Katana vs. Tachi #shorts

There are a few other ways one might distinguish the two (e.g. the maker's signature will be situated such that it will be visible when the sword is displayed correctly: Uchigatana Edge Up / Tachi Edge Down) Though they may, or may not be present.

The Uchigatana is available here:

The Tachi is available here:

#sword #katana #tachi #uchigatana #samurai

[nickthegreat]

I appreciate that most Dark souls specify an Uchigatana, seems like one of the only pieces of media that seems to make that distinction

[alexwilmes]

The tachi was used primarily when the Samurai were mounted archers. It was worn in a way that was more accommodating to riding on horseback. The uchigatana was a foot soldiers weapon at its inception. The Edo period is where the uchigatana became the ubiquitous sword due to mounted warfare being pretty much a thing of the past, and a law dictating what swords a Samurai was required to carry as a mark of their class.

[lildragon]

Yes, you got that right. But more info:
- Tachi were longer
- Tachi were used primarily by cavalry
- Uchigatana were used primarily by infantry
- Bladesmith markings on the tang always face outward when worn and outward depends on wearing blade edge up vs edge down

[Zoraxon]

I really like your style of content for the shorts. Not flashy or hyper stylized, but also not super watered down. You present yourself professionally and it comes across regardless of the topic you cover. Always enjoy learning about gear, tactics, or history when I see you in my feed!

[darkencroix]

My favorite hidden difference is also where the swordsmith's signature is. If worn properly, it should be pointing outwards regardless of which one you're talking about.

[earthtoastro]

The only thing not brought up is that their are even more misconceptions because their are tachi made to look like uchi-gatana, and vice versa depending on the style and period that samurai lived in. A Handachi is a Tachi that is less curved and worn downward, same size as the uchi-gatana but used the same way as a tachi or, vice versa. Something I've noticed among weapons with the samurai is that people should never forget their way when it comes to the weapons they use in battle, Musashi always made the emphasis of "always carry the weapons you need, nothing less nothing more" or something along those lines. I imagine this was a way for the warring period samurai to adapt to the more peaceful times while still keeping their traditional style of fighting.

[clueless]

I LOVE the color combo on that tachi, its beautiful.

[droganovic]

I like to think that when he says he's been "repeatedly educated on the subject" he means Bruce has told him, _many times._

Thanks for sharing this knowledge with us Clark 😀

[starwolven]

You look like a dapper Superman. 😊 The more I watch your content, the more I gain an appreciation for your sword knowledge and solid kata.

[aristosachaion_]

You're pretty much spot on with this. Interested to know where you got the katana from though. Is it the same seller as with the tachi?

[Muichi__]

I love how beautifully crafted these swords are and how well maintained they are

[hugom]

Seems all the comments have served you well haha! Well done overall! Only thing I would add is that your tachi is a later period (16th century) version around the time the uchigatana was prevalent. Around this time the differences in the sword was mainly the mountings/fittings as the length was essentially the same and curvature varies with all swords but tachi tend to have their curve lower down (closer to the hilt) on the blade while uchigatana were more curved at the end. Early Tachi (11th-13th century) was quite different. Generally lighter and thinner as it is a single arm cavalry sword that had more of a taper and curved more near the hilt of the blade. Some had a pronounced curved but many were nearly straight at the blade. They likely descend from a weapon of the Emishi people called a Warabiteto.

Sorry I’m sure you get a lot of comments trying to “correct” you but I’m just trying to help spread more information for the sake of knowledge! Good stuff
(Edit: Misspellings)

[shirakawaszk]

The uchikatana is a bit straighter due to its main usage in dueling between individuals of the samurai class. The dueling style of sword fighting which evolved into modern kendo emphasizes the technique of thrusting and the mutual confrontation of the 'middle form'. If the sword is mounted blade up, the 'middle form' is a natural posture when pulled out. The Tachi is more curved, and mounted blade down for the ease of deployment in horseback combat during warfare. And when pulled out the tachi goes into the 'upper form', which is a more aggressive form that emphasizes high impact slashing on armored enemies instead of guarding and thrusting of the 'middle form'.

[pollywogapocalypse]

Great vid.
Love the information and delivery.
A+++ for providing all the visual aids.

[dallassandau]

I love your historical analysis of these weapons keep it up

[Indra_the_goblin]

Something important to remember when classifying swords (at least European ones, but I think it's similar for everywhere) is that they were made to serve a function first and foremost and not to fit a definition, many terms we use for swords nowadays were only invented a good while after the swords had stopped being used, if you asked the people at the time most likely they'd just call it a sword.

My point is that the definitions aren't law.

[khemchatr]

Tachi used primarily by the cavalry. The fact that Tachi has to be hanged curve facing downward is to prevent the tip of the scabbard hitting the back side of the horse. If something hit the back side of the horse, it could panicking the horse or unintentionally triggering it to run faster.

[Ghost_Samurai]

A very well read gentleman with extensive knowledge

[hyoma]

Thank you for the content! If I can add something I know, katana does not have to be worn upwards. That’s called Ronin zashi(sashi=wearing)/Otoshi zashi(otoshi=dropping), and it’s how lower class samurai or ronin would wear it and could be without wakizashi(the smaller katana), I heard. In Edo period it was the way to wear it in the city. (i don’t know about when they visit somebody higher because i also read somewhere that otoshi zashi was not considered formal.) maybe it depends on where and when. When they go into a castle, they probably had to leave their uchi gatana to the worker in the castle at the entrance, and they go in with their wakizashi, changing the position of it(more forward to make it easier to be seen if you dear to take the sword out).
I googled a lot but there are a lot of theories and idk what’s right. But yeah. At least there are ways to wear katana.

[nathans]

You can also easily tell which a sword is by where the signature is. The signature on the tang will always face outward so whichever way the signature faces away from you on the left is the correct way to wear the sword