Japanese Weapons ᐉ Japanese Martial Arts Weapons

Buy the most authentic and practical japanese weapons. Functional Katanas, Wakizashis to Bokken and Tantos. Check our Samurai swords collection.

The Katana

The katana (in Japanese 日本 刀 nihontō, literally 'Japanese sword') or katana is a "kind of cutlass of Japanese origin" according to the RAE. Katana is the kun'yomi or Japanese reading of the kanji 刀; the on'yomi or Chinese reading is tō.

It refers to a particular type of single-edged, curved sword traditionally used by samurai. Its most frequent size is around a meter in length and a kilo in mass. The most widespread type of katana today is known as "Oda Nobunaga", alluding to the daimyō who created this model, with a curved blade and about a meter in total length.

The wakizashi

The wakizashi (脇 差 or 脇 指: わ き ざ し?), Also known as shōtō (小刀?), Is a traditional Japanese short sword, with a length of between 30 and 60 centimeters. In the case of the shorter one, one would almost have to speak of tantō, a Japanese type of knife.

Its shape is similar to that of the katana, although the blade is generally thinner and therefore can hit an unprotected target more seriously. Samurai warriors often carried both with them, collectively calling them daishō, literally 'the long and the short'.

The tantō

The tantō is a short-edged1 2 weapon similar to a single or double-edged dagger with a blade length between 15 and 30 cm (6-12 inches). At first glance it may be mistaken for a "small katana", but its design is actually different. Although the aesthetics are identical, the design of the blade and tsuka (grip) are substantially simpler.

The bokken

The bokken (木 剣 boku, "wood", and ken, "saber"?) Is a wooden saber used in various classical martial arts from Japan, mainly in: Japanese classical fencing or kenjutsu, modern traditional fencing or kendō, the art of drawing and cutting with the saber or iaidō, and the art of swordsmanship with a cane or jōdō. It is also used by several traditional Japanese martial arts essentially without weapons as an integral part of their practice such as: jiu jitsu, Aikidō, ninjutsu, judo and Japanese kobudō. It is used primarily as a replacement or representation of the real sword or katana.