is a type of Japanese sword (nihontō), without doubt the most common sub-category. Originally used as a general term for single-edged sword, as opposed to , which is double-edged sword, the term is now used specifically to describe nihontō that are around 70–90 cm long with a curved blade. This is different from , which is a straight blade. What most do not know is that the katana was no doubt very popular during the age of the samurai but used mostly for civilian purposes instead of open warfare much like the rapier. More common Japanese war swords consisted of the Wakizashi, the Daitō, or the Tachi.

Pronounced kah-tah-nah in the kun'yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji 刀, the word has been adopted as a loanword by the English language. As Japanese does not have separate plural and singular forms, both "katanas" and "katana" are considered acceptable plural forms in English. Strictly speaking, the word "katana" only refers to the longer variants of nihontō.

The katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or shōtō, a similarly made but small sword, both worn by the members of the warrior class. It could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped blade. The two weapons together were called the daishō, and represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai. The long blade was used for open combat, while the shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing, close quarters combat, decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.

The British government will add 'Samurai swords' defined as: "a sword with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, the length of the blade shall be the straight line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade” to the Offensive Weapons Order, in response to reports that "Samurai swords" were used in more than 80 attacks and four killings over the four preceding years. Those who violate the ban would be jailed up to six months and charged a fine of 5,000 GBP. Martial arts practitioners, historical re-enactors and people currently possessing such swords are, however, exempt from the ban Offensive Weapons Order. Also exempt from the ban are swords made in Japan before 1954 and at any other time "according to traditional forging methods"Offensive Weapons Order. The ban on curved swords will be enacted in April 2008, when the purchase, sale, giving, lending and hire of these weapons will be made illegal[.

See also

• Japanese sword
• Katana construction
• Kenjutsu
• Samurai
• Tachi
• Wakizashi

Part of sword:

• Tsuba
• Katana Yenn

Further reading

• Takeuchi, S. Alexander Common Length of Tsuka on Nihon-to from a Socio-Historical Perspective. Retrieved on 2008-02-20..

References