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The specific term for katana in Japan is uchigatana (打刀, うちがたな, lit. 'striking sword') and the term katana (刀) often refers to single-edged swords from around the world. [ 5 ] Etymology and loanwords
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.
Other types of Japanese swords include: tsurugi or ken, which is a straight double-edged sword; [19] ōdachi, tachi, which are older styles of a very long curved single-edged sword; uchigatana, a slightly shorter curved single-edged long sword; wakizashi, a medium-sized sword; and tantō, which is an even smaller knife-sized sword.
The swords of Masamune possess a reputation for superior beauty and quality, remarkable in a period where the steel necessary for swords was often impure. He is considered to have brought to perfection the art of " nie " ( 錵 , martensitic crystals embedded in pearlite matrix , thought to resemble stars in the night sky) .
The official full name for the blade and its mountings designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs is Tachi Mumei-Ichimonji (Yamatorige) Hitokuchi tsuketari Uchigatana-Goshirae (太刀 無銘一文字（山鳥毛） 一口 附 打刀拵, "An Unsigned Tachi by the Ichimonji School (Yamatorige) with Mountings for a Katana-Type Sword").
These ancient Japanese swords are also known as jokotō (上古刀, ancient sword). [8] chōken (長剣, long sword) – Commonly used as a calque for the broadest definition of (European) long swords. chōtō (長刀, lit. long sword) – either a nagakatana (due to long blade) or a naginata (due to long handle). [9]
The Chinese equivalent of this type of sword in terms of weight and length is the miaodao or the earlier zhanmadao, and the Western battlefield equivalent (though less similar) is the Zweihänder. To qualify as an ōdachi , the sword in question would have a blade length of around 3 shaku (90.9 cm (35.8 in)).
Outside Japan, katana is a sword worn with the blade facing up, which became the mainstream Japanese sword after tachi, but in Japan, it is specifically called uchigatana. The term katana in Japan is a broad term that refers to single-edged swords from all over the world, and it is necessary to pay attention to the confusion in the vocabulary.