They fell out of use with the field armies after proving themselves to be very expensive, uncomfortably heavy, and really difficult to make. These swords were often so large that wielders had to wear them on their backs. Ōdachi (大太刀) and Nodachi (野太刀): Big honking swords larger than the norm."the blade you use to cut your stomach open when committing seppuku". In later eras they got stuck with the unfortunate name of harakirigatana, i.e. Was commonly worn with tachi as a part of an earlier form of the daishō, but diminished in popularity with the adoption of katana. They were generally mostly straight, and often rather wide. Tantō (短刀): Though the kanji literally means "Short Sword", the tantō was more like a large dagger.Chiisagatana (小さ刀): A sword of intermediate length halfway between a katana and a wakizashi.Most samurai homes had a sword-rack near the door so that visitors could leave their katana there but keep their wakizashi in case anything happened inside. ![]() Their usage as such is actually much older, but only in Edo period it was strictly codified and actually enforced. (The name literally means " thrust sideways.") Sometimes worn together with a katana (this combination is called daishō, 大小) - this pair became the samurai's standard set of weapons during the Edo period, and was something of a status symbol. Wakizashi (脇差): A Muromachi-period short sword, worn thrust sideways through the belt.Uchigatana, which literally means Striking Sword, is the official, more specific term for the katana. Worn thrust through the waist sash with the cutting edge facing up. Most tachi were shortened into katana in response to the new laws (rather unfortunately, since there were a lot of very famous tachi that got modified), and new swords produced during the period were made with less and different curvature to reflect their wearer's greater likelihood of drawing and using them on foot in a duel than from a horse on a battlefield. Katana (刀): Shorter and not as curved as the tachi, the katana was introduced in the Muromachi period (mostly analogous to the Sengoku-jidai) in response to weapons control regulations that restricted the length of swords that could be carried.Said design characteristics also proved to be somewhat of an Achilles' Heel against the Mongols the samurai complained their blades tended to chip against the Mongol armour. Tachi are usually longer and more curved than the katana, tempered to a harder degree as well. In effect, this sword is equivalent to the European longsword, as it was used during the medieval period in Japan. Tachi (太刀): A large, curved sword similar to a katana, but longer and more deeply curved, and worn suspended by cords from the waist with the edge facing down.While it resembles a katana more than the tsurugi, it's still not a proper one (resembles more of spadroons, without the crossguard). While they're also called tachi, it was written with different kanji (大刀) and was very different in design. Chokutō (直刀): A straight, single-edged sword that existed prior to the 10th century. ![]() Straight-bladed and double-edged, it resembles more of a European medieval sword than a katana.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |