The Tachi is considerably more curved than the Katana This was a revolutionary feature, especially for that time, and opened the way for the advent of martial arts that were based exclusively on this possibility.Ģ. In addition, it also allowed the possibility of drawing it and hitting with it at the same time. Its size made the katana a more versatile weapon, allowing also to fight in more closed spaces and being also very effective without the need to be on horseback. One of the main innovations of the katana was to make it shorter, so it was easier to wield and concentrate all the force of its strike in a smaller area. The Katana has (or used to have) a shorter blade This sword, however, lost its popularity when the new shogunate law forbade the carrying of swords that passed a certain length.Īlthough the tachi is a weapon with a huge history behind it and with its own uses, its resemblance to the world famous katana makes it logical that people sometimes ask: What is the difference between a katana and a tachi?ġ. Many of these colossal swords were used in prayer before a war, and others were displayed in religious places, treating them as mythical swords. Secondly, the odachi was also used as a ceremonial weapon. Its specialty was descending cuts, as these made better use of the weight of the sword. Firstly, it was used as an infantry sword, mainly as a weapon against cavalry. It is known that the odachi traditionally had two functions. They used to be carried with a strap on the back, as they were too heavy and large to be carried on the belt. This is a larger Tachi, with a length of about 91 cm. On the other hand, there is the odachi/nodachi, also known as the “field sword”. It is also believed that they could have been swords for teenagers, as they used to be produced in sword-making schools. It is believed that these swords could have been used as a complement to the Tachi (in a similar way to how the katana and wakizashi are used). These possessed the same characteristics of the Tachi, including its striking design, but were usually less than 60 cm long.
On the one hand, there were the kodachi, which can be translated as “small sword” or “small tachi”. This period is known as the golden age of the nihonto (Japanese sword), and was led by the famous Tachi.ĭuring this period, the dimensions of the Tachi were also experimented with, creating two variants of the sword. Not only was the design of the Tachi perfected, but also its style changed considerably, becoming more attractive, luxurious, and efficient. The importance that the samurai class had gained made Kakamura a mecca for these swords during this time. Soon, all kinds of sword makers began to gather in Kakamura, the most famous of which was Masamune himself, creator of swords so good that they were said to have mystical powers. During this time, Kakamura had been transformed, under the leadership of Minamoto no Yorimoto, into the capital of the country, becoming a hub of both technological and cultural innovation.
Out in the Kakamura era (1184 – 1333) emerged the power of the samurai class.
Thus it is possible to identify, for example, that the oldest Tachi was forged by Namihira Yukimasa, which was made in the year 1159. Lighter even than a conventional katana, considering its size.īy this time it had become customary for a blacksmith, such as an artist, to sign his creation. These Tachi used by mounted samurai were considerably lighter than one might expect when looking at them. It didn’t take long for it to become a famous sword.
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Its curved shape allowed the full force of the high speeds that could be reached on horseback to be concentrated in the middle of the sword.Īll this momentum concentrated in a smaller area translated into powerful attacks like those never seen before in Japanese history. A weapon that harnessed all the power a horse was capable of generating.Īnd when it emerged, it proved destructive on the battlefield. The Tachi was created with just this in mind, in order to create an even more powerful weapon. Back then, samurai used to fight mainly on horseback with straight swords and bows. This was because it was necessary for the Japanese horsemen to have the greatest possible range, but without the sword being too long to lose its balance when used, which could be fatal in the middle of a battle.ĭuring this time, the cavalry was one of the fundamental pillars of the Japanese army (enhanced by the knowledge gained from the Emishi). At that time, these samurai swords were usually between seventy and eighty-two centimeters in size, making them a little larger than what we are accustomed to seeing in katanas. The tachi blade first appeared during the Koto period.
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