Katana

: This article is about the Japanese sword. For the motorcycle, see Suzuki Katana..

Classification of Japanese swords

Classification by length

All Japanese swords are manufactured according to this method and are somewhat similar in appearance. What generally differentiates the different swords is their length. Japanese swords are measured in units of shaku (1 shaku = approximately 30.3 centimeters or 11.93 inches; from 1891 the shaku has been defined as exactly 10/33 metres, but older data may vary slightly from this value). For more precise measurement, "sun", "bu", and "rin" (one-tenth, one-hundredth, and one-thousandth of a shaku respectively) may be used.

Related Topics:
Shaku - 1891

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• A blade shorter than 1 shaku (30 cm) is considered a tanto (knife).
• A blade longer than 1 shaku but less than 2 (30–61 cm) is considered a shoto (short sword) and included the wakizashi and kodachi.
• A blade longer than 2 shaku (61 cm) is considered a daito, or long sword. This is the category 'katana' fall into. However, the term 'katana' is often misapplied: a sword is only a katana if it is worn blade-up through a belt-sash (these averaged 70 cm in blade length). If it is suspended by cords from a belt, it is called 'tachi' (average blade length of 78 cm).
• Abnormally long blades (longer than 5 shaku or 1.5 m), worn across the back, are called ōdachi or nodachi. 'ōdachi' is also sometimes used as a synonym for katana.

A chisa-katana is simply a shorter katana. A katana was longer than two shaku in length (one shaku= about 11.93 inches). However, a chisa-katana is longer than the wakizashi, which was between one and two shaku in lengh. Chisa-katana were not common weapons since usually a katana was made for a shorter person or a wakizashi for a larger person. The most common reference to a chisa-katana is a shorter katana that does not have a companion blade. They were most commonly made in the Buke-Zukuri mounting.

Related Topics:
Katana - Shaku - Inch - Wakizashi - Blade - Buke-Zukuri mounting

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Classification by schools and provinces

Japanese swords can be traced back to one of several provinces, each of which had its own school, traditions and 'trademarks' - e.g., the swords from Mino province were "from the start famous for their sharpness". (Source: The connoisseur's guide to Japanese swords, by Kokan Nagayama, p. 217.) These traditions and provinces are as follows:

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Classification by date of manufacture

Classification by mode of wear

Notes

• Swords designed specifically to be tachi are generally koto rather than shinto, so they are generally better manufactured and more elaborately decorated. However, these are still katana if worn in modern 'buke-zukuri' style. The signature almost always appears on the side facing away from the body when the blade is worn, so it is possible to discern the smith's intention for the blade in this manner.
• There are many varieties of wooden practice blades, including those made out of wood (bokken) and those made out of bamboo (often used for kendo practice, usually referred to as shinai).
• Most of the various kinds of spears could come with blades made in the same style as the Japanese sword. The two main types are 'naginata', similar to a halberd in use, and a 'yari' which is more traditionally spear like. Although largely overlooked in Western literature, spears were the first resort of any samurai and most peasants, and the blades on the samurai spears were often of extremely high quality. However, despite this, the sword was still considered the soul of the samurai, not the spear.
• The 'soul of the samurai' concept has its roots in the early Tokugawa Shogunate. While there has always been reverence for the sword, the official line of it being the 'soul' comes from a need of the Shogunate to provide high value gifts to retainers and noblemen. In older days, these gifts would be of land, but at the time of the Shogunate land was a scarce commodity. It is considered that this angle of the sword was played up by those in power in order to replace land in the role of a gift of great honor. It became traditional that Daimyo and the Shogun, and the members of their families, would exchange gifts of swords when meeting together or for special occasions such as weddings and births. As such, the art of 'kantei' (the ability to judge a sword for period, maker, and quality) became important, as this allowed specialists to appraise a blade and so place its value. Older swords by honored makers would then be reserved for very special gifts, in particular to the Shogun and his family or from the Shogun to show very special merit.