Katana

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

Katana. Dresden, Zwinger-Museum. 16th or 17th century.

Katana is a Japanese long sword handled (used) mainly by samurai warriors. It is the most important sword of the three swords worn by samurai: katana, wakizashi, and tanto. The katana was popular beginning with 1400 A.D. and up to 1867, when the samurai disappeared as a social class.

In Japanese, "katana" means a long sword and it represents a blade, which is a little curved, with a single edge and a very sharp point.

1 Classification of Katana
2 Manufacturing
3 Katana and the Japanese traditions
4 References
5 Other websites

[change] Classification of Katana

One of the classifications of katanas is:

Original katana - Nihonto
Our days katana - Shinsaku, Shinken
Our days katana designed for trainings - Iaito
Decorative, replica katanas.

[change] Manufacturing

Today, katanas are mainly made of stainless steel of different quality. But there are some swords made of zinc and aluminum alloys, which are able to resist some external forces and serve only for decorative purposes. To determine the quality of a katana it is enough to check its resistance (when it is bent), elasticity (the ability of katana to return to the initial shape), and endurance of the blade after striking.

Generally, katana is designed for cutting, but it was widely used for stabbing too. This depended mainly on the length of the hilt. The katana could be easily used for cutting if it was made for using with both hands. It was used for stabbing when the katana was made for using with one hand. As a rule, katana was worn by the belt with its blade up.^[1]

[change] Katana and the Japanese traditions

Katana was very important in the society of Japan, so it has become a very important thing in their society. This sword was considered the "soul" of its master. Only a samurai was allowed to have a katana. A simple man with a katana sword could be killed at once.

There was a tradition of wearing, taking care and taking the katana out of its scabbard (the cover of a sword or a knife). A samurai had to pay attention to the way he wore the katana when entering someone's house. A certain position in which a samurai has taken his sword out of the cover could be understood as aggression.

It was also important the way a samurai keeps his katana on a special stand for swords, called katana-kake. This stand was used for both katana and wakizashi. The blade had to have its point up, just as when wearing the sword; the handle (called hilt) had to be turned left. This made katana available for handling any time it was needed.

The art of handling a katana was developed in martial arts like kenjutsu and iaijutsu. Today, this art is practiced in iaido and kendo martial arts. The last one is the art of dueling with bamboo or wooden sword. Old schools of handling katana swords still exist. The most famous are: Kashima Shin-ryu, Kashima Shinto-ryu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu.

Most appreciated technique of handling a katana is a school called Nitto Ryu. This school taught how to use both a katana and a wakizashi during a fight. The most famous samurai, who improved this art was Miyamoto Musashi.