Japanese Swords: 101- “Not Every Sword Is A Katana”

Through no fault of anyone in particular, except for rumor and natural progression, terms for various items have become commonplace. Whether a word was used among family and friends, because it’s just easier to say the wrong word, or because modern marketing has us trained to their vocabulary, we frequently assign a ‘name’ to things which simply aren’t true, or use a word so frequently it loses its impact and intention (called Semantic Satiation, by the way). Example:  “Buffalo Wings” are not Buffalo’s wings, they are chicken wings, right? Such is the case with “Katana”. It is my hope that we may find a few new words to help uphold the diversity that in weapon-making, identifying, and using.  So without further adieu, a quick list to what Japanese swords are actually called, and a spot-check way to tell them apart. *

There are three main divisions, usually, although there are deeper designations the further one gets into collecting, but for a good base, there are primarily: Tanto, Wakizashi, and Katana. Read More…  (more…)