Tantojutsu - Martial Art of Tanto (knife)

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."  - Matthew 10:34

Samurai arts

Japanese Samurai arts include many disciplines all incorporated into one category. The Samurai Arts taught in Arizona include many different arts under the same umbrella - these employ weapons such as: 

(1)  Samurai Sword (iaido & kenjutsu), 

(2) Knife (tantojutsu), 

(3) Fan (tessenjutsu)

(4) Spear (sojutsu)

(5) Polearm (naginata),

(6) Throwing Arts (jujutsu), 

(7) Striking Arts (Kempojutsu),

(8) Restraining arts (hojojutsu)

(9) 6-foot pole (bojutsu), and offshoot arts such as the Half- (hanbojutsu) which includes similar arts like Walking cane (tsutekki), and even the short sticks (tebo and kuboton). 

And then there are even more Samaria arts such as Japanese archery, guns, etc. 

 

Prior to the pandemic, Hall of Famer Soke Hausel taught all of these arts to his students, but the worldwide invasion of our homelands closed the Hombu dojo in Mesa, and now Soke only teaches a few select students in a private dojo in Mesa.

The Japanese martial arts include many sub-martial arts, and each art has many, many aspects. These include:

Tantojutsu - the art of the knife!

Tantōjutsu (短刀術), the art of tantō (短刀), or short sword, approximately one shaku length,  more commonly known as a knife in the West. The tantō, a blade often carried in a samurai's obi, or hidden from others for use in close quarters combat. And students also learn to use karambit, a Filipino curved blade used in knife fighting.

Historically, some Japanese women carried a variety of tantō (短刀術), known as kaiken for self-defense. The warrior women (onna-bugeisha), who were part of the samurai class, trained in tantojutsu and even were known to sleep with a knife under their pillow.

The traditional length of tanto is one shaku (11.93 inches), which included blade, handle, and hand-guard (tsuba). Some tanto varied from traditional size and became known as O-tanto or Sunobi tanto. The blade was typically single-edged, most were curved, and many had blood grooves and some elaborately decorated.

Kyle trains with Glenn at the Seiyo Hombu
dojo in Mesa, Arizona.

The tanto became common in the Heian Period (795-1192 AD) of Japan, and according to Wikipedia, it was developed as a weapon during the Kamakura Period (1192-1333 AD). While many were for common use, others were employed by samurai. 

Tanto were classified as: (1) traditional tanto, which had a guard known as tsuba; (2) aikuchi tanto in which the tsuka and saya met without a tsuba, and (3) hamadashi tanto which had a small tsuba that barely protruded beyond the saya and tsuka, and was designed for comfort when carrying the weapon in the obi (belt).

Other styles of tanto differed by shape of blade. These include: (1) hira-zukuri - a flat, narrow and thick blade, used for slashing and piercing blows, (2) shobu-zukuri - a blade with a ridge line and blood groove, (3) moroha - a double edged tanto, (4) kissaki-moroha-zukuri - a long blade with sharp point (o-kissaki), and (5) kaikan - short tanto with small guards, usually carried by women.

When tanto was used on the battlefield it was designed to penetrate armor of other samurai. The tanto was usually carried in a wide cloth belt (obi) with the edge up and the handle turned to the right. In the home of the samurai, tanto was often placed with wakizashi (short sword).

Parts of the tanto

In Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai, this is one of many kobudo/samurai arts taught to our members. It includes many bunkai and one kata. Since it is an extension of our empty hand (kara-te) techniques, it can be applied to most bunkai. In addition to the classical tanto, we also teach members to use the Filipino karambit. Both types of knives have similar bunkai with the exception that the tanto has many bunkai for piercing armor requiring the blade to be thrust into an attacker. This may be one of the reasons why most tanto have tsuba - to basically stop the hand from sliding forward over the blade. But the weapon is also used to slice an opponent like a karambit as well as to strike an opponent with the pommel end.

Ben Corley demonstrates how to cut an attacker with his own knife at the
University of Wyoming White Crane karate clinic

TESSEN-JUTSU

Traditional Samurai armor

In traditional martial arts, one is essentially taught to defend, cripple and possibly kill another, but at the same time, a traditional martial artist is taught to respect, honor and assist others. Nothing seems more characteristic of the In/Yo or opposites that many people know as Yin and Yang. 

Much of the art in the martial arts comes from beauty, balance and mystery seen in movements, kata, and techniques, but in traditional martial arts, much art also comes from the way we show respect for others. There must always be art and a path towards humanity to be a martial art! Otherwise it is nothing more than MMA, kick boxing or street fighting.

A few martial arts appear to be performances by extraordinary athletics, and may even appear as intricate  dance. What separates martial arts from UFC, MMA, most sport karate and sport taekwondo are philosophy and concern for others. The beginning and ending of every training session in traditional martial arts provide a show respect of the art, the instructor, training partners, opponents and students. 

Then there is kata: forms of the martial arts. Kata are practiced as a personal form of meditation and a method for building physical fitness, power, focus and self-defense abilities. There are some traditional martial arts that demand attention because of the extraordinary beauty and  performance of the practitioners. Few martial arts are more traditional and artistic as the art of tessenjutsu: a martial art of samurai of old. 

A gunsen fan

Tessenjutsu is the martial art of the war fan. Samurai of old carried tessen since air-conditioning was not available, and they periodically found themselves in places where swords were not allowed. Not wanting to be unarmed, they trained in jujutsu and carried not so obvious weapons such as tessen. Tessen were designed to strike pressure points, joints and tendons, used in wrist locks, finger locks and elbow locks similar to a hashi stick (kubotan). In fact, many techniques used in these two weapons, are interchangeable. And some tessen were weighted with iron to increase its mass and assist in blocking and striking, which added to the effectiveness of the weapon. Whereas, hashi sticks were mostly made of wood although often sharpened to add to effectiveness.

Three are three general types of samurai war fans include: (1) gunsen, a folding fan used by the average warrior for cooling. (2) Another variety was gunpai (also gunbai, gumpai or dansen uchiwa). These large fans were made of iron and a wooden core used to ward off arrows and darts and even provide shade, or signal troops. (3) The third variety, known as tessen were designed as self-defense weapons.  Some were folding fans with outer spokes made of heavy iron plates deigned to look like a normal fan. While others were nothing more than solid pieces of iron shaped to look like a harmless, folded, fan that could be used similar to a club. Some also concealed blades.

The martial art of tessen is referred to as tessenjutsu (鉄扇術). Tessen-jutsu employs joint locks. There are tessen kata that show similarities to tai chi, but other kata demonstrating strong focus. Tessen kata employ one tessen or two and there are even tessen-katana kata. Tessenjutsu is unknown to most martial artists, but its beauty has resulted in small groups of modern practitioners and a wide range of kata and dances.

Tessen fan-like weapon used by samurai

The use of the war fan in combat is described in early Japanese legends. Yoshitsune, a hero of one Japanese legend was described to defeat an opponent named Benkei by parrying the blows of his opponent's yari with an iron fan.

Some tessenjutsu practitioners became so skilled with the weapon, they were able to defend against an attacker armed with katana, and kill an opponent with a lessen. Like so many other Japanese arts of combat taught by samurai, tessenjutsu reached a high level of sophistication (see Daito Ryu website). 

Samurai Arts in Arizona

At the Arizona Hombu dojo on the border of Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa, two samurai train weekly in this unique traditional martial arts school. Sensei Paula Borea, a Hall-of-Fame Shorin-Ryu karate practitioner, was born in Japan and has trained in martial arts for a good part of her life. Her ancestry indicates she is a samurai descendant - so samurai arts are in her blood. Then there is Soke Hausel, awarded JKI Samurai in 1996 after earning six black belts in martial arts.

Thus at the Hombu dojo, samurai arts are part of the life of the school and the instructors. The samurai arts are taught along with traditional Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate, Kobudo and self-defense.

Some samurai arts taught at the dojo include: (1) iaido and kenjutsu - both classical samurai arts of the katana (samurai sword); (2) sojutsu - the art of the yari (samurai spear;) (3) naginata-jutsu or the art of the naginata known as pole arm; (4) hojojutsu or art of restraining; (5) hanbojutsu, the art of the half bo; (6) bojutsu, or the art of the Samurai 6-foot stick; (7) tanto or samurai knife; (8) traditional jujutsu or throwing arts; (9) tsune, the cane or walking stick; (10) kuboton, or hand stick; and (11) manrikigusari or weighted chain or rope.

All tied up? Samurai Martial Arts in Arizona

Ben Moeur volunteers at the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu
 to be tied up. His hands are tied with Sageo (cord attached
to a samurai's saya (scabbard) of a katana (samurai sword),
while his arms, legs and neck are restricted using hojo cord.

During the 2015 Utah gasshuku, Soke Hausel, from Arizona traveled to Salt Lake City to teach a variety of martial arts including kobudo, self-defense, tameshiwara, and hojojutsu to the Utah Shorin-Ryu karate group. The Utah Shorin-Ryu Karate group is led by another Hall-of-Fame martial artist - Hanshi Rob Watson, 9th dan.  

At the clinic, members trained in kama and hanbo - weapons of self-defense. The kama is considered to be an Okinawan kobudo weapon and hanbo a Japanese martial art weapon. A special request to learn tameshiwara led Soke to teach the group about rocks & rock identification before moving on to breaking rocks with bare hands. 

During the weekend clinic, Soke taught self-defense techniques against an assailant armed with handgun and a rifle. Then the group moved onto the jujutsu art of hojojutsu -basically methods used to restrain prisoners with rope.

Logan and Thadd are prisoners of the Utah samurai during the Utah
Gassaku clinic at the East Canyon resort in the Wasatch Mountains.

Group photo of kobudo participants at the August 2015 Gassaku at the East Canyon Resort,
east of Salt Lake City.

Kris Watson prepares to throw Renshi Todd Stoneking, 7th dan at the Gassaku

Arizona Sojutsu - Ancient Samurai Martial Arts

The Itsukushima Shrine, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Photo by Andy Finley, Hanshi

One of several Japanese/Okinawan samurai (pechin) arts taught at the Arizona Hombu dojo is  sojutsu, a martial art that employs yari (spear) as a weapon. Sojutsu training includes kata along with many techniques (waza) and kata applications (bunkai).

Some sensei at Juko Kai International teach these koryu arts. If you were to train in most of these samurai arts, such as sojutsu, you would most likely have to move to Japan, as few in the US teach these. Yari is a spear that was favored by some samurai and warrior monks in Japan's past. Yari is just one of a group of nihonto (Japanese blades) (日本刀) that include yari (槍), naginata (薙刀), katana (刀), wakizashi (脇差), seoidachi (also known as odachi - 大太刀), and tanto (短刀). When I was in the US Army, we trained with bayonets fixed to an M16, but of course, this was a modern martial art. 

Sojutsu clinic, Arizona Hombu Dojo, Mesa. Todd Stoneking, 8th dan
of Murray, Utah leads the 2018 Arizona-Utah Hombu annual clinic
attendees in kata using yari. Not everyone had yari, thus,
using a bo with an imaginary blade, can provide a substitute.

Some historians assume the yari originated in China; however, other historians suggest the spear is as old as Japan, itself. When the Japanese ancestors picked up sticks to hunt game and fish, they created the first Japanese spear. Since no one recorded this event, we are left to speculate when and where it occurred.

Some suggest yari is simply a spear, others suggest to be a true yari, the blade must have a full tang and the tang must slide inside a pole similar to the tang of a katana (samurai sword). Even so, researchers separate Japanese spears into categories to include: (1) hoko or the early spears use by Japanese ancestors, (2) hoko yari or yari-like spears that originated in China, and (3) yari blades with a full tang that exhibit unique metallurgy and swordsmith characteristics indigenous to Japan.



According to Japanese folklore, a god named Izanagi no mikoto stood at the Bridge of Heaven and thrust a hoko into the ocean. As he withdrew the hoko, shinny drops fell from the weapon and formed the Japan islands. This legend is very old and Draeger and Smith (1980) suggest the use of spears on the Japanese islands was older than the legend, and spears likely existed on Japan as early as 200 BC. Others argue spears appeared later in Japanese history, but this is likely an argument of semantics, which is why spears are separated into three categories.

Kapp and others (2002) reported hoko yari originated in China and was exported to Japan during the Nara Period (710-794 AD). These Chinese spears typically consisted of wavy-shaped blades mounted on 6-foot long poles. The side of these hoko yari often includes a kama (sickle) blade which was used for slicing and chopping. The base of the primary blade had a hollow socket that slipped over a pole rather than into the pole – in other words, it did not have a tang.

Ben blocks sword (katana) attack by Amira using the
pommel end of yari during a 2016 clinic at the Seiyo 
Hombu in Mesa.

Hoko-yari likely produced some interesting moments on the battlefield when a foot soldier, or an angry Buddhist priest lost their spear blade as it flew off the pole similar to what we periodically see in dojo today when students use low-cost katana that do not have full tang, or cheaply made tonfa purchased from most of the popular martial arts equipment outlets. I can visualize a young Japanese soldier on an 8^th century battlefield swinging a hoko yari with great focus stirred by adrenalin just to have the blade fly off before striking the intended target. Armed only with a bo I imagine hearing a loud "gulp" followed by loss of bodily functions as the opposing forces made their way toward him with blades drawn – makes you wonder how fast he could run.

This happened to me (just the part of losing the blade, not the latter). I purchased a modern garden hoe (kuwa) from a garden shop in Laramie, Wyoming that had a blade attached like a hoko yari. The blade simply slid over the end of the handle. I took my new kuwa to the evening class in the Education Building Gym on the University of Wyoming campus and I’m sure some members of the club remember this event. Luckily, I was facing the dojo shomen so no one was in front of me when I swung the kuwa down with full focus for atama uchi (head strike) at my imaginary opponent: the kuwa blade shot off the handle like a guided missile and struck the tatami (mats) on the shomen wall with a loud report that echoed throughout the gym and down the halls of the Education Building. I checked my garden hoko kuwa (made in China of course) to see if it had any warning labels stating it should not be swung or used in self-defense – there were no warnings.

I learned a valuable lesson: you cannot trust martial arts practice weapons or garden tools purchased from any martial arts supply house or local garden shop – most are junk and not made for kumite (sparring), kata, bunkai training let alone everyday use, and we should all consider wearing safety goggles because of this danger. As another example of the junk sold by these martial arts outlets, after the arrival of an eku I purchased from a well-known martial arts supply house, the very first time I swung the weapon in the air, it snapped in half!

Ben Moeur blocks sword attack by Amira Rodriguez using his yari during samurai arts clinic in 2016 in Mesa, AZ

When O'Sensei Bill Borea purchased garden hoes from a local hardware store in Gilbert, Arizona for use in our hombu dojo in Mesa. He drilled holes through each shaft and added a screw to keep the blades from flying off. Then I picked up a kuwa from the Mekong Plaza in Mesa. The kuwa has a very heavy blade that Sensei Borea reinforced as he did with the other hoes. It should now make a formable kobudo weapon.

Martial arts practice weapons are a problem. A few years ago I taught an expandable baton clinic in Casper, Wyoming and Hanshi Andy Finley purchased new kioga from the same, well-known, popular martial arts outlet. Before the clinic was over, half of the batons had self-destructed.

At a martial arts demonstration at a University of Wyoming basketball game we also had a weapon malfunction that other Wyoming martial artists will remember. My uke and I were demonstrating a fighting kata between bo and tonfa. With the first block of my tonfa, my uke’s bo broke in half - she ended the kata with a short hoko yari.

During the Heian Period (794-1184 AD), Japanese sword smiths progressed to a point that their blade work exceeded all others in the world. Japanese smithing and metallurgy resulted in some of the strongest and enduring blades in history. These sword smiths produced yari and naginata blades using the same methods for manufacture of katana blades. The naginata and yari blades were mounted on poles of varying lengths designed to outreach their opponents’ sword. Some were very long.

Yari of the Heian Period were unique in quality, sharpness, metallurgy, smithing and method for mounting on a pole arm. They were also unique because the blades were like a double-edged knife and good for slicing and thrusting. The edges of most yari were razor sharp. These had full tang to keep young soldiers from losing blades and soiling pants. In addition to the blade, the handle was used for thrusting and had a weighted pommel known as a hirumaki. The side of the pole was also used for striking.



Some blades came with sharpened horns or cross blades known as jumonji yari (also known as magari yari). These looked like a cross and were similar in shape to the Japanese number 10. Ten translates as ‘ju’, thus the origin of the root of jumonji. Some jumonji also had cross bars similar to the Okinawan nunte bo (aka nunti). The nunte bo was an Okinawan spear with three prongs. The two shorter prongs were directed in opposite directions. During the Heian Period, most yari were su-yari (straight blades). Later in the period, naginata were introduced with curved, single-edged blades (Sinclair, 2001).

During Kamakura times (1185-1333 AD), Japanese metallurgy progressed greatly. The bushi (samurai warrior) had grown accustomed to their swords which were portable and fast. It is said that excellent swordsmen could defeat a spearman (Draeger and Smith, 1980). The sword was considered the soul of samurai and became the favored weapon of samurai. The so-hei (warrior priests of militant Buddhist sects) chose yari and naginata as weapons.

Both yari and naginata had an advantage of reach over horse-mounted samurai. Near the latter half of the 16^th century, Japanese foot soldiers known as ashigaru were armed with long pikes (nagae yari) to defend against cavalry charges. Sinclaire (2001) reports yari were as long as 18-feet while most were 10- and 12-feet-long. Foot soldiers marched into battle with their nagae yari to stop the cavalry, while others carried shorter su yari, arquebusiers (muzzle-loaded firearms) and yumi (bow).

During the Edo era (1603-1868 AD) the yari lost favor as the samurai placed greater emphasis on katana and close quarters combat. Even so, some yari were still produced, but mostly were ceremonial.

• Draeger, D.E., and Smith, R.W., 1980, Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts:Kodansha International, 207 p.
• Kapp, L, Kapp, H., Yoshihara, Y, 2002, Modern Japanese swords and swordsmiths:Kodansha International, 95 p.



Sojutsu at the Hombu in Arizona

• Sinclaire, C., 2001. Samurai: The weapons and spirit of the Japanese warrior: The Lyons Press: 144 p.

Katana - Samurai Sword

It is said that our dojo doors were locked at night not to
protect those within, but to protect those who might
break into our dojo.

At the Hombu in the Phoenix East Valley, students have the opportunity to not only learn classical Okinawan arts of Karate and Kobudo, but also train in classical Japanese samurai arts.

Several swords were prominent during Feudal Japan and these are generally known as Japanese swords (日本刀) or nihontō. The kanji used to write Japanese sword(s) include ‘日’ the ideograph for sun, and ‘本’ the kanji for ‘origin’ or ‘root’ (this symbol is a pictorial graphic of a tree with a root at its base indicated by the small cross horizontal line at the bottom of the kanji). These two kanji (日本) are combined to represent Japan (origin of the sun). The third kanji (刀) represents sword: thus all together we have Japanese sword(s). The Japanese do not distinguish between plural and singular nouns.

Most Japanese swords are not well-defined and categories for length of the weapon are general. The lengths were measured in shaku (the average distance between nodes of a mature bamboo stem ~ 1 foot). The primary shaku used to measure most objects in Japan equals 30.3 cm (11.93 inches).

A general length classification scheme used for nihontō:

• tantō (knife or dagger) = 1 shaku or less;

• wakizashi or kodachi (short swords known as shōtō) = 1 to 2 shaku;
• katana or tachi (long swords known as daitō) = more than 2 shaku;
• ōdachi (long swords) = more than 3 shaku.

In addition to the above swords, the naginata and yari were considered to be part of the nihontō family even though they were pole mounted blades.

The most common sword known to Westerners is katana (刀). The katana is a single edged sword, with a curve blade whose possession was restricted to the samurai lineage during Feudal Japan. It was thought that katana were the soul of samurai and was so important that the samurai actually gave names to their swords, as they were considered to be part of the living.

Long Swords

(1) ōdachi (also known as ōtachi) (大太刀)

The ‘ō’ in ōdachi refers to ‘great’. The kanji for ‘great’ is written as ‘大’ which also means big. The ōdachi predated katana and had some unique characteristics. Not only was the sword noticeably long, the ōdachi was marked by religious inscriptions imprinted on the tang. It is thought by most researchers that ōdachi were used in ceremonies prior to battle; and because their length (5 to 6 shaku) was enormous (often longer than the samurai was tall), it is thought many were used as cavalry swords. The ōdachi would have been impractical to carry in an obi (belt) around one’s waist. Thus, it was thought the weapon was either carried on one’s back, in hand, attached to a horse, or by an assistant who followed the samurai.

Dr. Teule trains with bokken at a Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu
Clinic taught by Soke Hausel in Gillette, Wyoming.

(2) Nodachi

The nodachi is often confused with ōdachi. However, nodachi refers to any type of long battlefield or field sword (daitō) as well as a tachi and is often misapplied to any over sized Japanese sword. It has the same appearance and design as a tachi, but was significantly longer. The sword is believed to have been used primarily for dueling.

Daitō

(3) Katana (刀).

The katana (pronounced kah-ta-nah in Japanese and popularized as ka-tan-a in the West), was one of the traditional swords worn by samurai. It had a blade larger than 2 shaku with a more moderate curve than a similar blade known as tachi (see #4 below). The katana was worn on the left side of the samurai with the cutting edge (yaiba or ha) up. The blade included a circular to square guard (tsuba) separating it from a long grip handle or pommel (tuska) made for two hands. The blade of the katana along with the portion of the blade known as the nakago that extends into the handle was all one continuous piece known as the tang. Those katana made for combat (shinken) and training (iaitō) have full tang. This simply means that the nakago and ken (blade) are made of one, uninterrupted, piece of steel. Many cheap practice (iaitō) unfortunately have two separate pieces - a blade and handle. This results in loosening of the blade with prolong use until the handle starts to separate from the blade. Thus, when searching for an iaitō it is best to pay a few extra bucks and purchase one with a full tang. If you decide to purchase one to train in any of our dojo, it must be an iaitō with dull edge. Shinken are way too dangerous for dojo use and in Arizona should be reserved for trimming cactus.

Sensei Borea demonstrates naginata at Seiyo Kai Hombu in Arizona. Sensei is of
true Japanese samurai lineage and is the Staff Samurai at our dojo in Mesa, Arizona.

The grip handle of katana is typically covered with ray skin leather (same’) and wrapped with cord known as ito. To hold the handle (tsuka) in place on the nakago, a hole was punched into the steel nakago and a small bamboo peg (mekugi) forced through the handle into the nakago. When the handle is removed from a well-made katana by forcing the mekugi out, the swordsmith’s signature should be seen carved into the nakago. The katana was developed from an earlier sword referred to as uchigatana (打刀). The katana was carried in a scabbard known as the saya.

(4) Tachi (太刀). The katana and tachi look very similar but can be distinguished by locating the mei (signature) on the sword’s nakago under the handle. When worn, the mei would be carved on that side of the tang that would face outward when placed in one’s obi. Because the tachi is worn with the cutting edge down opposite of the katana, the mei will be on the opposite side of the tang for this sword. The tachi was often considered as a spare blade used in battle.

There were tachi with variations from the classical weapon that included a larger tachi (see #1 above) known as ōtachi (ōdachi) and a shorter sword known as kōtachi (kōdachi). The kōdachi was similar in length to wakizashi (see #5 below).

Shōtō (short swords)

(5) Wakizashi (脇差)

The wakizashi, also referred to as wakizashi no kataka, translates as ‘sword inserted at one’s side’. The wakizashi typically had a blade of 1 to 2 shaku. Those closer to the length of a katana, were referred to as ō-wakazashi, while a shorter blade wakizashi was closer to the length of a tanto and known as ko-wakizashi. The wakizashi was worn with a katana only by samurai. Together, the pair were referred to as daisho which translates as ‘dai’ (big) and ‘sho’ (little), terms some of us are already familiar with because some of our advanced karate kata use these terms, such as Passai Dai and Passai Sho.

Suzette practices Iaido at the Arizona Hombu, Mesa

The wakizashi was a back-up sword, also used for close quarters fighting and for seppuku (ritual suicide). The size of wakizashi was not regulated until the Edo Period when in 1638 AD, only samurai were allowed to wear katana of a regulated length. At this time wakizashi were also regulated. Samurai were allowed to wear both swords while those of the chonin class (merchants) were only allowed to wear a shorter ko-wakizashi to protect themselves from bandits. It was customary for samurai to leave katana at a door of a castle, but they always carried wakizashi. The wakizashi was the samurai’s honor blade and would never leave his/hers side, so much so, that it is reported samurai even slept with them under their pillows.

Tanto (knife)

(6) Tanto

The tanto was a knife worn by samurai of feudal Japan. One variety was that of the yoroi tōshi or dagger (about 8 inches long) that had a greater thickness and used for piercing armor. Another tanto was the aikuchi (匕首). The aikuchi had the distinctive characteristic of no tsuba, similar to another dagger known as a kaiken. See also ken tanto below (#8). Even so, many tanto had tsuba, such as the tanto given to me by the Utah Shorin Kai at the last Gassuku (see photo to right of tanto with shaku measuring tape).

Miscellaneous

(7) Chokutō.

The chokutō had a straight blade and was introduced to Japan from Korea.

(8) Kusanagi no Tsurugi

This was a double-edged sword used in the 5^th century in Japan and similar to the ken tanto (double-edged knife).

(9) Shirasaya (白鞘)

Shirasaya translates as ‘white scabbard’. This was a sword that had a plain wooded blade mount consisting of a saya (scabbard) with a tsuka (hilt) and traditionally used for storage when a sword blade was not needed for some time. In this form, it was not used on a battlefield.

(10) Shikomi-zue (仕込み杖)

The shikomi-zue is a sword-stick. These typically contained a blade inside a cane (tsue) mounting for concealment. Some of these also concealed other weapons such as pepper powder (metsubuski), chains, hooks, etc.

Schools (dojo) and Styles (ryu)

Most Japanese swords are traced to one of five provinces in Japan that included Shoshu, Yamato, Bizen, Yamashiro and Mino. There were different styles and systems of Japanese swordsmanship and training.

Kenjutsu, Kendo

Kenjutsu (sword techniques) is the martial art combat sword training. Similar to kenjutsu is kendo (way of the sword). Both tend focus on techniques of the sword after it has been drawn from the saya (scabbard). Kendo-ka practice with bamboo swords known as shinai, while wearing padded clothing known as bōgu and head gear known as men. Most kenjutsu use sword.

Kyoshi Rob Watson explains to members of the Utah Shorin Kai about kenjutsu and kendo while wearing bōgu and men of kendo and showing katana of kenjutsu. To the right, Renshi Todd Stoneking hands shinai to Kyoshi Watson.

Iaijutsu (iaidō 居合道) and Battōjutsu (抜刀術)

Iaijutsu, iaidō and battōjutsu are fast draw arts designed to develop fast draw with follow-up attacks with the sword. These arts are similar and generally only differ in training methods. For instance, battōjutsu incorporates multiple cuts following the draw of the sword; while iaidō emphasizes reaction to unknown scenarios, or a reaction to a sudden and swift attacks. In iaidō, the student begins training with a bokken (wooden practice sword) and later switches to a iaitō (dull-edged practice sword). Only very experienced practitioners use shinken (live blade) because of the extreme danger to oneself. Because iaidō is practiced with a weapon, whether it is a dull or live, nearly all training is by kata that includes drawing the weapon followed by cuts and finishing with ceremonial de-blooding of the blade and replacing the weapon back into the saya. Sparring is not part of iaidō, but is instead restricted to kendo. Another art that is similar to iaidō, is that of jōjutsu (training with a 4-foot staff).

Sojutsu (art of the spear), just one of
many martial arts taught at the Seiyo
no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai 
Hombu dojo in Arizona.

According to Wikipedia, some styles of iaidō include Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu, Muso Shinden Ryu, Mugai-Ryu, Jikyo-Ryu, Suio-Ryu, Motobu Udundi (Okinawan), Shindō Munen-ryu, Shinkage-ryū, Hōki-ryū, Tatsumi-ryū, Tamiya-ryū, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Takenouchi-ryū,Eishin-ryū

Sword testing, known as tameshigiri was designed to test the blade’s sharpness and the practitioner’s abilities to cut a variety of materials. Today, we often see cuts on straw on a vertical pole. In the past, it was not uncommon for some Japanese to test on cadavers of executed criminals. Few iaidō schools practice tameshigiri.

Samurai arts are also part of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo. In addition to iaido, our members train in jujutsu, hojojutsu, hanbojutsu, naginatajutsu and yarijutsu.

Some Books On Nihonto

Craig, Darrell, 1981, Iai – the art of Drawing the Sword: Lotus Press, Tokyo, Japan, 257 p

Yumoto, J, M., 1958, The Samurai Sword – A Handbook: Charles E. Tuttle Co, Tokyo, Japan, 191 p

Warner, G. and Draeger, D.F., 1982, Japanese Swordsmanship – Technique and Practice: Weatherhill, Boston, 296 p

Zier, Don, J., 2000, Japanese Sword Drawing: Unique Publications, Burbank, CA, 317 p