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Katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge facing upward. Since the Muromachi period, many old ''tachi'' were cut from the root and shortened, and the blade at the root was crushed and converted into a ''katana''. The specific term for ''katana'' in Japan is and the term ''katana'' (刀) often refers to single-edged swords from around the world. Etymology and loanwords The word ''katana'' first appears in Japanese in the ''Nihon Shoki'' of 720. The term is a compound of ''kata'' ("one side, one-sided") + ''na'' ("blade"),1995, (''w:Daijisen, Daijisen'') (in Japanese), w:Tōkyō, Tōkyō: w:Shogakukan, Shogakukan, , entry available onlinhere/span> in contrast to the double-sided ''Tsurugi (sword), tsurugi''. The ''katana'' belongs to the ''nihontō'' family of swords, and is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Sword
A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the present day when speaking of "Japanese swords". There are many types of Japanese swords that differ by size, shape, field of application, and method of manufacture. Some of the more commonly known types of Japanese swords are the ''uchigatana'', ''tachi'', ''ōdachi'', ''wakizashi'', and ''tantō''. Etymology The word ''katana'' was used in ancient Japan and is still used today, whereas the old usage of the word ''nihontō'' is found in the poem the Song of ''Nihontō'', by the Song dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu. The word ''nihontō'' became more common in Japan in the late Tokugawa shogunate. Due to importation of Western swords, the word ''nihontō'' was adopted to distinguish it from the . ''Meibutsu'' (noted swords) is a special designat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tachi
A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the , or signature, on the tang. The ''tachi'' style of swords preceded the development of the ''katana'', which was not mentioned by name until near the end of the twelfth century. ''Tachi'' were the mainstream Japanese swords of the Kotō period between 900 and 1596. Even after the Muromachi period (1336–1573), when ''katana'' became the mainstream, ''tachi'' were often worn by high-ranking samurai. History The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods: * (ancient swords, until around 900) * (old swords, around 900–1596) * (new swords, 1596–1780) * (new new swords, 1781–1876) * (modern or contemporary swords, 1876–present) The predecessor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip. A slashing sword is more likely to be curved and to have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing. The precise definition of a sword varies by historical epoch and geographic region. Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger; the Bronze Age sword, earliest specimens date to about 1600 BC. The later Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The spatha, as it developed in the Late Roman army, became the predecessor of the European sword of the Middle Ages, at first adopted as the Migration Period sword, and only in the High Middle Ages, developed into the classical Knightly sword, ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iaijutsu
is a combative quick-draw sword technique. This art of drawing the Japanese sword, katana, is one of the Japanese ''ko-ryū'' martial art disciplines in the education of the classical warrior (samurai, bushi).Gordon Warner, Warner, Gordon and Donn F. Draeger, Draeger, Donn F. 2007, 8th ed. ''Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice'', Boston: Weatherhill. Purpose Iaijutsu is a combative sword-drawing art but not necessarily an aggressive art because iaijutsu is also a counterattack-oriented art. Iaijutsu technique may be used aggressively to wage a premeditated surprise attack against an unsuspecting enemy. The formulation of iaijutsu as a component system of classical bujutsu was made less for the dynamic situations of the battlefield than for the relatively static applications of the warrior's daily life off the field of battle. Etymology ''Battojutsu'' is an older name for ''iaijutsu''. Historically, it is unclear when the term "iaijutsu" originated. It is also unclea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsurugi (sword)
A or is a Japanese sword. The word is used in the West to refer to a specific type of Japanese straight, double-edged sword used in antiquity (as opposed to curved, single-edged swords such as the katana). In Japanese the term ''tsurugi'' or ''ken'' ( :ja:剣) is used as a term for all sorts of international long, double-edged swords. History The term ''tsurugi'' (剣) designates a straight, double-edged, bladed weapon from Japan. It is a sword with two cutting edges, one on each side of its blade, unlike the '' tachi'', ''katana'', ''wakizashi'', or '' odachi'', which have only one cutting edge on one side of the blade. The oldest bronze sword excavated in Japan is a Chinese style dagger from around 800 BC in the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD). A large number of bronze ''tsurugi'' made around 200 B.C. in the Yayoi period were excavated from several sites, and it is thought that ''tsurugi'' were mass-produced in Japan in this period. Bronze ''tsurugi'' of this period wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onna-musha
is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan, who were members of the ''bushi'' (warrior) class. They were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war; many of them fought in battle alongside samurai men. ''Onna-musha'' also have an important presence in Japanese literature, with Tomoe Gozen and Hangaku Gozen being famous and influential examples. Kamakura period The Genpei War (1180–1185) was a war between the Taira clan, Taira (Heike) and Minamoto clan, Minamoto (Genji) clans, two very prominent Japanese clans of the late-Heian period. The epic ''The Tale of the Heike'' was composed in the early 13th century in order to commemorate the stories of courageous and devoted samurai. Among those was Tomoe Gozen, servant of Minamoto no Yoshinaka of the Minamoto clan. She assisted Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoshinaka in defending himself against the forces of his cousin, Minamoto no Yoritomo, especially during the Battle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai With Tachi
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court downsized the national army and delegated the security of the countryside to these privately trained warriors. Eventually the samurai clans grew so powerful that they became the ''de facto'' rulers of the country. In the aftermath of the Gempei War (1180-1185), Japan formally passed into military rule with the founding of the first shogunate. The status of samurai became heredity by the mid-eleventh century. By the start of the Edo period, the shogun had disbanded the warrior-monk orders and peasant conscript system, leaving the samurai as the only men in the country permitted to carry weapons at all times. Because the Edo period was a time of peace, many samurai neglected their warrior training and focused on peacetime activities such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenjutsu
is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of kenjutsu in their curriculum. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "methods, techniques, and the art of the Japanese sword". This is opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword" and uses a bamboo sword ( shinai) and protective armour ( bōgu). The exact activities and conventions undertaken when practicing ''kenjutsu'' vary from school to school, where the word school here refers to the practice, methods, ethics, and metaphysics of a given tradition, yet commonly include practice of battlefield techniques without an opponent and techniques whereby two practitioners perform ''kata'' (featuring full contact strikes to the body in some styles and no body contact strikes permitted in others). Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
