Samurai swords

Samurai swords were the finest swords

Samurai swords were the finest ever made anywhere in the world. The Japanese samurai warriors usually had both a long samurai sword and a short samurai sword.

The wakizashi

The wakizashi was a short samurai sword. Samurai warriors wore the wakizashi at the waist.

The katana

The katana was a longer curved sword. The katana was thrust through the belt of samurai warriors.

The naginata

On top of carrying the wakizashi (short samurai swords) and the katana (long samurai swords), Japanese samurai warriors often carried a naginata. A naginata is a long pole with a curved blade at the end.

Samurai armors

The Japanese samurai warriors wore special suits of armor made by craftsmen. These craftsmen also made the samurai swords and were greatly respected by the samurai warriors. The quality of the work was very high. Not only were the arms and armor of the samurai skilfully made, they were also extremely decorative. Samurai swords were thought to be so important that special mystic rituals were performed while the samurai swords were being made.