Weapons & armor

What a katana is—curved single-edged blade, daisho pair with wakizashi, when samurai wore it, parts (tsuba, saya, hamon), and myth vs battlefield reality. (19 min read)

Wakizashi blade—length between tanto and katana, daisho pair rules, indoor carry, seppuku association, parts, and how it differs from katana for beginners. (18 min read)

Japanese tanto short blade—size vs wakizashi, tanto types (hira, shobu), utility and ritual use, mounts, and myths about ninja daggers. (18 min read)

Oversized Japanese swords—nodachi vs odachi naming, battlefield use, carry on back, anime myths, and how they differ from katana length. (18 min read)

What Miyamoto Musashi actually fought with: Niten Ichi-ryū katana and wakizashi, wooden bokken in duels, oar myths at Ganryūjima, and why giant nodachi stories belong more to rivals and pop culture. (26 min read)

What Uesugi Kenshin actually fought with: personal sword sidearms, yari spear walls in a cavalry age, Bishamonten banners and armor imagery, and how Kawanakajima legends blur myth and evidence. (27 min read)

Beginner FAQ: what Oda Nobunaga personally carried (katana, wakizashi, spear, bow) versus why his real battlefield answer is army-scale tanegashima matchlocks plus yari spear doctrine—not one magic blade. (24 min read)

How Miyamoto Musashi fought: one-handed long sword, wakizashi as partner blade, Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū two-sword curriculum, bokken and oar stories, staff encounters, and how school forms differ from single duel anecdotes. (24 min read)

How Takeda Shingen fought at army scale—Kai horse country, yari and bows, Fūrinkazan banners, mountain warfare, and why his doctrine differed from gun-heavy Oda practice. Not a full biography. (28 min read)

How Date Masamune fought at army scale—Tohoku cavalry–infantry mix, firearms adoption, crescent kabuto command presence, and Sendai military culture from late Sengoku into early Edo. Not a full biography. (28 min read)

Beginner map of katana parts—mune, shinogi, ha, hamon, nakago, tsuba, habaki, saya, and how each affects balance, draw, and care. (19 min read)

How to care for a katana or nihonto—nuguigami wipe, choji oil, uchiko debate, saya humidity, when amateurs must stop and leave polish to a togishi. (24 min read)

Beginner catalog of katana parts: blade (nagasa, kissaki, ha, mune, hamon, hada), tang and pins, habaki, tsuba, tsuka wrap, saya fittings, and what each does for use, safety, and looks. (26 min read)

How traditional katana are forged—tatara iron, folding steel, clay hamon temper, polish, and myths about “million folds” and super steel. (19 min read)

Deep dive into how Japanese sword steel is born—satetsu iron sand, tatara smelting, kera bloom sorting, orikaeshi folding, high/low carbon layers, and clay-coated yaki-ire. (22 min read)

Named katana and tachi—Dōjigiri, Masamune, Muramasa legends, Honjo Masamune, how to read sword names, and telling myth from registered national treasures. (18 min read)

Compare legendary swordsmiths and schools—Masamune’s Sōshū style, Muramasa’s Sengoku reputation, Bizen Osafune lines, and the five Gokaden traditions—what each name meant to buyers and collectors. (26 min read)

Tameshigiri explained for beginners—Edo corpse and criminal cutting tests, saidan-mei inscriptions, Yamada testers, and how modern dojos cut soaked tatami and bamboo instead. (24 min read)

Guide to the Inaridai Kofun gold-inlaid Ōshi (王賜) iron sword in Ichihara, Chiba—Culture Council Important Cultural Property recommendation March 2026, inscription meanings, ICP vs National Treasure, and what gift tags prove. (28 min read)

Guide to the Museum of Kyoto’s 2026 Yubunesaka No. 2 tumulus show—gilt twin-dragon ring-pommel tachi, silver companion blade, Yamato court gift research, and why these are not katana. (26 min read)

July 2026 find of two large pit-dwellings with six raised forges at Kami-goten, Takashima—late Yayoi to early Kofun metal work linking the Japan Sea coast to inland Biwa routes in Himiko’s era. (24 min read)

Japanese yari spears—suji, kama, jumonji types, ashigaru spear walls, vs naginata, length, and why Sengoku battlefields favored yari over katana. (19 min read)

Japanese naginata polearm—curved blade, naginatajutsu schools, vs yari spear, castle defense, women warriors, and Sengoku vs Edo use explained for beginners. (20 min read)

Japanese yumi bow—asymmetric daikyū, bamboo construction, ya arrows, samurai archery vs yabusame, and why guns did not erase the bow in one day. (21 min read)

Japanese kanabō and tetsubō clubs—spiked iron war sticks, myth vs battlefield use, armor interaction, and comparison to swords and spears for beginners. (19 min read)

Japanese tanegashima arquebus—Portuguese introduction, matchlock mechanics, Nagashino tactics, armor response, and why guns did not erase swords overnight. (22 min read)

How Oda Nobunaga fought at army scale—massed tanegashima, yari infantry, castle logistics, and why personal sword myths miss his real doctrine. Not a full biography. (28 min read)

Japanese samurai armor types—ō-yoroi for mounted archers, dō-maru for foot battle, lamellar construction, bullet response, and weight myths explained. (22 min read)

Did samurai use shields? Rarely as personal knight-style bucklers—Japan favored planted tate pavises, ashigaru field cover, bamboo taketaba vs guns, and armor plates like ō-sode instead. (26 min read)

How heavy was samurai armor in kilograms? Museum weights for ō-yoroi, dō-maru, and tosei gusoku, compared with European plate and mobility myths. (18 min read)

Japanese kabuto helmets—bowl construction, maedate crests, shikoro neck guards, menpō face masks, vision tradeoffs, and rank symbolism for beginners. (20 min read)

Japanese menpō and mengu face masks—ressei angry masks, hoate nose guards, lacquer, tie cords to kabuto, and myth vs practical protection for beginners. (20 min read)

Meaning behind samurai armor mon, maedate crests, lacing colors, dragons and Buddhist symbols—rank, clan ID, and myth vs battlefield function. (21 min read)

Timeline of Japanese samurai armor—Heian ō-yoroi, Muromachi dō-maru, Sengoku plate strips, tosei-gusoku vs guns, and Edo parade armor explained. (22 min read)

How samurai armor answered matchlock bullets—why lacquered lamellar failed, tameshi gusoku proof marks, hotoke-dō and okegawa-dō plates, weight vs protection, and limits of “bulletproof” claims. (28 min read)

Replica katana guide—iaito, blunt cosplay, sharpened reproductions, steel types, Japan sword law, display ethics, and how replicas compare to antiques. (29 min read)

Guide to collecting samurai armor—yoroi vs reproduction, lacquer care, papers, export law, display, climate, and how armor differs from replica swords. (30 min read)

Edo-period prices for katana, armor sets, horses, and upkeep—stipend pressure, repair, pawn, campaign versus ceremony gear, and why gear broke household budgets. (30 min read)

Guide to the Nagoya Touken World summer 2026 show on Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hidenaga—national treasures, Osaka Nagayoshi, Uraku Raikuni mitsu, mei labels, and swordsmith demos. (26 min read)

Beginner guide to the Chido Museum summer 2026 exhibition in Tsuruoka—national treasure blades linked to Nobunaga and Ieyasu, Sakai clan armor, regional domain stories, and how to visit. (22 min read)

How to visit TNM Honkan Rooms 15–16 (7 Jul–27 Sep 2026)—when the Heian tachi Shishiō, black-lacquer mounting, and Hideyoshi-gift jinbaori rotate mid-summer, and what beginners should check before booking. (22 min read)

Guide to the Bizen Osafune Sword Museum summer 2026 show—sword types, eras, mei jargon, tickets, workshops, and why Setouchi is the best learn-to-look day trip outside Tokyo and Nagoya. (28 min read)

June 2025 confirmation of an iron knife and armor pieces from Daisen Kofun (Nintoku tumulus)—what Kofun burial armor was, why it is not samurai gear, and how timelines from fifth-century iron to Edo parade sets diverge. (26 min read)

Guide to the Yonezawa Uesugi Shrine Keishoden summer–autumn 2026 show on lord Uesugi Kagekatsu and retainer Naoe Kanetsugu—purple-laced armor, the “Ai” maedate helmet, rotation dates, and what museum labels actually prove. (22 min read)

Guide to Takekoma Shrine’s horse-year sword display in Iwanuma—Ishikiri loans Ishikirimaru and Kogitsunemaru, local Hosho Goro Sadamune and shrine blades, Touken Ranbu panels, and how to separate devotion from merch. (22 min read)

Beginner guide to the 2026 Talanta proteomics study of Morigi Collection samurai armor leather—how labs identify animal species, why deer vs cattle vs sheep matter, and how repairs rewrite museum labels. (26 min read)