A nodachi (野太刀:のだち, nodachi^?) is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Nodachi approximately translates to "field sword". However, some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword".^{[citation needed]} A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi". Thus, while the original use of the term may have been to refer to any type of long battlefield sword (daitō), including the tachi, it is frequently misapplied to any type of oversized Japanese sword. Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An ōdachi An ōdachi (大太刀; big/thick sword) was a type of long Japanese sword. ... The word daito refers to Japanese long swords. ... Tachi forged by Bishu Osafune Sukesada, 12th year of the Eishô era, a day in February (1515, Muromachi). ...

History and Use

Nodachi have the same general appearance and design of a tachi though they are significantly longer. The nodachi was carried by foot soldiers and was designed as a weapon for war versus cavalry and open field engagements. Nodachi were generally used on open battlefields as their length made their use indoors or close quarters difficult. They were an effective weapon against cavalry, though they were not commonly used. Nodachi were infrequently used for several reasons: French Republican Guard - May 8, 2005 celebrations Cavalry (from French cavalerie) were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. ...

• 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 arguably more effective for the same role on the battlefield.

During times of peace the sword was worn slung across the back as a symbol of status.^{[citation needed]} 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 abnormal size and weight, but like any weapon, could be extremely deadly if the warrior wielding it was skilled. The size of the blade made the nodachi a fearsome weapon when wielded by a skilled warrior. The length of the nodachi's hilt varied between twelve to thirteen inches (30 to 33 centimeters). Its cutting capability and range exceeded that of a katana, due to its weight and size. Legend says that a nodachi could cleave a warrior and his horse in half with a single blow. A samurai wielding a naginata Naginata (なぎなた, 長刀 or 薙刀) is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Wakizashi style sword mounting, Edo period, 19th century A wakizashi (, Kanji for side arm) is a traditional Japanese sword with a shōtō blade between 30 and 60 cm, with an average of 50 cm (between 12 and 24 inches), similar to but shorter than a katana and sometimes longer...

In some Chinese martial arts, Pa Kua Chang being perhaps the best known example, oversized weapons are used for training purposes in order to condition the martial artist to handle a normal-sized weapon more efficiently (as is the case in Japanese martial arts with the suburitō, a heavy wooden sword). Chinese martial arts describes the enormous variety of martial art styles originating in China. ... BāguàzhÇŽng is one of the three major internal Chinese martial arts, the other two being Xingyiquan (形意拳) and Taijiquan (太極拳). BāguàzhÇŽng literally means eight trigram palm, referring to the trigrams of the Yijing, one of the canons of Taoism. ... Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. ... A suburito is a bokken of weight significantly greater than that of a typical bokken; as such, it is used for practicing Suburi (sword swining practice) and solo katas only, and is not used for bokken-on-bokken combat. ...

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). Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. ...

This Fearsome Sword was also used by Sasaki Kojiro. A very skilled warrior and deadly with the nodachi. He is some what famous for loosing to Musashi Miyamoto(who some say was the greatest swordsmen that ever lived).

Fiction

Nodachi are often depicted in video games, manga, and anime. It is interesting to note the proliferation of nodachi in fiction; however, historically nodachi were very rare. This article is about computer and video games. ... Manga )   (pl. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Fiction (from the Latin fingere, to form, create) is storytelling of imagined events and stands in contrast to non-fiction, which makes factual claims that can be substantiated with evidence. ...

See also

• Daikatana
• Ōdachi

Daikatana (usually given as the kanji 大刀) is a pseudo-Japanese term meaning large sword. (In Japanese, 大刀 is actually read daitō, and is a less-used synonym for uchigatana. ... An ōdachi An ōdachi (大太刀; big/thick sword) was a type of long Japanese sword. ...

External links

• Choken Battojutsu Kageryu – Longswords of Yanagawa-han