Katana
Description

The katana is generally defined as the standard sized, moderately curved (as opposed to the older tachi featuring more curvature) Japanese sword with a blade length greater than 60.6 cm (23.86 inches) (over 2 shaku). It is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard (tsuba) and long grip to accommodate two hands.

With a few exceptions, katana and tachi can be distinguished from each other, if signed, by the location of the signature (mei) on the tang (nakago). In general, the mei should be carved into the side of the nakago which would face outward when the sword was worn. Since a tachi was worn with the cutting edge down, and the katana was worn with the cutting edge up, the mei would be in opposite locations on the tang.

Western historians have said that katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history. However, the main weapons on the battlefield in the Sengoku period in the 16th century were yumi (bow), yari (spear), and tanegashima (gun), and katana and tachi were used only for close combat. During this period, the tactics changed to a group battle by ashigaru (foot soldiers) mobilized in large numbers, so naginata and tachi became obsolete as weapons on the battlefield and were replaced by yari and katana. In the relatively peaceful Edo period, katana increased in importance as a weapon, and at the end of the Edo period, shishi (political activists) fought many battles using katana as their main weapon. Katana and tachi were often used as gifts between daimyo (feudal lord) and samurai, or as offerings to the kami enshrined in Shinto shrines, and symbols of authority and spirituality of samurai.
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