.

Which means that the influence of Japanese sword design on Malayan swords has a longer history than supposed. Of course, the influence of various forms of the Chinese dao are equally possible. The zhanmadao, mentioned in an 11th century military text, was similar in appearance to a katana. However, you’re now into the rather complex subject of Chinese influences on Japanese sword design, and the wider subject of the influence of Chinese technology and culture on Asia as a whole.

sometimes the Japanese influenced the Chinese. In the 16th century a Chinese general obtained a Japanese military manual featuring o-dachi and their use as an anti-cavalry weapon. This was of interest to him, since he was engaged in warfare with the Mongols. The general promptly replaced the zhanmadao, which had been used for this purpose, with the Japanese design. Ideas of who influenced what in the wider Asian context therefore get exceedingly complex if the katana and its variations were originally derivatives of the zhanmadao and the zhanmadao was subsequently replaced with Japanese-derived blades. There are therefore multiple possible influences on the development of the Malayan pedang jenawi and similar swords in the region. That some of these are *not* Japanese can be shown by the use of a permanently fixed hilt and a soldered guard. It is therefore overly simplistic to say that these are just faux Japanese swords. There are Japanese influences, sure – however Japan has been influenced by China, and China had a direct influence on places like Vietnam, Malaya, Thailand etc. The Japanese also influenced these area, either by direct or indirect trade, and smiths indigenous to these area interpreted these influences in their own way.
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