Swords of Ancient Japan - A Review of Japanese Swords

The Japanese Sword which is also called a NihontoThe Japanese Swordsmith Assocition holds a
in Japanese is one of the standard weapons usedyearly competition which you can go to and view
in Japan. These weapons are broken up intomany authentic swords. The new usage of the
several distinct categories depending either on theword Nihonto is now called Katana. This is the
size or in the way they were manufactured. Theterm you hear a lot today. Not all swords are
most popular type is known as the Katanacreated equal. Each Sword Blade has its own
Sword. It is somewhat similar to the Tachi. Theunique attributes. These attributes depend on the
Ancient Japanese Sword is sharp at one end, issmith who designed it as well as the method of
usually very long and curved at the same time.construction. A Scabbard that attaches itself to a
The Samurai carried this sword from 1400 ADNihonto is referred to as a saya. The hand guard
onward.is referred to as a Tsuba.
The Wakizashi is a smaller version of this weapon.The length of a Japanese Sword is measured in
The Tsurugi are swords that are sharp on bothunits called a Shaku. One Shaku is about one feet
ends and are very long in comparison to thelong. So if you ever hear someone saying that a
Wakizashi which is very short. Older and lengthierShoto sword for example is 2 Shaku, you can
versions of these swords that are also sharp justconclude for yourself that it's approximately 2
on one side are known as the Nodachi or O-Tachi.feet long. So if a typical blade is less than one
You can still find Ancient Style Japanese SwordsShaku, which it is, it is considered a knife and not
all over the place. You can't locate thema Sword. This is the case with the Kodachi and
everywhere but Authentic Japanese Swords canWakizashi. The Straight Line of a sword is the
still be purchased today. There are a few hundredstraight distance from the tip to the back of the
Sword Makers out there that still manufacture theblade.
Nihonto.