The mei (pronounced may) is the signature a smith chisels into the bare steel of the tang, hidden inside the handle where only the patient ever look. The word means simply “inscription” or “name.” It is the most personal mark on the whole sword, the maker putting their name to the work the moment it left the fire.
What the inscription records
A traditional mei is cut with a small chisel into the tang, usually on the side that faces outward when the blade is worn edge-up. At its fullest it can record the smith’s name, their province, sometimes a date, and occasionally a dedication or the name of the steel. Because it is carved rather than printed, the strokes have real depth and slight irregularity, the hand of a person, not a stamp. To read it you must first draw the retaining peg and slide off the handle, the same disassembly you would use to inspect the tang itself.
How to read it
On a genuinely hand-finished sword the mei is chiselled into the steel, with crisp tool marks you can feel, and it sits comfortably within the file pattern of the tang. Treat a laser-etched or acid-printed “signature” that sits flat on the surface with caution; it is decoration, not authorship. A clean, confident mei is one more sign that a real person stood over this blade, the same hand that judged the clay for the temper line and shaped the curve of the blade.
Why it matters to you
For a buyer, the mei is part of a sword’s character and its story, the difference between an anonymous object and one made by a named maker. It carries the most weight on a finely finished master-grade katana, where the signature is treated with care, but you will find honest marks across our katana collection. To understand the hands behind the name, read our story, or keep exploring the full anatomy of the katana.