What is the difference between samurai sword and katana

The samurai soldiers were associated with nobility and their main task was to guard the royal members of the ancient Japanese society. The ninjas were a tactical team of warriors in the society, they decided to either use their swords or martial arts to win a fight.

Some of the differences between the two swords include the following:. Samurai Swords. Two Types of Samurai Swords. There were two major types of samurai swords. They included the long bladed and the short bladed. The short bladed was referred to as Wakizashi. There was a lot of importance attached to the swords; soldiers were prohibited from leaving their swords behind.

A samurai soldier would always be seen carrying their sword. Their swords were very precious and it was even taboo to touch the swords with bare hands. If they were to die, a samurai soldier would never let his sword go. Elegant Designs. The katana remains widespread in its appeal. Shinkendo, the combination of old and new Japanese sword arts, has become a popular martial art to learn the techniques in using the katana. The ownership of the samurai sword in Japan follows strict regulations--according to Guido Schiller on Nihonto Kanji Pages, any katana imported or owned in Japan must have accompanying registration proving its authenticity.

Michael Smathers studies history at the University of West Georgia. He has written freelance online for three years, and has been a Demand Studios writer since April Michael has written content on health, fitness, the physical sciences and martial arts.

Swords are designed to have flexibility so that users can handle them easily. And their blades are designed to be able to chop things by power.

These characteristics must be appropriate for knights who were physically superior to Samurais, whose average heights were said to be only cm 5. Because Samurais were not tall and not physically tough like knights, they needed to have blades which enable them to cut things easily with less power. Therefore, swordsmith had developed a method to forging steels by hammering numerous times, and sharpen the blade by natural stones. Thus, katana, very thin and multifold razor-edge steel blade, were invented.

They were considered the ruling class at the time. They took on military matters, and eventually, their class became one of the highest classes in all of Japan. These samurai carried a variety of weapons. Here are the different samurai swords and the differences of each. First is the katana. It is often distinguished by a long curved blade.

The curvature is approximately 1 inch. It is usually handled with two hands and can strike from a distance. Its blade is single edged and has a hilt often shaped in a circle or square.

The hilt takes up a fourth of this length. Next, we have the wakizashi. This type of samurai sword is often worn with the katana. It typically measures at around 50 cm. This shorter weapon was the typical side arm of the samurai. It was worn by the samurai at all times. Oftentimes, when samurai entered houses or estates of other people, they would leave their katanas but keep their wakizashis.

The tanto is similar to the wakizashi. It is a small dagger typically carried by early samurai. Although by the end of the samurai era, the tanto was usually used for decorative purposes.

These blades could either have single or double edged blades. They were typically used for piercing or stabbing. Then we have the nodachi. This was a massive or great sword that is bigger and longer than the katana. Foot soldiers often carried these weapons and were good against cavalry or when in open spaces.

Conversely, these weapons are not good for close range fights or constricted spaces. Finally, we have the tachi. The tachi is actually the samurai sword preceding the katana. It is longer and larger than the katana, with the average length reaching 75cm. This sword was specifically for samurai on horseback. We have gone through the various samurai swords. The biggest distinction that the katana has is the curved blade and the workmanship put into it.

The katana is seen as the greatest and most effective melee weapon that has ever been created by man. It combined the beauty of craftsmanship, the strength of a blade that can cut a man in two, and the accuracy to split a fine hair in two. Prior to the katana, the samurai were using blades called chokutos. The blades were straight in nature since at the time they often fought on foot.

However, when the battlefield introduced horses, everything changed. One blacksmith found that most of the swords that were made for war often came back destroyed. The blacksmith — Amakuni — studied what was happening and came back with the new curved edge blade. It was called the tachi.