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The diameter of the average katana tsuba is 7.5–8 centimetres (3.0–3.1 in), wakizashi tsuba is 6.2–6.6 cm (2.4–2.6 in), and tantō tsuba is 4.5–6 cm (1.8–2.4 in). During the Muromachi period (1333–1573) and the Momoyama period (1573–1603) Tsuba were more for functionality than for decoration, being made of stronger metals and ...
Blades whose length is next to a different classification type are described with a prefix 'O-' (for great) or 'Ko-' (for small), e.g. a Wakizashi with a length of 59 cm is called an O-wakizashi (almost a Katana) whereas a Katana of 61 cm is called a Ko-Katana (for small Katana; but note that a small accessory blade sometimes found in the ...
[24] [25] The tsuba (hand guard) of the ninjato is described in one contemporary source as being larger than average and square instead of the much more common round tsuba. One source's belief about the ninjatō tsuba size and shape is that the user would lean the sword against a wall and would use the tsuba as a step to extend his normal reach ...
The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length [10] and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. [11]
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"), [6] [7] [8] in contrast to the double-sided tsurugi. The katana belongs to the nihontō family of swords, and is distinguished by a blade length (nagasa) of more than 2 shaku, approximately 60 cm (24 in). [9]
kōgai (笄) – a skewer for the owner's hair-do, carried in a pocket of the scabbards of katana and wakizashi on the side opposite of the kozuka. [33] [34] kogatana (小刀) – any knife, particularly a small utility knife carried in a pocket of the scabbards of katana and wakizashi. ko-itame-hada (小板目肌) – see itame-hada. [35]
It is hard to determine precisely when the first bokken appeared due to secrecy in ancient martial arts training and loose record-keeping. While various mock weapons were surely used during the earlier periods of Japanese history, usage of bokken in their modern form first emerged during the Muromachi Period (1336–1600) for the training of samurai warriors in the various ryū (schools of ...
The weight at the end of the shaft (ishizuki), and the shaft itself (ebu) can be used offensively and defensively. The martial art of wielding the naginata is known as naginatajutsu . Most naginata practice today is in a modernised form, a gendai budō called atarashii Naginata ("new Naginata" [ 3 ] ), which is organized into regional, national ...