Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Rasp with visible tang going into the handle Two sides of a tang (nakago) on a Japanese katana. A tang or shank is the back portion of the blade component of a tool where it extends into stock material or connects to a handle – as on a knife, sword, spear, arrowhead, chisel, file, coulter, pike, scythe, screwdriver, etc. [1] [2] One can classify various tang designs by their appearance, by ...
The swordsmiths of the Fukuoka-ichimonji School traditionally inscribed only the Japanese kanji character "Ichi" (一, one) on the tang of their swords as their signature. Among the forged swords, Imperial chrysanthemum emblem was engraved on the tang of the sword which the Emperor Go-toba cooled with water, which was the process of making the ...
nagamaki (長巻, "long wrapping") – a large sword with a usually katana-sized blade and a very long handle of about equal length. Successor design to the ōdachi/nodachi. naginata (薙刀, 長刀) – polearm wielded in large sweeping strokes. Typically with a wide blade, long tang and without yokote. It often has a distinctive carved groove.
Tachi by Norishige ca. 1300 CE, made ō-suriage (greatly shortened) during the Edo period for use as a "katana" by cutting off the original tang and reforming it higher up the cutting edge. What generally differentiates the different swords is their length. Japanese swords are measured in units of shaku. Since 1891, the modern Japanese shaku is ...
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]
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 diagram of a katana and koshirae with components identified. Fuchi (縁): The fuchi is a hilt collar between the tsuka and the tsuba.; Habaki (鎺): The habaki is a wedge-shaped metal collar used to keep the sword from falling out of the saya and to support the fittings below; fitted at the ha-machi and mune-machi which precede the nakago.
The Odachi Masayoshi forged by bladesmith Sanke Masayoshi, dated 1844. The blade length is 225.43 cm (88.75 in) and the tang is 92.41 cm (36.38 in). The ōdachi (大太刀) (large/great sword) or nodachi (野太刀, field sword) [4] [5] [6] is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (日本刀, nihontō) [7] [8] used by the samurai class of ...