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The word katana first appears in Japanese in the Nihon Shoki of 720. The term is a compound of kata ("one side, one-sided") + na ("blade"), [6] [7] [8] in contrast to the double-sided tsurugi. The katana belongs to the nihontō family of swords, and is distinguished by a blade length (nagasa) of more than 2 shaku, approximately 60 cm (24 in). [9]
For this reason, his only existing works are katana, tantō, and wakizashi. [3] [4] No exact dates are known for Masamune's life. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords between 1288 and 1328. Some stories list his family name as Okazaki, but some experts believe this is a fabrication to enhance the standing of the Tokugawa ...
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.
In 1934 the Japanese government issued a military specification for the shin guntō (new army sword), the first version of which was the Type 94 Katana, and many machine- and hand-crafted swords used in World War II conformed to this and later shin guntō specifications.
The exact origin of the Muramasa school is unknown. The oldest extant sword equipped with both a name sign Muramasa and a date sign shows the year Bunki 1 (1501). [4] [7] [8] Scholars, however, assert several swords signed with Muramasa (but without year signs) are slightly older than 1501 in light of their styles.
Perhaps one of the most famed Kotetsu blades was a fake: that of Kondō Isami, the commander of the late Edo-era patrol force called Shinsengumi.However, this sword was not a Kotetsu, but instead a sword made by the foremost smith of that era (known in Japanese swordmaking history as the shinshin-to era), Minamoto Kiyomaro, and bearing a forged Kotetsu signature made by master signature-faker ...
The most common depiction, especially in the Western world, of the Katana is a weapon of unparalleled power, often bordering on the physically impossible. Katana are often depicted as being inherently "superior" to all other weapons possessing such qualities as being impossibly light, nigh-unbreakable and able to cut through nearly anything.
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.