Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Kabutowari (Japanese: 兜割, lit. "helmet breaker" or "skull breaker" [1]), also known as hachiwari, was a type of knife-shaped weapon, resembling a jitte in many respects. This weapon was carried as a side-arm by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Antique Japanese hachiwari with a nihonto style of handle
It was an iron truncheon; it could closely resemble a wakizashi-sized sword with a blunt iron blade, or it could be a cast-iron version of a kabutowari. [2] Tekkan became very popular during the Edo period with wealthy merchants and farmers, since such people were forbidden by law from carrying or possessing swords or other edged weapons. [3]
The name came from a legend that one night flaws on the blade were repaired by fireflies. [4] [5] The ōdachi is also known as Aso no Hotarumaru (阿蘇の蛍丸) since it was kept as a treasure of the Aso Shrine.
The etymology of the word daishō becomes apparent when the terms daitō, meaning long sword, and shōtō, meaning short sword, are used; daitō + shōtō = daishō. [2] A daishō is typically depicted as a katana and wakizashi (or a tantō ) mounted in matching koshirae , but originally the daishō was the wearing of any long and short katana ...
The kaiken was also carried concealed in its shirasaya by the lower classes who were not permitted to wear swords, in particular by criminals in the Edo period. In modern Japan, a kaiken is worn as a traditional accessory for the gyōji (referee) in sumo matches for the highest ranks. However, a real blade is not used.
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.
The yoroi-dōshi is an extra thick tantō, a short sword, which appeared in the Sengoku period (late Muromachi) of the 14th and 15th centuries. [4] The yoroi-dōshi was made for piercing armour [5] and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters.
Older swords can still be found which have inscriptions on their nakago (中心) that say such things as "5 bodies with Ryu Guruma (hip cut)". Such an inscription, known as a tameshi-mei (試し銘) or saidan-mei (裁断銘) (cutting signature) would add greatly to a sword's value, [ 4 ] compensating the owner somewhat for the large sums of ...