A kodachi (小太刀:こだち, kodachi^?), literally translating into "small or short tachi (sword)", is a Japanese sword that is too short to be considered a short sword but too long to be a dagger. Because of its size, it could be drawn and swung extremely quickly. Thus, it could be used as something of a shield, while using a form of hand to hand combat to attack. Since this sword was shorter than two shaku (about two feet) in length, it did not exceed the blade length limits of non-samurai during the Edo period and could be worn by merchants. Tachi forged by Bishu Osafune Sukesada, 12th year of the Eishô era, a day in February (1515, Muromachi). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Bold text This article is about the weapon. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Japanese unit. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Edo Period. ...

A kodachi's length is similar to that of the wakizashi, and though the blades differ greatly in construction, the kodachi and the wakizashi are similar enough in size and technique that the terms are sometimes (mis)used interchangeably. While the kodachi was a set length, the wakizashi was forged to complement the height of its wielder or the length of the katana it was paired with, and thus varied. The kodachi also features greater curvature than a wakizashi, and typically has a longer handle. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

The prefix "ko-" means "short," and can be attached to any of the names of specific types of swords to indicate something shorter than "normal." As the prefix "ō-" can mean "great" or "long," it follows that the opposite end of this length spectrum of the tachi is the ōdachi. An ōdachi An ōdachi (大太刀; big/thick sword) was a type of long Japanese sword. ...

As a result of the kodachi's size range (between two and 2.75 feet long), the kodachi's size brought on a lighter weight which cut some of its attack ability but instead raised its defense capability. It is known as "a sword that can be used as a shield," hence the name "shield sword".^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Shōtō
• Wakizashi
• Tachi
• Katana