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Historically, there is no evidence for the existence of this "katana-like short sword legendarily used by ninja" before the 20th century. [12] Instead, the designs demonstrated by alleged replicas may be based on the design of wakizashi or chokutō swords or the swords associated with ashigaru—common infantrymen with no "ninja" aspects. [1]
During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ō-yoroi and dō-maru appeared. [2] The Japanese cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of body armour worn by the samurai known as the dou or dō, with the use of leather straps (nerigawa), and lacquer for weatherproofing. Leather and/or iron scales were also used ...
The Kabutowari (Japanese: 兜割, lit. "helmet breaker" or "skull breaker" [1]), also known as hachiwari, was a type of knife-shaped weapon, resembling a jitte in many respects. This weapon was carried as a side-arm by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Antique Japanese hachiwari with a nihonto style of handle
The kyoketsu-shoge (Japanese: 距跋渉毛, lit. "long-distance wandering hair" [1]) is a double-edged blade, with another curved blade attached near the hilt at a 45–60 degree angle. This is attached to approximately 10 to 18 feet (3–5 m) of rope , chain , or hair which then ends in a large metal ring .
Other types of Japanese swords include: tsurugi or ken, which is a straight double-edged sword; [19] ōdachi, tachi, which are older styles of a very long curved single-edged sword; uchigatana, a slightly shorter curved single-edged long sword; wakizashi, a medium-sized sword; and tantō, which is an even smaller knife-sized sword.
The yoroi-dōshi is an extra thick tantō, a short sword, which appeared in the Sengoku period (late Muromachi) of the 14th and 15th centuries. [4] The yoroi-dōshi was made for piercing armour [5] and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters.
A kusarigama (Japanese: 鎖鎌, lit. "chain-sickle") is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a kama (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle or billhook) on a kusari-fundo – a type of metal chain (kusari) with a heavy iron weight (fundo) at the end. The kusarigama is said to have been developed during the Muromachi period.
It is thought likely that the first iron swords were manufactured in Japan in the fourth century, based on technology imported from China via the Korean peninsula. [4]: 1 While swords clearly played an important cultural and religious role in ancient Japan, [4]: 5, 14 in the Heian period the globally recognised curved Japanese sword (the katana) was developed and swords became important ...