When people think of sword fighting, they first imagine action scenes using Japanese swords or bare hands.
The term “sword fighting” originated with Shojiro Sawada of ShinkokuGeki, who invented the term and initially read it as “Tate【殺陣】(sword fighting)” (satsudan).Later, the term “Tate” became firmly established after he published a work called “Tate【殺陣】 Tamura”.
Sword fighting=Tate are not limited to actions with Japanese swords, but also involve the use of various weapons such as sticks, naginata swords, and tachi swords.
In this article, we would like to introduce the various weapons and how they are used.
How to use the Japanese sword”Uchigatana【打刀】”
The first one I would like to introduce is the Japanese sword, with which you are all familiar.
There are various types of Japanese swords, and they are classified into various categories according to size, usage, and period.
The uchigatana【打刀】 is probably the first type of Japanese sword that comes to mind when you hear the word “katana,” and was born in the Warring States period and became the mainstream during the Edo period.
Compared to the tachi【太刀】, the uchigatana is slightly shorter, easier to handle, and has a gentler warp.
Therefore, the sword could be quickly readied for battle.
The reason why the sword became mainstream in the Edo period is because there were fewer battles, and opportunities to use the sword were no longer in large battlefields, but in confined areas such as towns and forests.
Of course, the sword is used for cutting, and it is made to cut opponents and objects sharply around the 9 cm part from the cutting edge, called mono-uchi【物打ち】.
How to use the Japanese sword “Tachi【太刀】”
Next to the “uchigatana【打刀】”, I would like to introduce the “tachi【太刀】”.
Before the “uchigatana【打刀】” became the mainstream, the “tachi【太刀】” was the most common type of sword.
The difference between the tachi【太刀】 and the uchigatana【打刀】 is in the size and the way it is handled.
The tachi【太刀】 is larger and has a tighter curve than the uchigatana【打刀】.
The reason for this is their use.
The tachi was often used on horseback, and the loose warp made it difficult to cut with a strong impact.
The utigatana was worn on the Japanese belt”Obi”, whereas the tachi was carried on the armor,It was called “wearing a sword【太刀を佩く】”.
During the transition from the tachi to the uchigatana, short swords called “wakizashi” were produced, which were used in confined spaces such as indoor battles.
How to use a Ninja Sword【忍者刀】
The term “Japanese sword” was given to the people from overseas when the terms “uchigatana” and “tachi” were spread abroad, and was never called “Japanese sword” in Japan.
There are other types of Japanese swords besides the “uchigatana” and “tachi.
That is the “Ninja sword”
The ninja sword is sometimes called a “straight sword【直刀】” because it is not warped.
The ninja sword has a square tsuba with a pointed tip, and unlike the uchigatana and tachi, the ninja sword has a plain, unshiny scabbard.
Since ninja swords were not warped, they were not suited for cutting.
The ninja were not originally combatants, so they basically did not stand a chance in a head-to-head fight with a samurai.
The reason why ninja swords do not have a bow is that they were not designed for fighting, but for assassination and infiltration.
There is a “Ninjutsu” that utilizes the characteristics of the ninja sword in the “Sageo nanajutsu【下緒七術】,” a ninjutsu that uses both the Sageo【下げ緒】 and the ninja sword.
How to Use the Spear【槍】
The spear is a weapon that is only occasionally seen in sword fights and historical dramas, but in actual warfare, it was the second most popular weapon after the bow.
The spear is usually about 1.8m long, but the actual spear used in the Warring States period was a very long spear, from 4m to 8m long.
Incidentally, spears used on horseback were 2 to 3 meters in length.
The spear was originally mainly used to check the opponents at the front line of infantry by forming a formation called “Yarifusuma【槍襖】,” where several men line up with their spears in a line.
Basically, the spear was a simple weapon that was easy for anyone to handle, and could be used to thrust and strike.
However, the 1.8-meter spear that we imagine when we hear the word “spear” is more difficult to handle than the sword, and when used in individual battles, it is said that if you do not know how to use a spear in a group, you cannot defeat the sword.
It was a difficult weapon to handle.
How to use the naginata【薙刀】
The most famous weapon used by Benkei【弁慶】 is the naginata【薙刀】.
The naginata【薙刀】 still exists as a sport today and is widely recognized.
Both the naginata and the spear originally developed from weapons called “hoko【鉾】” and before the spear became mainstream, the naginata was the weapon of choice.
While the basic use of the spear was to thrust and strike, the naginato was a weapon whose purpose was literally to “nagikiru【薙ぎ斬る】(cut down)” .
In the Heian period, it was a weapon that could attack unilaterally from outside the spacing of the sword, and could use centrifugal force to make powerful attacks.
After the mainstream weapon shifted to the “spear,” the naginata became a tool for the warrior woman’s training.
Therefore, the naginata may have an image of being handled by women.
How to use the jutte(jitte)【十手】
The grips we have introduced so far were originally introduced from the continent.
What we introduce here is the juute(jitte), a uniquely Japanese weapon and a capturing tool.
Since it is often used in capturing, many people may think that it was born around the Edo period (1603-1867), but in fact, it is a weapon with a long history, having been introduced around the middle of the Muromachi period (1333-1573).
It is used to catch the opponent’s sword and disable him by entangling him with it, or to secure the opponent by connecting to jujutsu【柔術】 by entangling his arms and legs like in the stick art.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), the jute was distributed to the yoriki【与力】 and dojin【同心】 of the town magistrate’s office.
In historical dramas, Heiji Zenigata【銭形平次】 uses a juute(jitte), but in reality, Okappiki(岡っ引き) were not hired by the government and therefore did not have a juute(jitte).
In historical dramas, the jute is attached to the belt and purple tassels are worn, but in actuality, the juute(jitte) was a proof of status, so it was kept in a pouch called a “juttebukuro【十手袋】” and carried carefully, and the purple tassel was a special item used for special awards.
How to use the rope【縄】
The nawa【縄】(rope) is a weapon that sometimes appears in kabuki【歌舞伎】 and other plays, but those unfamiliar with kabuki【歌舞伎】 or those who do not watch period dramas may not imagine it as a weapon of choice.
It is a weapon that is often used in the art of catching, and in fact, it was used extensively in the Edo period (1603-1868) as a technique for catching.
Until the Showa period (1926-1989), when “handcuffs【手錠】” became popular, it was used to capture the opponent until recently.
There was also a solid rope technique for capturing with a rope, but now it seems that most of the schools have disappeared.
There were various ways to use a rope, such as a “fast rope【早縄】” to quickly restrain an opponent, or a “torture rope【拷問縄】” to torture an opponent.
Sometimes the rope was used by itself, but sometimes an iron ring or claw was attached to the end of the rope.
There were also uses such as multiple people holding the rope and surrounding the opponent with the rope to block their movements.
The rope itself had its own rules, and there were different ways to bind the rope depending on the person’s status, occupation, and gender.
summary
In this article, we have focused on the weapons that appear in the sword fight.
While sword fighting is basic and cool, spear and naginata fighting is more dynamic and different from sword fighting.
If you have a knowledge of weaponry when watching a sword fight, you will be able to see it in a different light and enjoy it even more.If you find something in this article that appeals to you, why don’t you try to use it to get around?
