Tantō
短刀 · tantō
Literally: short blade
A Japanese dagger with a blade of roughly 15–30 cm, intended mainly for thrusting, worn by samurai; with a blunt wooden or plastic blade, a training weapon in aikido.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
The tantō (短刀, literally "short blade") is a traditionally made Japanese knife carried by samurai in feudal Japan. English sources give a blade length of roughly 15–30 cm; Japanese sources classify as tantō all blades up to one shaku (about 30.3 cm). The tantō appears already in the Heian period, mainly as a weapon, and its form grew more ornate over time. As the shorter sword of the pair, it was later replaced among samurai by the wakizashi. The blade is usually forged in the hira-zukuri style, without a longitudinal ridge, so it has almost flat sides. Some tantō have an especially thick cross-section for piercing armour and are called yoroi dōshi. The tantō was designed mainly for thrusting, but its edge could also cut. Samurai women carried a smaller tantō called kaiken tucked into the obi sash, mainly for self-defense; the yakuza valued the tantō for easy concealment. Martial arts training, including tantōjutsu, uses a tantō with a blunt wooden or plastic blade, and for advanced training and demonstrations, a blunt metal one. Together with the jō staff and the wooden bokken, it is a traditional aikido weapon, where the gokyō lock is often applied against a knife attack. In the Japanese imperial family, a newborn receives at the "sword gift" ceremony a protective tantō from the emperor, with a blade of 20–28 cm and a hira-zukuri grind.