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A tachi is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Tachi and uchigatana generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the mei (銘), or signature, on the tang.
Typical features of Japanese swords represented by katana and tachi are a three-dimensional cross-sectional shape of an elongated pentagonal to hexagonal blade called shinogi-zukuri, a style in which the blade and the tang (nakago) are integrated and fixed to the hilt (tsuka) with a pin called mekugi, and a gentle curve.
Typical features of Japanese swords represented by katana and tachi are a three-dimensional cross-sectional shape of an elongated pentagonal or hexagonal blade called shinogi-zukuri, a style in which the blade and the tang (nakago) are integrated and fixed to the hilt (tsuka) with a pin called mekugi, and a gentle curve.
The wakizashi has a blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in) in length. [1] Wakizashi close to the length of a katana are called ō-wakizashi and wakizashi closer to tantō length are called ko-wakizashi. [1] Wakizashi are not necessarily just a smaller version of the katana; they could be forged differently and have a different cross-section. [5]
The explanation of the difference between a tachi and a katana makes it sound like a matter of fashion. It was not, it was a change of use driven by social changes. The older swords were intended to by used on horseback in a battlefield. They were long and slung low from the belt so that they could be drawn upwards safely past the horses head.
Their definition as tachi (大刀) is specifically chronological, as it refers solely to ancient pre- Heian swords, unlike tachi (太刀) which refers to later swords. These ancient Japanese swords are also known as jokotō ( 上古刀 , ancient sword) .
In the tachi developed after kenukigata-tachi, a structure in which the hilt is fixed to the tang (nakago) with a pin called mekugi was adopted. As a result, a sword with three basic external elements of Japanese swords, the cross-sectional shape of shinogi-zukuri, a gently curved single-edged blade, and the structure of nakago, was completed ...
By the end of the Kamakura period the tachi was superseded by a shorter weapon in a new form, called katana. [ 2 ] : 13 It was with the general widespread use of the curved sword mounted and worn as a katana that classical Japanese swordsmanship for infantry applications really begins.