Osprey - Weapon 05 - Katana. The Samurai Sword.pdf

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KATANA:
THE SAMURAI SWORD
STEPHEN TURNBULL
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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KATANA:
THE SAMURAI SWORD
STEPHEN TURNBULL
Series Editor Martin Pegler
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
4
DEVELOPMENT
9
Katana: the soul of the samurai
USE
29
Swordsmanship, battles and duels
IMPACT
56
The Japanese icon
CONCLUSION
73
GLOSSARY
77
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
79
INDEX
80
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
INTRODUCTION
The Japanese word ‘ katana ’ is that used most commonly to identify the
deadly curved sword of the samurai: the final evolutionary stage of what
is probably the finest edged weapon in world military history. The origins
of the katana lay in the straight-bladed swords of ancient Japan, and
from these straight swords the tachi evolved, which was the first type of
Japanese sword to have a curved blade. Tachi would be slung from the
belts of the early samurai – the members of Japan’s knightly class. However,
the transformation of the tachi into the katana had less to do with shape
and construction than with mode of use. Changes in swordsmanship meant
that the sword, sometimes in a shortened form, would be thrust into the
belt with its cutting edge uppermost, rather than suspended from the belt.
Now the samurai could deliver a deadly swordstroke as part of the action
of drawing his weapon, rather than having to execute a two-handed
movement of unsheathing and preparation. Such was the weapon that was
to become the sword of legend.
Not surprisingly, the legends and traditions surrounding the katana are
inseparable from the culture of the men who wore and used it, because no
edged weapon in history has been more closely associated with its owner
than the Japanese sword has been with the samurai. To a samurai, one’s
katana was both a weapon and a symbol. Never has the relationship
between man and sword been better expressed than in the words of the
great shogun (military dictator) of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616),
who advised his successors that ‘the sword is the soul of the warrior’.
No samurai would ever be without his sword, whether he was wearing
armour or everyday clothes, and a sword forged by a celebrated master
was one of the most precious gifts a warrior could receive. The sword,
in its rest position thrust into the belt, would tell the world that its owner
was a true samurai – a member of a social and military elite – since
members of the lower classes did not carry weapons (theoretically, at least).
OPPOSITE
This modern reworking of an old
woodblock print shows a samurai
with a katana. Standing with one
foot on the plinth of a Buddhist
statue, he holds his sword in the
raised position. The scabbard
thrust into his belt in the classic
katana style allows the weapon
to be drawn rapidly. He also has
a shorter sword, conventionally
called a wakizashi.
4
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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5
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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