One story goes something like this: a historian was presented with a sword shorter than 60cm, and the owner said it was a katana. They would encounter people calling a short sword a "katana", a pretty much identical blade a "tachi", and then refer to a blade a bit longer than the katana a "wakizashi". The reason many of these very vague terms are usually described overly specific, is because during the 1800s, western historians were really struggling to classify Japanese weapons. Kodachi means "small big katana", but refers to any short sword, so the word is a bit nonsensical. Uchi-gatana specifies that it's a sword long enough to strike with. Using the word katana is just a very non-descript way of referring to a blade. However, if you go and train in Japan, you will notice that the Japanese frequently refer to short swords as katana, kodachi, shoto, or wakizashi. Typically, the internet understanding of the subject is that katana are only blades between 60-90cm, and are worn edge-up. This means that what we today would call a katana, are uchi-gatana. The short ones were too short to effectively strike with, but with these longer ones, they could. Literally meaning a katana you can strike with. These were called "katana" (and still are, actually).ĭuring the 12th century, people started wearing longer versions of these short swords. Before the 1300s, low-ranking soldiers (usually servants of a samurai) would wear blades which were essentially what we would call a wakizashi (although this wouldn't be the correct term) today. For example, a razor is called "kamisori" and uses the kanji for katana (lit. The word katana literally refers to any kind of single-edged blade. Katana and uchigatana were not specific classifications of swords. Katana just means "single-edged blade", so it can refer to almost anything if it's not specified. These are just a few of the ways in which the Japanese katana differs from the tachi.Tl dr: Uchi-gatana means "striking katana", which is why some sources say they are the same as katana. If they were, however, you can usually tell if it's a katana or tachi by looking at the placement of the signature. Due to the way in which the katana was worn, the signature was reversed. By wearing the katana with the cutting up, samurai warriors could draw it more naturally.įinally, the tachi was usually signed by the swordsmith who made it on the tang. ![]() The katana, however, was unique in the sense that it was worn with the cutting edge up. Like nearly all other traditional Japanese swords - and swords produced in other regions for that matter - the tachi was worn with the cutting edge down. The tachi curved more deeply than its katana counterpart.Īnother key difference between the katana and tachi involves the way in which they were worn. You can typically distinguish the two swords by looking at the curvature of the blades. However, the latter featured more prominent curvature than the former. The Tachi Featured More Prominent Curvatureīoth the katana and tachi featured a curved blade. It also allowed samurai warriors to draw the sword more quickly. The shorter blade made the katana a more versatile weapon, especially in close-quarter combat. In comparison, katanas featured a blade length of about 23 1/2 inches. Traditional Japanese tachis typically featured a blade length of 27 9/16 to 31 1/2 inches. As a result, it's believed the katana was designed using similar forging and construction techniques as its tachi predecessor.Īdditionally, the katana was designed with a shorter blade than the tachi. Historians believe that Japanese swordsmiths developed the tachi in the Koto period (900 to 1596), whereas the first use of the word "katana" didn't occur until the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333). The truth, however, is that each sword has its own unique characteristics, some of which we're going to explore in this blog post.įirst and foremost, it's important to note that the tachi was invented before the katana. ![]() ![]() Because of this, many people assume the two swords are the same. Both the katana and tachi share some striking similarities, including a single edge with a curved blade and tsuba (guard). Both originating many centuries ago during the country's feudal period, they were used extensively by samurai warriors. The katana and tachi are two of the most recognizable Japanese swords.
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