The answer can be found in the full video here: • The Samurai sword of b... If you like shadiversity shorts you can find more on our dedicated shorts channel @ShadiversityShorts #shorts
He’s also storing them on the rack incorrectly. You’re supposed to store katanas (and other single edge blades) with the blade side up so that the blade isn’t resting on the scabbard.
The katana is famous in the same way the colt peacemaker is famous. Symbolic of an era, basically a sidearm, useful for close combat in self defense, used in fights that were usually finished much quicker than the long drawn out sword duels or gunfights seen in movies, but iconic and cool and a genuine part of history nonetheless.
The Tachi was also designed to be used on horseback. "Katana" pretty much translates to "sword" so all of those are katana. The katana we're used to seeing is the Uchigatana.
I think that katana better refers to a single edged weapon(?) and tō is the generic for "sword". The uchi (striking) prefix in uchigatana distinguishes it from the shorter thrusting and slicing variants.
The katana is actually a beautiful sword and does what it’s meant to do really well: *sit around on top of your wardrobe for decorative purposes* Edit: THANKS FOR ALL THE LIKES!
@@samtherandom6404 Vergil’s katana is very basic and generic. Seriously, it looks like any katana in the world. It’s more the user than the actual weapon that makes it cool, since it’s nothing more than a normal looking katana. Very boring actually, considering how cool Dante’s sword is.
Believe it or not, but similar appearance doesn't mean that two swords are equal. Differences in balance, weight, grip length, and blade length can completely change the use and effect of a sword.
@@erikjrn4080 I think the point that he’s trying to make is that they’re both katanas, depending on lengths they have different names but they’re still both Katanas
@@reymondd220 Traditionally, in Japan, 'katana' simply means 'single-edged sword', so, in that sense, both are katanas. In the West, however, 'katana' has become the term for what the Japanese call 'uchigatana'. With a longer blade comes different usage, balance, thickness, grip length, and more. While it's true that many think that if they look the same, they are the same, that's a shallow understanding of swords. They're different.
@Erik Jrn if you want a literal translation, katana just means "sword", because they weren't very creative in their naming schemes. In referencing the specific blade though, then the difference between a katan and a tachi and a nodachi are substantial in terminology. Otherwise, the Japanese never would have specified different names for them. In short, your attempt at semantics failed, try again.
Tachi (太刀)is written as thick(太) and katana(刀). Tachi is characterized by being thick and long.Tachi was developed in 9th C. The tachi's center of gravity is in the hilt and can be wielded with one hand, so it can be used by cavalrymen as well. Uchigatana was developed in 12th C. uchigatana(打刀) is written as strike(打) and gatana(刀). Uchigatana is a katana developed for infantry. Katana is a major category and tachi and uchigatana are minor categories.
@@-_Alyssia_-You are correct. Except for the fact that all of those swords behind him, which are not tachi, are uchigatana. Which as OP said, are displayed tsuka to the left and blade facing up.
Tachi is a curved sword. Katana is a curved sword fit to be weilded in two hands from Japan. Evolved from the tachi. Handing out a direct translation is stupid and misinformed. Also, tachi also translates to sword. So I guess you're wrong anyway. They're all tachi.
Spears and long bows were the most commonly used weapons in the Japanese military. One designated soldier in a 5 man 'go' would typically use the tachi while the 4 spearman would protect him.
Here as someone who practices kendo and likes to study Japanese swords here’s a general rule of thumb: Odachi - I’m not completely sure, if I remember correctly used on horseback only and ritual purposes. Probably the longest type of Katana you can get Tachi - Longer sword used on horse back for warfare Uchigatana (normal katana) - Symbol of status of the samurai class, also can be used as a weapon is a samurai is attacked and a samurai in battlefield after less common use of the tachi Wakizashi - side arm if you lose your uchigatana. Can also be used to dual wield but not common however a lot of kenjutsu schools have nito techniques Tanto - usually a hidden self defense weapon, common for women to have to protect themselves
odachi's another name is nodachi and currently odachi just mean o(oki) tachi which mean big tachi katana is katana... uchigatana is a very noncommon use wakizashi's another name is kodachi which mean kid or little tachi tanto currently is a knife and most of knighthoods used (samurais are knights too) and every samurai hold one... they use to cut roops or another things even meat also use to make coup de grace or just during wrestling make the last hit
Wikipedia states that Nodachis were longer than Odachis, and that it is thought that Nodachis were merely Odachis used on the field: apparently they didn't really differentiate from them back in the day.
The tachi was more common because it was primarily used in mounted warfare, and samurai didn't fight on foot until much later in history. That's why a tachi is worn low and blade angled down, while the katana is worn blade up and in the belt... so it doesn't drag on the ground.... Tachis are longer so you can strike off of a horse, katanas are shorter because it's more convenient to use on foot. Source: I literally was at the Japanese National Museum in Tokyo 2 weeks ago and that's what their display for the swords said.
Thank you, idk of the video further explaining it mentions this, but people love to misrepresent the katana in both directions. The correct way to phrase what the guy said would be, "It wasn't the only sword used by samurai. It was just the foot soldiers' sword." It's like saying, "The M4 wasn't the only weapon the us military used. They use many other weapons like X or Y as well."
@@marciimeris503 yeah Shad definitely falls into the armchair historian camp - I kinda wish he would go back to world building and writing videos... That's what he excels at.
@Hawkshot86 I've only seen him pop up in shorts a few times. I think a big issue is shorts are too easy. You get way more views to do nothing. Yknow how many up and comers I see while svrolling through shorts that post a video of a mediocre play in cod with crappy music blaring over it, maybe some loud yelling too. And they get 10s of thousands of views
@@marciimeris503 From what I hear, shorts don't generate any money so it's kind of moot. Shad has been around for awhile and he's pretty big in the writing/history sphere.
@@marciimeris503 No, that would be the entirely wrong way of saying it. The katana is actually _very_ short for a two-handed sword, and not at all suited for the battlefield. Even foot soldiers used longer swords. The katana was primarily for civilian use. Note that this isn't at all in conflict with what OP learned at the museum, and that what OP learned at the museum isn't at all in conflict with what Shad said. Note also that Shad specified that the non-katana he showed was not a tachi; the samurai used a number of different swords, for a number of different situations, in a number of different eras.
I’ll be honest with ya here, I don’t even really care about swords and I only barely listened to this short, but I had this epiphanic moment here watching your video where I realized just how fucking beautiful humanity really is and how great a time it is to be alive. Like you just love swords and know a lot about them and dress up in your armor or knights clothing or whatever it is and talk about swords and the passion is very apparent. Idk man made me really appreciate life and the people living it
FYI, in Japan itself, katana is the Japanese name for single-bladed swords that exist throughout the world. While the Japanese themselves call Japanese internal swords as Nihonto, or you can call it Nihonto Katana.
@@Jykesonville Yeah that was a fun one to tell my friends. It's especially funny cuz you'll get people that are steadfast that anime can only refer to Japanese cartoons and it's like you guys do realize Anime unlike Manga doesn't have Kanji and is written in Katakana right? It's literally the Foreign loanword Animation lol.
I applaud your effort to educate others, but please learn the proper pronunciation for Japanese words / terminology. It's not 'tashi', it's 'tahchi'. Also, there were various types/lengths of tahchi used (ie. Odachi and Nodachi), most of which were used from horseback OR used against cavalry. Others that were even longer were strictly ceremonial and created as gifts for certain kami at various shrines.
I heard a saying about katana "If you pull out your katana be prepared to die" since Samurais and soldiers carried karana only for self defence and used spears pistols and rifles more commonly and used their katana as a last resort or to do a last stand
@@sabastjanadams1829 the appropriate way to display any Japanese sword is first, and most importantly, blade side upward, as a sword laying on it's blade can damage the edge. Secondly, the inscription should face the viewer when a sword is on display, so that it may be seen by a viewer without needing to he handled. With koshirae on, the sword should be displayed the same way out of respect for the sword, however when the blade is removed and displayed without koshirae, it is appropriate for the blade only to be displayed to show the inscription, while the koshirae may be displayed as well, underneath the blade and may face either direction.
Facing of the sword? Every sword is like a pointer or spear. The tip shows the direction where the ('in this case the Intention of cutting') awareness is pointing. So i knew the right sight or top is meant to be the 'future', the left shows the past. So is it the tip or the handle that points into the future (right) in times of Peace? Remember! -'the power of a sword, is in its sheet' -'the true Power of a sword is for unite, lesser than cut' Best Greetings!
@@Henbot Calm down, son, I'm talking about the people who think a katana can cut through machine gun barrels " 'cuz it's got, like, a gazillion layers of folded steel." Besides, what's to be insecure about? They're good swords for the limitations the smiths faced, but at the end of the day I'm very secure against them: I've got a musket, after all.
@@Dan_Kanerva True. But you don't see as many people arguing that as you do katanas, at least **I** don't. Probably doesn't help such proponents that even looking at only the realm of European pointy metal things, histocially speaking that style gave way to rapiers, sabers, etc.
@@Dan_Kanerva Yeah, but those who think like that are a small minority. You’re more likely to find katana fanboys than longsword fanboys or East Asian martial arts fanboys in general. But, I will say that the Longsword can technically beat every other sword. Why? Typology. With the amount of types, I would not be surprised if I find a longsword that can out-cut a katana or a longsword that can beat armour because it is heavier and more like a metal bat, which there is. As said by Oakeshott, Type XVII’s are more like metal bats. Great for thrust, difficult to align on cuts, and can actually be used as a semi-blunt weapon due to how thick the blade type was.
I would recommend laying the katanas on the other side while on the stand, as this position you're using can damage the sheat and the edge in the long term
As far as I can tell this is purely an arbitrary tradition thing, and what you just said doesn't apply for static display or storage and is another one of those myths. If there's no movement, unless its a terrible sheath, just the weight of the sword isn't going to damage it, and the wood isn't going to dull the blade
@@tommeakin1732 I indeed sayd "would recommend", purely based on my personal experience and knowledge, absolutely not forcing anyone to display their katanas in a way they won't like
@@tommeakin1732 regardless of the practical benefits, it's just a simple way to show your respect for traditions and a manifestation of etiquette. It's also worth placing the sword so that the tsuka looks to the left.
Katana is a word that encapsulates various types of Japanese Swords, including Tachi. When you think of the word "Katana", most of the time people are actually thinking of Uchigatana in particular
Weebs: "The katana is the ultimate sword! It can slice through anything!" Also weebs: "Wah, you stored the sword wrong, it's going to dull from simply facing the wrong way!"
@ろく I think what hes trying to say if the sword is so invulnerable and can cut anything then the way you store it shouldn't really matter. Hence the point these blades is just like any other sword it's not mystic nor special..
@@Kogasengaha_Hishoshi a Tachi was worn edge down because otherwise the curve of the sheath would drag it in the dirt... whereas an Uchigatana (not a katana, katana just means "sword," they're all katana) would be worn edge up because it made the sheath not protrude as far back from your person.
Not sure if you cover this in the full video, Shad, but I think it's worth noting that 90%+ of all samurai depictions in media are samurai from the Sengoku Jidai period, which is after the katana became more common than the tachi. Virtually no one knows that the samurai were primarily mounted horse archers in the beginning (roughly speaking, the time period you are discussing regarding the tachi).
Also, the Samurai used guns and bows more than any blade for most of their time. At the time of the Satsuma rebellion there was even a dojo teaching Samurai to use artillery
Neither the Odachi nor the Nodachi are attested to as a common primary weapon as far as we can tell-for anti-cavalry warfare, the Yari and Naginata were preferred.
@@Corrael i can see how a bigger sword would be advantageous over a smaller sword when trying to fight someone on the back of a horse, but personally, i agree with them, and you, that a sword on a stick would be more effective than either.
Just like all cultures and races throughout history, the choice of weapon was based on what they could effectively wield. Few Japanese had the stature to make the most of the nodachis length and weight.
Idk If you mentioned it but the Tachi was used more between the 10th to the 15th century because it was a horseback weapon where longer reach was more important than precise cuts and slashes
This reminds me of the time when reviewers were reviewing “ For Honor” Characters. Specifically the Samurai. The one thing that I always came back to in why the types of swords are being used, are being used, is because of the original story of the game. There was a mega earthquake that destroyed literally everything and cramming nations together. Japan seems to have been hit the hardest cus all that’s left are the soldiers or any1 left to fight. Yes they had the upper hand in tech but handheld weapons were spread thin and given to everyone as a last ditch effort, and they had to use everything. They couldn’t let any weapons go to waste. (So just the 2 that use the katana variants) Orochi used katana’s cus they were trained to be quick and were the ground units And kensei were the Calvary units but the quake either killed or scared all the horses, but they were still skilled in the longer variant and able to use them so they did. But yes, the reasons for the choices were because they had no other choices.
Tachi usually had much more blade curvature. What he's holding there looks more like a nodachi, which had a different purpose. Sasaki Kojiro was a master of nodachi and students of nodachi were mostly taught to use them on foot and with both hands. Tachi were primarily used on horse back with one hand (the other hand gripping the horse reins). To give more insight into how Tachi were used, mounted samurai would start battles in skirmishes using bow and arrows on horseback. Once enough casualties were dealt to the opponent, or when arrows ran out, they would draw their Tachi for mounted assault. The greater curvature of the Tachi made it an excellent weapon to slice down on to the enemy from horseback (think curved sabres used by mounted calvary during Napoleonic times). Another reason why many samurai chose Tachi over spears or polearms during this period is because it was more cumbersome to have a long spear slung over your shoulder while firing arrows on horseback. It must be noted that horseback archery was the main method of warfare for samurai during this era, and Tachi was usually the follow up weapon to finish off the enemy. Fact: many people associate Japanese swords as being worn blade up, but this wasn't always the case. Tachi were slung blade down in the scabbard because the curvature of the Tachi made it difficult to draw the sword if worn blade up, especially while wearing motion-restricting armour. Also for this exact same reason, many samurai even wore their shorter Katanas blade down well into the Sengoku Jidai period while they were fully armoured for battle. Katanas were only worn blade up while samurai were walking down the market or doing other daily business, because this made it possible to draw the blade in a single motion with the sharp edge facing the enemy.
It depends on how it was designed. There different types of Tachi. One that was used in World War II by the Japanese officers was worn with the blade down instead of up. Those that were worn with horse back had the blade faced upwards. Because if the horse went faster than a slow walk it would bounce the sword around inside the saya. And then dulling it like you said.
@@PuzzlingDingo traditional display, that is correct. While in the field. It changes. Also never hold a katana with the curve facing outward. That is a formal challenge for a dual with whoever the outward curve is facing or to anyone that wants to accept a dual.
As a note. Tachi 太刀 (Great blade) is pronounced Ta-Chi (Chi like on Chin word). Put it simple, If you pronounced it Ta-Shi/Ta-Shee, It will change the meaning become 他誌／たし＝ Other magazine. P.S : 動画ありがとう ^^
@@stefanbailey4218 handle is supposed to be to the left and the edge should be facing up, if the edge is facing down it could dull the blade or even cut through the sheath
The extra length of the handle says to me it might be an odachi which is traditionally a two handed weapon. A tachi is a one handed or hand and a half sword meant for giving longer reach on horseback. An uchigatana(the Katana we all know and love) is a short blade meant for fighting on foot like a nodachi. There are probably a dozen different styles of blade that are all constructed like an Uchigatana but aren't one because of differences in length and blade profile. The reason Uchigatanas are so well known is because they are intended as a one-on-one weapon for self defense. They were commonly carried alongside a more utilitarian weapon like a tachi or odachi, or a polearm or bow, not always as a primary weapon. Being able to carry a secondary blade in public, if you even had a blade, was pretty much exclusive for the rich or powerful and was symbolic of status and station. This status meant a lot of famous swordsmiths made them on commission and they were a dedicated industry. Most Japanese blades were mass-produced, but these symbolic uchigatanas tended to be handmade because of how symbolic and important they were. The average soldier was probably never even allowed to touch one. These status symbol uchigatanas were only used very rarely in combat in the most serious of circumstances. Odachi, tachi, polearms like naginata(poleblades, kinda like a glaive) and yari(spears) were much more common on the battlefield and in the hands of normal soldiers. Uchigatanas are nominally too light an delicate for heavy combat.
On one hand katana is overrepresented, but on the other hand, think about amount of pistols in the movies and why actors mostly work with them. Katana is also a sidearm. And thus the lightest weapon you can make actors work with and yet seem threatening enough. Just like pistol is last ditch weapon for a soldier, so was katana(well, technically there was one blade a size smaller after that). And just like pistol(or saddle sword in hands of Hollywood) it became the "main" weapon of characters on screen. Movies dictated fashion on such heroes and inspired books, cartoons and games. Japanese prevalence of katana wielding characters in fiction is no different to amount revolver wielding gunslingers in space or post-apocalyptic future or every knight having only a saddle sword to their name ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The overrepresentation has very little to do with convenience of carry or use as far as I can tell. There's a lot of swords out there that are overall lighter, and balanced closer to the hand (more agile and easier for actors to use) for the same kinds of lengths. The weird thing with the overrepresentation of Japanese swords is how US cinema took it up and put them everywhere, and how we've apparently collectively concluded that they can fit in all manner of different time periods and settings, be it modern day contemporary society or hundreds of years into the future in a cyberpunk world lol
It's probably also related to how jidai geki is very big on the romantic period of the late Sengoku, involving ronin and the fallout AFTER the war. There are many famous war stories but a ton of the romanticized like that of Musashi or the 47 Ronin are based on more personal journeys where the katana WOULD be the most practical choice because it isn't a war.
Wakizashi, tanto, kaiken, sai, and kodachi were all generally shorter than uchigatana. There are also short but threatening bladed tools from Japan such as the nara and kunai
Wakizashi(a short sword) was typically used as a side arm not a katana. If you want to compare it to guns, a wakizashi would be a full sized pistol, a katana would be an SBR or compact rifle, tachi would be a standard rifle. This comparison and is used mostly for conceptualizing, and does not reflect exactly how each was used.
Shad if those katanas are sharp please dont keep them on that rack with a blade down, they are meant to be kept with a blade up to prevent potentially dulling the blade and damaging the scabbard as it's stabbing into the wood
Traditional japanese swords carried a lot of stress in the edge. Inexpert polishing can damage the structural integrity of the sword e.g. a hagire or crack perpendicular to the blade running through hardened steel hamon which made the sword pretty much unusable. Professional sharpeners called togishi worked very slowly, with the initial sharpening taking weeks. Obviously resharpening is more efficient, however since it strips away hardened steel each time, it is undesirable to do too often.
Iron sand in Japan is ilmenite iron sand contained in granite made by weathering magma, and it is called masasatetsu and contains titanium. Iron sand is low in phosphorus and sulfur, impurities that make steel brittle, and high in vanadium, which strengthens steel. Since Japan has many volcanoes and a large amount of iron sand could be extracted from the mountains, the former sites became terraced rice fields. In ancient Japan, slag was called noro, and the process of removing slag was called noro dashi or noro shibori. In tatara ironmaking, the iron sand is semi-molten by keeping the furnace at 1300℃, but only phosphorus, sulfur and impurities and slag are melted and discharged. Ironmaking and impurity removal work take time because of the low temperature of the furnace, but high-quality steel can be produced. So impurities and slag are removed from the material tamahagane of katana. Highly rated luxury Japanese knives are made using the same traditional method as katana. ru-vid.comTldpPYewaQo ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tbbky_RwFyc.html&ab_channel=JapanGo%21 The Japanese low-temperature reduction method makes the grains of the steel smaller, so the steel has excellent toughness. The high-temperature reduction method makes the steel grains larger, making the steel brittle and lowering its toughness. Vanadium makes the steel malleable and easy to roll, making it easy to fold. By folding, the vanadium is finely dispersed and combined with carbon to form a fine metal structure, so the katana has excellent hardness, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and toughness, and becomes beautiful when sharpened. Hitting the steel with a hammer removes the carbon with a spark, so the carbon content drops to 0.7%, which is suitable for katana. The approximate amount of carbon can be determined by the shape of the spark. By folding, the steel of katana is in a state where austenite and martensite, which have different hardnesses, are dispersed. When a katana is sharpened with a Japanese sharpening stone, the austenite is removed and martensite remains, so the blade becomes like a microscopic saw. That's why Japanese knives pull when cutting. China and Mongolia developed blast furnaces earlier than the West, but from around the 10th century they imported katana from Japan and used it in their armies. China also had swords like longswords and rapiers, but based on katana, Qijiadao, wodao, and miaodao were developed. Around 1970, Japanese steel company Hitachi Metals analyzed and applied tatara and tamahagane to develop Yasugi Specialty Steel (yasugi hagane) and built a sponge iron plant. Yasugi Steel has the same properties as katana, so it is hard, impact-resistant, and hard to break. Similar to tatara ironmaking, Yasugi Steel is a low-temperature ironmaking process, so it takes a long time to make, but it can produce high-quality steel. This special steel is used for various purposes such as cutlery steel, high-end kitchen knife material, razor material(Gillette,Schick,Wilkinson razor steel), automobile parts material, automobile engine parts, and aircraft engine parts. Japanese knives and zwilling Japanese knives are made from steels such as Blue Steel (Aogami) and White Steel (Shirogami) based on Yasugi Steel. Around the 6th century, high-quality iron sand could be mined in the Yasugi region, so it became a town of iron manufacturing. Yasugi City is currently producing Yasugi Specialty Steel at the Hitachi Metals factory and exporting it to the world. Steelmaking engineers at the Hitachi Metals plant learn the traditional tatara ironmaking process. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yvJGmLuhwzs.html In the 14th century, katana craftsmen migrated to Seki City and produced katana in large quantities. Seki City still produces katana and knives. German knife maker zwilling parsed tamahagane for katana material. zwilling manufactures high-end kitchen knives made from Japanese steel in its Japanese factory. Day in the Life of a Japanese Knife Maker ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q-8dnpiEePk.html Japanese Knife & Sword City: Seki Experience ★ ONLY in JAPAN ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1gl95A6nb6w.html Yaxell Factory Tour - Burrfection Exclusive ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iiT_MMJcDIo.html
Is there a site that gives a comparison between Japanese and Medieval metalworking? A lot of the process sounds similar, but I'm not an expert to know the exact differences.
Since these are Tachi they usually have a handle which makes the sword face blade side down. So you actually wear them the opposite way you would a katana where katana are attached to the obi blade side up. But I'm not entirely sure about the displaying etiquette for Tachi vs wearing it.
Not against the purists. Displaying the katana with the curve down isn’t wrong because of “culture”, it can damage both sword and sheath. Now I should add, the handles are on the wrong side, provided that the camera hasn’t flipped the image, and this is definitely a culture thing. It boils down to the fact that having the hilt (although most sources reference the “tsuba”, which is the handguard) to the right makes it easier to unsheathe the katana and have it ready for combat, so it signifies that you’re actively at war with someone. Unless Shad takes his haters very seriously, it is not proper etiquette to display his katanas like that. Really sorry if you already knew all of this and/or I sounded condescending in any way, not my intention to do so, but English isn’t my first language so I’m not very good at not sounding condescending when explaining things.
In fact it's exactly the same as for occidental european swords: it depend of the datation, a XIIc tachi is sometimes far away of a XVIc tachi. Moreover, japanese arms and armors are tricky (european too but it is less exploited, lack of museum extant) because there is "ancient style" swords, and sometimes a blade mounted as tachi became an uchigatana or a katana became a wakizachi. And if you're not mad after hearing that, don't forget that the classification of swords based on measurement are also recent, it depend of the swordsmith and the purpose. That's why I prefer say daïto and shoto. It is maybe incorrect but still more global, like in medieval reenactment, with long and short blade.
Japanese uses a long a "aa" in all instances. Also, there is both a chi and a shi in the language, each pronounced differently and distinctly... take the word "church", the first ch is hard, and is the one used in chi, while the softer second ch is soft, and is used in shi. Meaning, Shad completely muffed the pronunciation of tachi.
I'm confused by your example with "church", both use the ch chi sound, how did u get sh shi for the short ch sound? Either way, u are say it is pronounced as taa-chi and not tashi right? Also, out of curiousity.... what do japanese use for X sound (ex, ax) and also the tss/tsz sound? Is X said as shi?
@@Rohan_Trishan in japanese, words are comprised of syllables beginning with a consonant and containing one vowel, or just a vowel. for example, ka, ta, and na are three japanese characters. only exeception is n, which can exist without a vowel. there is no way to pronounce an X sound properly using japanese syllables, but the closest you could get would be something like 'ekuse' or 'ekushi'. for ts, again, stacking consonant sounds isnt really a thing in japanese but there is the 'tsu' character.
@@Aidantheunemployed No, he addressed this in a video Basically, it does so little damage to the blade that one cut from the katana does so much more damage than anything to do with the sheath, that it'd take years of display and trillions of sheath draws to do the same amount of damage as a single slice. And if you're that worried about keeping your blade sharp, you'll never actually use the blade.
I read an article years ago, which said that a katana was a big sword which had been broken and remade into a shorter blade. The article was about a motorcycle. A Japanese motorcycle.
