Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 term longsword has been used to refer to different kinds of sword depending on historical context: Zweihänder or two-hander, a late Renaissance sword of the 16th century Landsknechte, the longest sword of all; the long "side sword" or "rapier" [5] with a cutting edge (the Elizabethan long sword).
Tachi (太刀, "long sword"): A sword that is generally longer and more curved than the later katana, with curvature often centered from the middle or towards the tang, and often including the tang. Tachi were worn suspended, with the edge downward. The tachi was in vogue before the 15th century.
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] Katana can also be known as dai or daitō among Western sword enthusiasts, although daitō is a generic name for any Japanese long sword, literally meaning "big sword". [10]
nagakatana (長刀, lit. long sword) – any sword with a blade longer than a tantō, particularly exceptionally large ones (e.g. nodachi). Also called chōtō. nagamaki (長巻, "long wrapping") – a large sword with a usually katana-sized blade and a very long handle of about equal length.
Spatha: Celtic/Germanic/Roman one-handed double-edged longsword – blade 50–100 cm (20–39 in) – for thrusting and slashing, used by gladiators, cavalry and heavy infantry. 3rd century BCE Gaul/Germania – Migration Period. Xiphos: Greek one-handed, double-edged Iron Age straight shortsword
It is a sword with two cutting edges, one on each side of its blade, unlike the tachi, katana, wakizashi, or odachi, which have only one cutting edge on one side of the blade. The oldest bronze sword excavated in Japan is a Chinese style dagger from around 800 BC in the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD). [ 3 ]
In the Edo period (1603–1867), the hilts of naginata were often cut off and made into katana or wakizashi (short sword). This practice of cutting off the hilt of an ōdachi, tachi, naginata, or nagamaki and remaking it into a shorter katana or wakizashi due to changes in tactics is called suriage (磨上げ) and was common in Japan at the time.