Katana
刀 · katana
A Japanese sword with a curved, single-edged blade longer than two shaku and a long hilt for a two-handed grip, worn by samurai in pairs called daishō.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
The katana is a Japanese sword with a curved, single-edged blade and a long hilt for a two-handed grip. It developed from the short sword sasuga, a type of tantō carried by lower-ranking samurai who fought on foot in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). From the Muromachi period, many old tachi swords were shortened at the tang and converted into katana. By definition the blade (nagasa) measures more than two shaku, roughly 60 cm. It is traditionally forged from Japanese tamahagane steel. Before hardening, the smith coats it with several layers of wet clay slurry, applying only a thin layer to the edge, then quench-hardens it in water. The tang (nakago) forms one piece with the blade and is held in the hilt (tsuka) by a peg called mekugi. In the battles of the Sengoku period (16th century) the main weapons were the yumi bow, the yari spear and the tanegashima gun; katana and tachi served only for close combat. Today the katana is trained with in aikido, iaijutsu, battōjutsu, iaidō, kenjutsu, kendō, ninjutsu, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū and shinkendō. For safety, training uses a blunt iaitō or a wooden bokken; a sharp katana is mainly used for tameshigiri, test cutting bamboo or rolled matting. The Tokugawa shogunate required samurai to wear the katana together with a shorter sword as the daishō pair. Katana and tachi were also given as gifts among daimyō and samurai, or offered as votive gifts to kami in Shinto shrines.
Parts of the weapon
- Grip — tsuka