Odachi

An ōdachi

An ōdachi (大太刀; "big/thick sword") was a type of long Japanese sword. The term nodachi (野太刀 "field sword"), which refers to a different type of sword, is often mistakenly used in place of ōdachi.

The character for ō (大) means "big" or "great". The characters for da (太) and chi (刀) are the same as tachi (太刀), the older style of sword/mounts that predate the katana. The chi is also the same character as katana (刀) and the tō in nihontō (日本刀 "Japanese sword"), originally from the Chinese character for a knife, dāo.

To qualify as an ōdachi the sword in question must have a blade length of 3 shaku (90.9 cm) or more, however, as with most terms in Japanese sword arts, there is no exact definition of the size of an ōdachi.

Contents

1 Purpose
2 Production
3 How to use
4 Reasons for loss of popularity
5 External link

Purpose

The purpose of the ōdachi can be categorized as follows:

As an offering to a shrine or gods. Some ōdachi were dedicated with prayer to win a war, others were placed in shrines as legendary swords from mythology.
As a weapon. From explanations in old texts, such as Heike-monogatari, Taihei-ki tell us that ōdachi were used by soldiers during battles.
As a symbol for an army. Some ōdachi are too long for practical use. They cannot be used in a battle but it is said that they could have been used as a symbol of an army, such as flags and spears^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}.
As a trend during a certain period. Some swords were also used for ceremonies.
To show the swordsmith's skill.

Most ōdachi were used for the first two reasons.

Production

Ōdachi are very difficult to produce. The requirements to make a good ōdachi are as follows:

A lot of steel is needed and it takes longer to make than a normal sword. However, to make a good ōdachi it is important to hammer the steel quickly. This requires great skill from the swordsmith.
An ōdachi is made with teamwork. Perfect teamwork is required to make a good one.
More skill is required in quenching and tempering than for a normal sword.
Special facilities are required. For example, the quenching tank must be bigger than that used for normal swords.
The method of polishing is different. Ōdachi need to be hung from the ceiling or placed in a stationary position to be polished, unlike normal swords which are moved over polishing stones.

How to use

Ōdachi that were used as weapons were too long for samurai to carry on their waists like normal swords. There were two methods in which they could be carried.

One method was to carry it on your back. This was impractical, however, as it was impossible for the samurai carrying the sword to draw it quickly.
The other method was simply to carry the ōdachi by hand. The trend during the Muromachi Era was for the samurai carrying the ōdachi to have a follower to help him draw it.

Ōdachi swordplay styles focused on downward cuts and different wields than those of normal swords.

The ōdachi's importance died off after the Osaka-Natsuno-Jin war of 1615 (battle between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori). Since then it has been used more as a ceremonial piece.

Reasons for loss of popularity

Battles in fields did not occur after 1615.
The Bakufu government set a law which prohibited holding swords above a set length (in Genna 3 (1617), Kan'ei 3 (1626) and Shoho 2 (1645)).

After the law was put into practice, ōdachi were cut down to the shorter legal size. This is one of the reasons why ōdachi are so rare. Ōdachi were no longer of practical use, but were still made as offerings to Shinto shrines. This became their main purpose. Due to the amount of skill required to make one it was considered that their awesome appearance was suitable for praying to the gods.

External link

[Pictures of some blades]

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