What is a Samurai Sword?
A samurai sword is a sword of the type commonly carried by samurai, Japanese warriors who thrived through the 1800s, when Japan was opened to trade with the West and the Japanese system of government radically changed, rendering the samurai tradition obsolete. The sword which is classically associated with samurai is a katana, a curved long-sword which was included in the war gear of most samurai. Possession of a katana was so critical that many samurai regarded their swords as extensions of their souls, and it is not surprising that the katana is viewed as the quintessential samurai sword.
A samurai sword is a sword of the type commonly carried by samurai, Japanese warriors who thrived through the 1800s, when Japan was opened to trade with the West and the Japanese system of government radically changed, rendering the samurai tradition obsolete. The sword which is classically associated with samurai is a katana, a curved long-sword which was included in the war gear of most samurai. Possession of a katana was so critical that many samurai regarded their swords as extensions of their souls, and it is not surprising that the katana is viewed as the quintessential samurai sword. The katana is so famous that some people use the term generically to refer to all Japanese swords. In fact, a Japanese sword should more properly be known as a nihonto, as there are a range of styles and classes of sword produced in Japan. Traditional swordsmithing is still very much alive in Japan, for people who are interested in seeing and studying the techniques used to produce swords in the sam
