Ōdachi
An or is a type of traditionally made used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The Chinese equivalent of this type of sword in terms of weight and length is the '' miaodao'' or the earlier ''zhanmadao'', and the Western battlefield equivalent (though less similar) is the ''Zweihänder''. To qualify as an ''ōdachi'', the sword in question would have a blade length of around 3 '' shaku'' (). However, as with most terms in Japanese sword arts, there is no exact definition of the size of an ''ōdachi''. Etymology The character for means "big" or "great"; means "field". The ''dachi'' here is simply the voiced compounding version of the term , the older style of sword that predates the ''katana''. The second character in ''tachi'', , is the Chinese character for "blade" (see also ''dāo''), and is also the same character used to spell ''katana'' (刀) and the ''tō'' in ''nihontō'' (日本刀 "Japanese sword"). The word ''tachi'' itself is derived as the stem or noun fo ...
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Japanese Sword
A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the present day when speaking of "Japanese swords". There are many types of Japanese swords that differ by size, shape, field of application, and method of manufacture. Some of the more commonly known types of Japanese swords are the ''uchigatana'', ''tachi'', ''ōdachi'', ''wakizashi'', and ''tantō''. Etymology The word ''katana'' was used in ancient Japan and is still used today, whereas the old usage of the word ''nihontō'' is found in the poem the Song of ''Nihontō'', by the Song dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu. The word ''nihontō'' became more common in Japan in the late Tokugawa shogunate. Due to importation of Western swords, the word ''nihontō'' was adopted to distinguish it from the . ''Meibutsu'' (noted swords) is a special designat ...
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