The 5 Most Popular Samurai Swords of All Time!

 

The Samurai are often romanticized as mystical warriors who lived for honor and defended the common people. But the modern-day myth obscures their true nature: Samurai were an elite fighting force who did monstrous things to maintain a twisted form of feudalism. The samurai class was a hereditary group of soldiers and scholars who served the warrior monarchs of Japan's clans. 

Samurai warriors were trained in martial arts and philosophy but also studied poetry and other arts. They were considered a separate caste from the common folk, who were called peasants. The origin of the samurai can be traced to the Yamato period (ca. 300 BC - ca. AD 660) when political power shifted from imperial families to regional warlords known as "daimyos." These regional leaders established their own domains, which served as local governments within the Yamato state. 

The samurai became part of these domains' militaries and developed estates for storing weapons and supplies that supported their families back home. These warrior-kings were generally believed to be direct descendants of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, which gave them authority over their domains and was a kind of divine origin.

Overview of Samurai Swords

A samurai saber is the traditional Japanese longsword, typically with a curved blade and a circular or hexagonal guard. The hilt can be of either wood, with a wrapped handle, or metal. The clothing worn by the samurai also featured some unique design elements that would only be found on their swords.

The first samurai swords were straight long swords. They later became curved and eventually, some of the curved swords became different. Some of the straight swords were discarded, some were put away and some were improved upon to make them sharper and stronger. 3100 years ago in Japan, there was a lot of trade and cultural exchange with China, as Japan was located across from the continent. 

The Japanese people discovered at this time that the Chinese had developed a new kind of metal called "steel". The Japanese government began to adopt Chinese writing symbols, dress styles, currency systems (it is supposed that they invented coins), and philosophy. They also started using Chinese-style swords, even though they had been making their own for centuries by this point.

Popular Samurai Swords:

A samurai saber is a popular Japanese long sword. We have made the top 5 samurai swords that are perfect for beginners:

1. Samurai Katana

The katana is a long, single-edged, hand-and-a-half sword. It was intended for easy use by a single warrior because of its length and balance. The Katana is one of the four main types of Japanese swords, along with the wakizashi (scabbard knife), tanto, and yari. The blade on the katana is made of high-carbon steel and it features a sharp edge. The hilt is made from wood or lacquered iron.

2. Samurai Wakizashi

This is the smaller version of the katana. It is of similar design and build, but with a shorter blade and a longer hilt. The samurai saber was originally designed for use with the short sword. 

The katana however was intended for use as a thrusting weapon that could also decapitate an opponent. This was simply achieved by bringing the blade down in a straight thrust to cut through the breastbone or shoulder bone with minimal damage to armor, even though it is not considered very practical in real-life combat today.

3. Samurai Tanto

The tanto is a small dart used by samurai warriors. It is a smaller version of the katana, which is a longsword. The sword was mainly used to thrust or attack from behind. It was primarily used on the battlefield to set up an ambush or where it was deemed more practical due to its size.

4. Samurai Yari

The yari has commonly been referred to as the "Japanese spear". This was basically the main offensive weapon of samurai warriors before gunpowder weapons came into existence. 

It is basically a spear that features a cross-bar, with a sharpened point at one end and an articulated head at the other end. The cross-bar is connected to the shaft via a socket that allows the shaft to be fitted into the handguard and attached firmly. The shaft itself is made from wood, while the head is made of iron. This was used both as a striking weapon and thrown.

5. Samurai Bugei

The bokken or "wooden sword" used to be the primary weapon of samurai in earlier days. In this case, these samurai swords are used both for striking and thrusting. Rarely the sword is used for cutting. 

The bokken itself is a short length of wood with a blade attached at one end that measures about one-third of its length. The blade on the bokken is made from high-carbon steel and this provides it with excellent sharpness and edge retention. The main difference between bokken and katana lies in the simplicity of design and substance of construction.

Do Samurai Swords Still Exist Today?

The samurai swords, the quintessential weapons of the feudal warrior, are for sale today in martial arts goods stores throughout Japan. You may not believe it to look at them today, but these swords were once deadly weapons dreaded by any who were unfortunate enough to be caught in their path.

In a country that is so deeply entwined with tradition, it may seem odd that a piece of Japanese history could still be found on store shelves. Yet while they might not serve as iaido blades or tameshigiri cutters as they did centuries ago, the samurai saber has taken on another role in modern-day Japan: as a status symbol and object of artistic beauty.