Japanese Swords - A Tradition
Also known as the nihonto, Japanese swords are basically the traditional bladed weapons made in Japan. Most of which are single-edged swords which are usually curved to some degree, as opposed to the straight edged medieval swords. The Japanese swords were also distinct in a sense that they were they were lighter than the heavy western counterparts, but nevertheless equally deadly because of its potential cutting power in the hands of a well trained samurai or ninja.
Japanese swords, however, were not without variety. The Wakizashi were a bit shorter than the average length, an example of which is the Hanwei – Golden Oriole Wakizashi. The Tsurugi, on the other hand, were double-edged, instead of having only a sharp edge on one side. There are also weapons like the Yari and the Naginata which are actually pole-mounted weapons but still under the Japanese sword family because of the way they are forged.
After World War II, Japanese swords were actually banned both in terms of possession as well as its production. The only exception was that if the person was a member of the police or has a government-issued permit. This was, however, eventually amended such that swords that had artistic and aesthetic value were allowed.
This opened up the number of sword smiths that produced civilian swords. Eventually, the likes of Paul Chen and Masahiro have become popular brands of modern Japanese swords, known for their accurate imitation of the traditional methods of making these ancient weapons and adding a little modern touch to it. Some of their works include the Elite Fuji Katana and the Hanwei Bamboo Stick Katana. These swords were appealing to all consumers such that they were both practical and artistic.
Under Japanese swords are also the Ninja Sword variety, which are actually a wider range of weapons other than the katana which were also traditionally used by Japanese warriors, though not necessarily Samurai. While sometimes these weapons no longer had any resemblance to the nihonto, they are nevertheless equally powerful weapons in the right hands and are weapons attributed to Japanese weaponry all the same.