subject: 40 Inch Red Japanese Katana Sword W Dragon Tsuba And Scabbard Review [print this page] This 40 Inch Red Japanese Katana Sword w Dragon Tsuba and Scabbard is a great addition to your sword collection or can be a wonderful choice as your first sword. This is a weapon stepped in hundreds of years of Japanese warrior history. The katana sword history is virtually paralleled with the history of the Samurai, the warrior class, which followed a strict code directing their lives called "Bushido."
The Way of the Warrior
This code - Bushido - is loosely similar to the Code of Chivalry espoused by European Medieval knights at around the same time in history. Its philosophy stressed the importance of living a life of loyalty, frugality while mastering martial arts and living honourably until dying. Samurai life was typified through embracing this philosophy as well as personified through swordsmanship in which the katana played a significant role.
Tied to the Individual Spirit
An ancestor of this 40 Inch Red Japanese Katana Sword w Dragon Tsuba and Scabbard was believed to be spiritually tied to its individual owner. The special katana would be specifically individually created for a Samurai warrior that would become a family heirloom along with accompanying weapons of a wakizashi (short sword) and a tanto (dagger).
This sword emerged from the 16th century as the preferred weapon of the Samurai warrior class. It is usually accompanied by a shoto, or short sword like a wakizashi or a dagger, known as a tanto. Paired together, the two are known as daisho, worn proudly by a Samurai warrior representing honor, social standing as well as being the very soul of the wearer.
The daisho (long and short swords) include the slashing and cutting katana along with the close-quarter stabbing wakizashi or tanto which were also employed in ritual suicide or seppuku. The katana was worn by the warrior with the cutting edge face up. The actual maneuver for drawing and cutting either the katana became an art form known as iado whose practitioners take several years to master the move.
Distinctive Appearance
The katana is a slender, curved, single-edged blade possessing a circular or squared hand guard known as a tsuba. It has a long grip handle that allows for two-hand wielding. The tsuba is a focal point for decorating the sword and the 40 Inch Red Japanese Katana Sword w Dragon Tsuba and Scabbard bears a tsuba of dragon-theme design.
Many traditional tsuba were created using unique designs specifically made for the sword owner. These designs might reflect the owner's family history or be ornately designed as a significant indication of the owner's power and social status.
Although original tsubas were created out of function as hand guards, there was a period of time from about 1600 through the mid to late 1800s when relative peace in the empire led to more manufacture of ceremonial katanas where softer metals such as gold were introduced in tsuba design and creation. The product described here also has a red colored 10.5 inch handle of imitation fish skin possessing an overall 28 inch long blade.
