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A nodachi (野太刀, nodachi, field sword) was a large two-handed Japanese sword used by members of the samurai class of feudal Japan. Nodachi is the same type of sword as ōdachi (large/great sword).

History and use

During the late Kamakura period (1185–1333) samurai began to use extremely long swords, these nodachi had the same general appearance and design of a tachi though they are significantly longer. They primarily were used for status symbols of either skilled duelers, a swordmaker's example of skill, dueling in general, and while thought to perhaps be used to counter cavalry, such things were never proven. They were infrequently used for several reasons:

• The blade was more difficult to forge compared to a normal-sized sword
• The nodachi required greater strength to properly wield
• Weapons such as the naginata or nagamaki were more effective by far when compared to any possible use of nodachi for anti-cavalry purposes, very much like the European counterpart Zweihänder.

Nodachi were twenty five percent longer than normal swords and were either carried or worn slung across the back, as seen in period illustrations, this is distinctive because most Japanese swords such as the katana, wakizashi, and tachi were worn at the waist or belt; however, it was not "drawn" from the back. The nodachi was more difficult to wield due to its size and weight. The blade was up to four feet (122 centimeters) long. Its cutting capability and range exceeded that of a katana, due to its weight and size.

In some Chinese martial arts, Bagua Zhang being perhaps the best known example, over-sized weapons are used for training purposes. This is done to condition the martial artist to handle a normal-sized weapon more efficiently (e.g. in Japanese martial arts with the suburitō, a heavy wooden sword).

The Kage-ryū is one of the very rare schools of Japanese martial arts remaining that trains in the use of the Japanese long-sword (which they call choken).

A variation of this sword was also used by Sasaki Kojirō, a very skilled warrior and deadly with the nodachi. He is remembered principally for his duel with Miyamoto Musashi, a famed swordsman of the time.

See also

• Japanese sword
• Katana
• Tachi
• Wakizashi
• Tantō
• Ōdachi
• Großes Messer
• Zweihander
• Zhanmadao
• Japanese sword mountings

References

1. Cite error: The named reference SergeMol2003_p17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. Samurai fighting arts: the spirit and the practice, Fumon Tanaka, Kodansha International, Jun 16, 2003 p.12
3. ^ State of war: the violent order of fourteenth-century Japan, Thomas Conlan, Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2003 P.260
4. Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan (Google eBook), Karl F. Friday, Psychology Press, 2004 P.88
5. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times: Together with Some Closely Related Subjects, George Cameron Stone p.472,

External links

• Nihonto message board forum
• Richard Stein's Japanese sword guide
• Choken Battojutsu Kageryu: Longswords of Yanagawa-han
• A Gallery of Historical Odachi-Nodachi Swords

• Japanese sword types
• Samurai weapons and equipment