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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). An 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 feudal Japan.
Abnormally long blades (longer than 3 shaku), usually carried across the back, are called ōdachi or nodachi. The word ōdachi is also sometimes used as a synonym for Japanese swords. Odachi means "great sword", and Nodachi translates to "field sword". These greatswords were used during war, as the longer sword gave a foot soldier a reach ...
The French épée bâtarde and the English bastard sword originate in the 15th or 16th century, [citation needed] originally having the general sense of "irregular sword or sword of uncertain origin". It was "[a sword] which was neither French, nor Spanish, nor properly Landsknecht [German], but longer than any of these sturdy swords."
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.
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]
In general, katana has a cross-sectional shape of shinogizukuri, similar to tachi, but it is shorter than tachi and its blade curve is gentle. Wakizashi and tantō are shorter swords than tachi and katana, and these swords are often forged in the cross-sectional shape of hira-zukuri or kiriha-zukuri. [27]
The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length [10] and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. [11]
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. Even the name ...