Weapon testing

thumb|Tameshigiri using a goza target on a stand (2006) Ren Kuroda demonstrates Shofu at the Mugairyu Meishi-ha dojo in Tokyo, Japan is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally means "test cut". This practice was popularized in the Edo period (17th century) for testing the quality of Japanese swords. It continues to the present day, but has evolved into a martial art which focuses on demonstrating the practitioner's skill with a sword.