tachi (weapon)

A type of sword used by samurai before the advent of the katana, primarily used on horseback.

Tachi and katana generally differ in:

• Curvature: tachi tend to be more curved (both hilt and blade).
• How they are worn: tachi is worn suspended from the belt with its cutting edge downward, while the katana is thrust through the belt with its cutting edge upward.
• Length: tachi tend to be longer than the katana.
• Hilt: while katana always have a rayskin-wrapped hilt with silk overwrapping, tachi sometimes only have the rayskin wrapping, though this is far from universal.

Examples

Above: Tachi
Below: Katana

See also

• Chokutou, straight swords, were also called tachi, but written as 大刀
• Kodachi
• Ootachi
• List of Weapons

External links

• Touken Collection (JP): Difference between Tachi and Katana
• Wikipedia: Tachi
• Wikipedia (JP): Tachi