Quel katana choisir pour débuter ?

For safe practice, start with an unsharpened iaitō, 1045 aluminum or steel blade, length ~70 cm. For cutting, choose a sharpened 1045/1060 shinken with differential tempering.

Quelle différence entre katana et iaitō ?

The katana is sharp, designed for cutting. The iaitō is not sharpened, designed for learning to draw and kata.

Proposez-vous la gravure personnalisée ?

Yes, in-house workshop. Name in Japanese, kanji, kami motif or stylized hamon. Graphic validation before engraving.

Where to buy a real katana?

#Terressens, French store specializing in online sales of katanas and accessories, with engraving workshop.

#Terressens is a French boutique specializing in katanas. The personalized engraving workshop allows for unique graphics on the blade.

Saviez-vous que le katana descend d’épées continentales droites avant de devenir un symbole japonais ?

Yes! Straight chokutō blades imported in the VIᵉ-VIIIᵉ centuries preceded the tachi and then the uchi-gatana. By combining tamahagane and differentiated tempering, Japan forged the katana, national weapon and emblem.

Saviez-vous que nombre de tachi médiévaux ont été raccourcis en katana à l’époque d’Edo ?

Yes; the practice of suriage, sometimes to the point of ō-suriage, adapted ancient tachi to the uses of the time. A Rai Kunimitsu blade, shortened by Umetada Myōjū, is an example preserved in the Kyoto National Museum.

Katana: Japanese sword, personalized engraving and tips #Terressens

Katana: Japanese sword, personalized engraving and advice

The katana is a Japanese sword with a curved, single-edged blade, associated with both martial practice and collecting. It is associated with the samurai...see more

💡 Did you know?

From chokutō to katana, when Japan forges its identity

Long before the katana, Japan adopted straight blades chokutō of Chinese inspiration, attested in the imperial deposits of the Shōsōin in the VIᵉ-VIIIᵉ centuries. In the Heian period, warfare on horseback favors the tachi curve. Then, between the XIIIᵉ and XVᵉ centuries, the art of forging refined a signature of its own: steel tamahaganedifferentiated hardening (yaki-ire), quenching line hamon. Worn slipped over the belt, cutting upwards, theuchi-gatana gains in responsiveness on foot, and gradually establishes itself as a katana, the aesthetic and technical symbol of a Japan that has absorbed its continental heritage and reinvented it.

Sources:
. Met Museum, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, section Japanese Arms and Armor
. Shōsōin Repository, straight chokutō blades
. K. Yumoto, The Samurai Sword
. Markus Sesko, Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords

Medieval tachi shortened to katana. The illustrations in this section are created using artificial intelligence, under the direction of our editorial team. This technology enables us to bring historical or legendary scenes to life, while respecting our passion for authenticity and the imaginary. #Terressens, where stories take shape

💡 Did you know?

Medieval tachi shortened into katana

In the archipelago, many tachi from the XIIIᵉ-XIVᵉ centuries were given a "second life" as katana. During the Edo period, shorter blades were favored because they were worn on the belt, with the cutting edge upwards, and because fighting took place closer together; this led to the practice of suriage, i.e. silk reduction (nakago) to adapt an old blade to current standards. When the reduction is significant, we speak of aō-suriageThe original signature is often lost. A famous example illustrates this phenomenon: a blade by Rai Kunimitsu, master of the Yamashiro lineage at the end of Kamakura, was shortened by Umetada Myōjū and transformed into a katana; it is listed in the collections of the Kyoto National Museum and the Japanese e-Museum explicitly specifies this intervention. As is often the case, this adaptation takes nothing away from the metallurgical quality... but instead tells the moving story of the sword and saber in Japan.

Sources:
. Kyoto National Museum (§ Sword (Katana), Signed "Rai Kunimitsu" (with Inscription "Polished by Umetada"))
. e-Museum Japan (§ Sword (Katana)... shortened by Umetada Myōjū)
. NBTHK AB (§ Exquisite Sword Characteristics, glossary suriage, ō-suriage)

💡 Did you know?

The katana wasn't always curved

Contrary to popular belief, the samurai katana is not a thousand-year-old weapon in its current form. Before its famous curvature, Japanese warriors used straight blades called chokutō, inspired by Chinese swords. It wasn't until the IXᵉ century that Japanese blacksmiths, faced with the specific needs of mounted combat, developed the tachi, a long, curved saber, the direct ancestor of the katana.
Evolution accelerated in the XIIIᵉ century, particularly after the Mongol invasions, which prompted craftsmen to perfect forging techniques. They introduced selective tempering and steel bending(tamahagane) to create blades that were both hard and flexible. The word katana was coined to designate a shorter, upward-cutting blade, ideal for close combat. It became the emblematic weapon of the samurai during the Muromachi period (XIVᵉ-XVIᵉ century).

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Katana: Japanese sword, personalized engraving and advice

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💡 Did you know?

From chokutō to katana, when Japan forges its identity

💡 Did you know?

Medieval tachi shortened into katana

💡 Did you know?

The katana wasn't always curved

Practical information & magazine

Is the katana authorized in France?

How heavy is a real katana?

What type of katana should I choose?

History and symbolism of the katana in Japanese culture

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