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The daishō (大小, daishō) —"large and small" [1] —is a Japanese term for a matched pair of traditionally made Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan. 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]
The yoroi-dōshi was made for piercing armour [5] and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters. The blade was generally from 20 to 30 cm (7.9 to 11.8 in) in length, but some examples could be shorter than 15 cm (5.9 in), with a "tapering mihaba , iori-mune , thick kasane at the top, and thin kasane at the bottom and occasionally moroha ...
Japanese swords. Two tachi with full mountings (middle and bottom right), a sword with a Shirasaya-style tsuka (top right), a wakizashi (top left), and various tsuba (bottom left). A Japanese sword (Japanese: 日本刀, Hepburn: nihontō) is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan.
Diagram showing the parts of a nihontō blade in transliterated Japanese. This is the glossary of Japanese swords, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on Japanese swords. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
According to the historical book Wakan Shuyo (和翰集要), the nodachi (野太刀) had a blade length of 3 shaku (traditional Japanese feet) and 9 sun (traditional Japanese inches; approx. 148 cm (58 in)) and ōdachi had a blade length of 3 shaku 3 sun (approx. 125 cm (49 in)), but in fact, they were not strictly distinguished between nodachi ...
Though the original purpose was to protect a sword from damage, from early times on Japanese sword mountings became a status symbol and were used to add dignity. [146] Starting in the Heian period, a sharp distinction was made between swords designed for use in battle and those for ceremonial use. [147]
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.
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.