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Japanese swords. Two tachi with full mountings (middle and bottom right), a sword with a Shirasaya-style tsuka (top right), a wakizashi (top left), and various tsuba (bottom left). A Japanese sword (Japanese: 日本刀, Hepburn: nihontō) is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan.
Visual glossary of Japanese sword terms. Japanese swordsmithing is the labour-intensive bladesmithing process developed in Japan beginning in the sixth century for forging traditionally made bladed weapons [1] [2] including katana, wakizashi, tantō, yari, naginata, nagamaki, tachi, nodachi, ōdachi, kodachi, and ya.
Diagram showing the parts of a nihontō blade in transliterated Japanese. This is the glossary of Japanese swords, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on Japanese swords. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
The Odachi Masayoshi forged by bladesmith Sanke Masayoshi, dated 1844. The blade length is 225.43 cm (88.75 in) and the tang is 92.41 cm (36.38 in). An ōdachi (大太刀, large/great sword) or nodachi (野太刀, field sword) [4] [5] [6] is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (日本刀, nihontō) [7] [8] used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.
A tachi is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Tachi and uchigatana generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the mei (銘), or signature, on the tang.
Wazamono (Japanese: 業 （ わざ ） 物 （ もの ）) is a Japanese term that, in a literal sense, refers to an instrument that plays as it should; in the context of Japanese swords and sword collecting, wazamono denotes any sword with a sharp edge that has been tested to cut well, usually by professional sword appraisers via the art of tameshigiri (test cutting).
Though the original purpose was to protect a sword from damage, from early times on Japanese sword mountings became a status symbol and were used to add dignity. [146] Starting in the Heian period , a sharp distinction was made between swords designed for use in battle and those for ceremonial use. [ 147 ]
The 30 cm to 60 cm (11.8 inches to 23.6 inches) naginata blade is forged in the same manner as traditional Japanese swords. The blade has a long tang ( nakago ) which is inserted in the shaft . The blade is removable and is secured by means of a wooden peg called mekugi (目釘) that passes through a hole ( mekugi-ana ) in both the tang and the ...