Ancient Japanese Samurai Swords

The sword was used as a means of self defense for a long time till the invention of modern weapons. In Japan, the samurai swords were popular for their usage by warriors. The ancient Japanese swords were known by the name, nihonto. There were many types of nihonto swords, and the katana was one of them. The katana is similar to the tachi sword, and is long, curved and single-edged.

Who is a Samurai?

The term samurai was used to refer high ranking officials of the Japanese army in ancient times. The word samurai is actually a Chinese verb, which means to accompany or wait upon a person who belongs to the upper ranks of society. In Japanese, the word saburau is used to describe the above term.

Ancient Japanese Samurai Swords

The ancient samurai swords could be classified into three different categories or types, viz., the 'katana', the 'wakizashi' and the 'tanto'. Earlier, the samurai swords had a straight blade and the curved sword was introduced only after the 8th century.

Katana
The katana has been used by samurais from historic times. The sword is known for its cutting abilities owing to the sharp edges. The blade length of the katana is 60 cm and the guard is either square-shaped or circular. A katana with a single edge and a curved blade is known as 'sori', while the 'sugata' is double-edged and takes many different forms. The 'Muromachi Period' (1392 - 1573) was the time when the katana originated. The length of the blade of katana underwent variations during the course of time. During the 14th and 15th centuries, its length varied between 70 - 73 cm, while the length was 60 cm during the first half of the 16th century. In the latter half of the 16th century, the length was once again increased to 70 cm.

Wakizashi
The wakizashi sword is a little shorter than the katana, and it varies between 30 - 60 cm in terms of blade length. The samurais wore this sword along with the katana. When used in a pair, the katana and wakizashi are together known as daisho. The wakizashi was used as a companion sword, and the samurais wore it on the side of the katana. It was first used during the period between 1332 and 1369. During the Momoyama period, the government had set rules as to who should use the different types of swords. Samurais were allowed to use the wakizashi. However, the rules were often disobeyed and the members of the yakuza gang and few townsmen used this sword too. The wakizashi sword was used as a back-up or extra weapon in times of an emergency. Enemies were decapitated with the help of these swords. The wakizashi was also used for committing ritual suicides.

Tanto
The tanto is actually a double-edged knife with the length between 15 - 30 cm. Tanto was used as a stabbing weapon, and it originated in the Heian period. The knife had become popular during the Muromachi and Shin-Shinto periods. The specialty of the tanto knife is that it doesn't have ridge lines, and thus the sides are flat. Yoroidoshi, a type of tanto knife had rhick cross-sections, and was thus used for the purpose of piercing armors. Sometimes, the tanto was used as an alternative to wakizashi in the daisho. Nowadays, tanto knifes with blunt wooden edges are used for the purpose of training or demonstrations in martial arts.

The ancient Japanese samurai swords were used for different purposes in different time periods, and were developed as per the requirements of those times. This made the samurai swords a very useful and indispensable weapon to fight with.