# Uchigatana

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Type of Japanese sword

Uchigatana (打刀) Uchigatana full exterior (upper section) Type Sword Place of origin Japan Production history Produced Kamakura Period (1185–1333)[1] to present Specifications Blade length 60+ cm

An ***uchigatana*** ([打刀](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%89%93%E5%88%80)) is a type of [Japanese sword](/source/Japanese_sword) worn by the [samurai](/source/Samurai) class of feudal Japan. The *uchigatana* was the descendant of the [tachi](/source/Tachi).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The official term for *katana* in Japan is *uchigatana* and the term *katana* often refers to single-edged swords from around the world.[2]

## History

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

- Jokoto (ancient swords, until around 900 )

- Koto (old swords from around 900–1596 )

- Shinto (new swords 1596–1780 )

- Shinshinto (new new swords 1781–1876 )

- Gendaito (modern swords 1876–1945 )[3]

- Shinsakuto (newly made swords 1953–present)[4]

From the [Heian](/source/Heian_period) to the [Muromachi Period](/source/Muromachi_Period), the primary battlefield sword was the [tachi](/source/Tachi). Its long blade and sharp edge made it ideal for use on horseback. During the fifteenth century, the *uchigatana* came into use, and during the [Muromachi Period](/source/Muromachi_Period) (1336 to 1573) use of the *uchigatana* became widespread.[5]

The word *uchigatana* can be found in literary works as early as the [Kamakura Period](/source/Kamakura_Period), with *uchi* meaning "striking" and *gatana* (*katana*) meaning "sword", so that *uchigatana* means "striking sword".[6] The *uchigatana* was originally used only by individuals of low status or rank, such as the *[ashigaru](/source/Ashigaru)*.[7][8]

Most *uchigatana* made during the early [Kamakura Period](/source/Kamakura_Period) were not of the highest standard, and thus, were considered disposable,[9] virtually no examples from these early times exist today. It was not until the [Muromachi Period](/source/Muromachi_Period), when [samurai](/source/Samurai) began to use *uchigatana* to supplement the longer *tachi*, that *uchigatana* of higher quality were made. During the [Momoyama period](/source/Momoyama_period), the *tachi* was almost totally abandoned and the custom of wearing a pair of long and short *uchigatana* together (called the *[daishō](/source/Daish%C5%8D)*) [10] became the dominant symbol of the samurai class.

## Description

A Japanese Edo period wood block print of a samurai wearing a *tachi*, the cutting edge of the *tachi* is worn pointing down as opposed to the *uchigatana* or *katana* which would be worn cutting edge up.

The blade length of the *uchigatana* during the 16th century is said to have been from 60 cm to no more than 70 cm, with a stout *sugata*, a steep *saki-zori*, and it could be used as a one handed sword due to its thin *kasane* (thickness) and short tang [(*nakago*)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nakago) making it relatively light.[11]

As opposed to the *[tachi](/source/Tachi)*, the *uchigatana* was worn edge-up in the belt,[12] this and usually being slightly smaller than the *tachi* was the main difference between the *tachi* and the *uchigatana*.[13] Since the *uchigatana* is worn differently than the *tachi*, the signature [(*mei*)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mei) carved into the tang of the *uchigatana* is also opposite to the *tachi* *mei*, making the words still upright instead of upside down as when one wears the *tachi* in the manner of the *uchigatana*.[14]

*Uchigatana* had become popular for several reasons. Firstly, the *uchigatana* had proven more convenient to wear, and did not get in the way of using a polearm as much as a *tachi*. The *uchigatana*'s rapid acceptance had also owed to the frequency of battles fought on foot[15] as well as to a developing emphasis on soldiers' speed, indicating that battlefield combat had sharply intensified.[16] Since the *uchigatana* was shorter than the *tachi*, it could be used in more confined quarters, such as inside a building. Furthermore, tactics of the period had dictated unseating mounted soldiers by cutting off the mounts legs; hence, mounted combat had become seen as inherently disadvantageous.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Use

Unlike the *tachi*, with which the acts of drawing and striking with the sword were two separate actions, unsheathing the *uchigatana* and cutting the enemy down with it became one smooth, lightning-fast action.[17] This technique was developed in the arts of [battojutsu](/source/Battojutsu), [iaijutsu](/source/Iaijutsu), and [iaido](/source/Iaido).

The curvature of the *uchigatana* blade differs from the *tachi* in that the blade has curvature near the sword's point (*sakizori*), as opposed to curvature near the sword's hilt (*koshizori*) like the *tachi*. Because the sword is being drawn from below, the act of unsheathing became the act of striking. For a soldier on horseback, the *sakizori* curve of the *uchigatana* was essential in such a blade, since it allows the sword to come out of its sheath [(*saya*)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Saya) at the most convenient angle for executing an immediate cut.[18]

## See also

- [Japanese sword](/source/Japanese_sword)

- [Tachi](/source/Tachi)

- [Ōdachi](/source/%C5%8Cdachi)

- [Wakizashi](/source/Wakizashi)

- [Tantō](/source/Tant%C5%8D)

- [Daishō](/source/Daish%C5%8D)

- [Katana](/source/Katana)

- [Japanese sword mountings](/source/Japanese_sword_mountings)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*Lethal elegance: the art of samurai sword fittings*, Joe Earle, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MFA Publications, 2004 p.15](https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx7rAAAAMAAJ&q=uchigatana&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [日本刀と刀の違い](https://web.archive.org/web/20201015072822/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/50824/) Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Touken World

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Clive Sinclaire (1 November 2004). [*Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior*](https://books.google.com/books?id=IQ3FAZG94ZsC&pg=PA40). Lyons Press. pp. 40–58. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59228-720-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59228-720-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** トム岸田 (24 September 2004). [*靖国刀*](https://books.google.com/books?id=z6oB6eFRjZkC&pg=PA42). Kodansha International. p. 42. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4-7700-2754-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4-7700-2754-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [*The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords* Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 p.28](https://books.google.com/books?id=zPyswmGDBFkC&pg=PA28&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=uchigatana&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [*Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior*](https://books.google.com/books?id=IQ3FAZG94ZsC&pg=PA81), Author Clive Sinclaire, Publisher Globe Pequot, 2004, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59228-720-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59228-720-8) P.81

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [*Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior*](https://books.google.com/books?id=IQ3FAZG94ZsC&q=uchigatana#v=snippet&q=uchigatana&f=false), Clive Sinclaire, Globe Pequot, 2004 p.81

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [*Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan*](https://books.google.com/books?id=q5KBjpGSRgkC&pg=PA79), [Karl Friday](/source/Karl_Friday), Routledge, 2004 p.79

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [*Lethal elegance: the art of samurai sword fittings*, Joe Earle, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MFA Publications, 2004 p.15](https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx7rAAAAMAAJ&q=uchigatana&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [*The Japanese sword*, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 p.68](https://books.google.com/books?id=vFS2iT8QjqEC&pg=PA68&dq=daisho&hl=en&ei=B-ofTY68Moqr8AbxsqntDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=daisho&f=false)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [*The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords*, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.28](https://books.google.com/books?id=zPyswmGDBFkC&pg=PA28&dq=uchi+gatana&hl=en&ei=tCUxTub1N-Pj0QHRmfnmCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=uchi%20gatana&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [*The Japanese sword*, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 p.61](https://books.google.com/books?id=vFS2iT8QjqEC&pg=PA61&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=9jzGTc_EI8SDtgf12KyxBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=uchigatana&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [*Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan*, Karl F. Friday, Routledge, 2004 p.79](https://books.google.com/books?id=q5KBjpGSRgkC&pg=PA79&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [*Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan*, Karl F. Friday, Routledge, 2004 p.79](https://books.google.com/books?id=q5KBjpGSRgkC&pg=PA79&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [*Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior*, Clive Sinclaire, Globe Pequot, 2004 p.81](https://books.google.com/books?id=IQ3FAZG94ZsC&pg=PA81&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=uchigatana&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** [*Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan*, Karl F. Friday, Routledge, 2004 p.79](https://books.google.com/books?id=q5KBjpGSRgkC&pg=PA79&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=G_sgTZD0HsO88ganpoDGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [*Katana: The Samurai Sword: 950-1877*, Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing, 2010 P.22](https://books.google.com/books?id=Ce5KaXj5fSEC&pg=PA20&dq=wakizashi&hl=en&ei=m84sTt_BOsbegQeswcD1Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=28&ved=0CLwBEOgBMBs#v=onepage&q=wakizashi&f=true)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** [*The Japanese sword*, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 p.61](https://books.google.com/books?id=vFS2iT8QjqEC&pg=PA61&dq=uchigatana&hl=en&ei=9jzGTc_EI8SDtgf12KyxBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=uchigatana&f=true)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Nihonto](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nihonto).

- [Nihonto message board forum](http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/)

- [Richard Stein's Japanese sword guide](https://web.archive.org/web/20120204081704/http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Uchigatana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchigatana) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchigatana?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.