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Kabutowari were usually around 35 cm (14 in) long; some larger versions are around 45 cm (18 in) long. [2] There were two types of kabutowari : a dirk -type and a truncheon -type. The dirk-type was forged with a sharp dirk-like point, [ 3 ] which could be used to parry an opponent's sword, to hook the cords of armor or a helmet, or like a can ...
It was useful for self-defense in indoor spaces where the long-bladed katana and intermediate-length wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket-like space (futokoro) or in the sleeve pouch (tamoto) [2] for self-defense and for ritual suicide by slashing the veins in the left side of the neck.
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.
Other types of Japanese swords include: tsurugi or ken, which is a straight double-edged sword; [19] ōdachi, tachi, which are older styles of a very long curved single-edged sword; uchigatana, a slightly shorter curved single-edged long sword; wakizashi, a medium-sized sword; and tantō, which is an even smaller knife-sized sword.
The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length [10] and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. [11]
The nagamaki was a long sword with a blade that could be 60 cm (24 in) or more and a handle of about equal length to the blade. [3] The blade was single-edged, resembling a naginata blade, but the handle (tsuka) of the nagamaki was not a smooth-surfaced wooden shaft as in the naginata; it was made more like a katana hilt.
The Divided Dao, also called a Long Dao (long saber), was a cross between a polearm and a saber. It consisted of a 91 cm (36 in) blade fixed to a long 120 cm (47 in) handle ending in an iron butt point, although exceptionally large weapons reaching 3 m (9.8 ft) in length and weighing 10.2 kg (22 lb) have been mentioned. [ 39 ]
The defining characteristic was plunging either the tachi (longsword), wakizashi (shortsword) or tantō (knife) into the gut and slicing the abdomen horizontally. In the absence of a kaishakunin , the samurai would then remove the blade and stab himself in the throat, or fall onto the blade from a standing position with it positioned against ...