European Knight vs. Japanese Samurai

Also, all sources referenced are listed in first post. Armament Here is maybe the largest point of contention when one brings up the question of East vs West, Samurai vs Knight. In popular culture, the Longsword is seen as a slow, heavy, unwieldly weapon that was used without fighting finesse. However, this couldn't be further from the truth, and in the context of this match up, the longsword comes out on top. Range The longsword blade tended to be around 36-40 inches, with a full length of anywhere from 46-50 inches[10]. In combination with the Knight’s longer arms, it would have had excellent reach, especially when thrusting. On the other hand, the Katana’s blade tended to be on the order of 23-28 inches, with a full length of around 34-40 inches. Given all of this, it is safe to give the edge, so to speak, to the longsword in this category, especially, I can’t emphasize enough, when one adds the length of the blade to the length of the wielders’ arms. As a tall modern fencer, I can attest that while size and reach isn’t everything (and I lose all the time to very short fencers), it is most definitely a factor. Advantage: Longsword Weight Surprisingly to most, the Katana gains no advantage here as I touched on earlier, with the Katana generally ranging from 2.5-3lbs, and the longsword being 2.5-3.5lbs. Although the upper range of the significantly “longer” longswords may have been greater than the upper range of the Katana, the sidearms used by our warriors would have been pretty much the same weight despite the difference in length. The Katana may have been a couple of ounces lighter, but not enough to be at all detectable, especially when you consider that the larger knight would have been stronger. This quote demonstrates my point beautifully¹¹: “As leading sword expert Ewart Oakeshott unequivocally stated: "Medieval Swords are neitherunwieldably heavy nor all alike - the average weight of any one of normal size is between 2.5 lb. and 3.5 lbs. ” To give an example of this comparison, the cold steel longsword weighs 44.9 ounces, or about 2.8lbs, while their 29 inch bladed katana weighs 41.2 ounces, or about 2.6lbs¹². The closeness in weight despite differences in length is best understood by looking at the geometry of the weapons. The Katana is curved, and would be slightly longer if unbent, while the longsword is completely straight. Additionally, the longsword tapers off to a thin, stiff thrusting point, while the katana maintains uniform width so that the tip is properly weighting for excellent cutting. Advantage: Neither Handling and “Speed” Once again, people are surprised to learn that, in fact, the Longsword handles better than the Katana, simply because of its point of balance. When looking at a later longsword, such as the one used by our knight, one notices three things. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the blade narrows as it reaches its end, resulting in more weight towards the back. Secondly, the crossguard is fairly large, adding more weight near the hands. Finally, it has a weighted pommel, providing even more counterbalance¹³. This meant that the point of balance, where the weight on either side was completely equal, was far closer to the hands of the wielder. The result is a blade that changes direction significantly faster. This is the same concept as a lever - a short lever requires significantly increased movement to lift an object a certain distance, whereas if it’s twice as long, significantly less movement is required. On the other hand, the katana lacks all three of these attributes, making the sword decidedly more unwieldy[14]. Advantage: Longsword Cutting Ability Here is where the Katana truly shines, as its curved blade, weighty tip and differentially hardened blade makes for a cutter with excellent edge retention. Unfortunately, this makes it impotent against plate armor. That said, the longsword is by no means a slouch at cutting. Just watch any video in which a historically accurate, straight bladed longsword is used to cut[15];, and you will see what I’m talking about. A show called “lock and load” is one of the main reasons why the myth of longswords not being able to cut is so commonly propagated and accepted, but as the video I link to demonstrates, it has been thoroughly debunked. Should con attempt to use it as a source, I will explain in full detail why it is complete nonsense. Overall, cutting attacks would be far more effective against O-Yoroi than steel plate, and in the context of armor, the longsword would have the advantage. However, I am simply comparing the blades here. Advantage: Katana Thrusting Abilit As demonstrated with diagrams above, the longsword’s reach, balance and narrow cross section make for an excellent thrusting blade. When looking at the cross section of the katana in the image above, however, one notices a broader tip that would find significantly greater difficulty in piercing armor. It doesn’t take much explanation to demonstrate the superiority of the longsword in this regard - after all, it was designed for the purpose of piercing. Advantage: Longsword Versatility The longsword is a better thruster and the katana a better cutter, but both are excellent at both, and as such one might think they are equally versatile. However, because the longsword is double edged, it has sixteen lines of attack as opposed to the katana’s eight. On top of that, as the quote below demonstrates, there were numerous other ways to wield it, including inverting the blade for use as a hammer[16]: “Both these swords are established cut-and-thrust weapons. .. however. .. straight double edges permit cutting along 16 different lines of attack compared to eight with a single-edged curved blade. This lends itself better to agile transitions between assorted cuts, thrusts, and parries. The longsword's well-honed but less keen edge purposely allows it to be "half-sworded" or readily wielded by the blade as if it were a spear, short-staff, or war-hammer. Its hilt arrangement permits different manners of gripping for different specialized affects at different ranges, such as close-in binding and trapping as well as delivering unique one-handed springing hits from a farther distance. Finally, its slim profile and greater length offer a longer reach in both cutting and thrusting. ” Advantage: Longsword As Con con demonstrates in his argument, many think of the longsword as a cumbersome weapon that a Japanese swordsman would have no trouble dealing with. It takes only a brief look at actual longsword fencing to see how utterly ludicrous these claims are. I've provided a video, which I would advise watching at least part of, as it is a great demonstration of how a period accurate longsword would have handled. . http://www.youtube.com...;