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Historically, it is unclear when the term "iaijutsu" originated. It is also unclear when techniques to draw katana from the scabbard were first practiced as a dedicated form of exercise. The Japanese sword has existed since the Nara period (710–794), where techniques to draw the sword have been practiced under other names than 'iaijutsu'. [3]
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]
Japanese swordsmanship is primarily two-handed wherein the front hand pushes down and the back hand pulls up while delivering a basic vertical cut. The samurai often carried two swords, the longer katana and the shorter wakizashi, and these were normally wielded individually, though use of both as a pair did occur.
Outside Japan there are a couple of smiths working by traditional or mostly traditional techniques, and occasional short courses taught in Japanese swordsmithing. [45] A very large number of low-quality reproduction katana and wakizashi are available; their prices usually range between $10 and about $200. These cheap blades are Japanese in ...
A typical blade is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and 1 cm (0.39 in) wide, and is made using the same techniques as the larger sword blades. Also referred to as a "Kozuka" (小柄), which literally means 'small handle', but this terminology can also refer to the handle and the blade together.
Jigen-ryū (示現流 lit: revealed reality style) is a traditional school of Japanese martial arts founded in the late 16th century by Tōgō Chūi (1560–1643), a.k.a. Tōgō Shigekata, in Satsuma Province, now Kagoshima prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. [1]
In kendo kata, the teacher role always moves first. [1] Both the student and teacher use bokken (木剣), except in some demonstrations which use blunted katana. [3] The first seven kata use tachi, a long bokken, for both student and teacher. [1]
Hyohō Niten Ichi-ryū (兵法 二天 一流), which can be loosely translated as "the school of the strategy of two heavens as one", is a koryū (ancient school), transmitting a style of classical Japanese swordsmanship conceived by Miyamoto Musashi.