A is a long, single or (very rarely) double-edged Japanese

knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

usually without ornamental fittings housed in a plain but lacquered mount.

Uses

The was once carried by men and women of the

samurai 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 d ...

class in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was useful for self-defense in indoor spaces where the long-bladed

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 fa ...

and intermediate-length were inconvenient. Women carried them in their

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...

either in a pocket-like space () or in the sleeve pouch () for self-defense and for ritual suicide by slashing the veins in the left side of the neck. When a samurai woman married, she was expected to carry a with her when she moved in with her husband. The was also carried concealed in its by the lower classes who were not permitted to wear swords, in particular by criminals in the Edo period. In modern Japan, a is worn as a traditional accessory for the (referee) in

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

matches for the highest ranks. However, a real blade is not used. No one legally wears or carries a today in Japan, as this is a violation of the Gun and Sword Law. They can be legally transported, however, provided they are carried together with their registration certificate.

Orthography

Due to pronunciation changes over time, the blade's name has shifted from to . The is also referred to as a or a .

References

External links

*
Nihonto message board forum

Samurai swords Japanese sword types Japanese knives {{Japan-hist-stub

Uses

Orthography

See also

References

External links