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Katana
Center

Range

Medium

Rarity

Common

Size

35"

Use

Slashing and Piercing


The katana is a type of Japanese sword , and is often called a "samurai sword." The term katana may be applied to the standard size moderately curved, as opposed to the older "tachi" style featuring more curvature, Japanese sword with a blade length of greater than (27" inches). The term is sometimes incorrectly used as a generic name for any kind of Japanese sword. Samurai often wore katana alongside the shorter wakizashi, in a Daisho (大小 daishō?, literally "big-little") style mount, having a long and short sword both on hand when needed.

The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single edged blade, circular or squared guard, and long grip to accommodate two hands. It has historically been associated with the samurai of feudal Japan, and has become renowned for its sharpness and cutting ability, to the point that its purported cutting capabilities have reached mythical status. The famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was renowned for dual-wielding a katana in his right hand, with the shorter wakizashi in his left hand.

According to both the Giyoshu military manual and the Shoninki shinobi manual, a shinobi could use a sword to help him climb by tying it's cord around his foot, propping the sword against the wall, and stepping on the hilt to climb over the wall or fence.

The Shoninki mentions using a fan placed on the end of the sword to tell whether a far away person with a lantern is going towards the shinobi, or away from him. This would be done by ducking down, holding the sword upright, and placing the folded fan horizontally on the sword in a "T" shape. If the person is going away from the shinobi, his lantern's light will move upwards above the fan. If he is going towards the shinobi, his light will go downwards. This technique also allows a person to know if another is going to the left or right. As stated by the Shoninki, one of the jobs of a shinobi is stealing the enemies' katanas.

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Gear

Throwing Weapons
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Bladed Weapons
Wakizashi Katana Yari Shikomizue
Ranged Weapons
Bo Staff Bow Blowpipe Arquebus
Equipment
Medicine Grappling Hook Caltrop Stone Pencil
Clothing
Straw Hat Chain Mail Disguise Tenugui
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