page_title: Tachi
section_title: Use
hierarchical_section_title: Tachi / Use
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Tachi forgé par Bizen Osafune Sukesada, daté de la 12e année de l'ère Eishô, un jour de février (1515, époque Muromachi). Saya en laque aogai-nashiji, monture soulignée d'or. Monture de 1907, dernier polissage en 1987. Galerie Dutta Genève English: Tachi forged by Bizen Osafune Sukesada, 12th year of the Eishô era, a day in February (1515, Muromachi). Saya in aogai-nashiji laquer, gold decorations. Mounting from 1907, last polish in 1987. Gallery Dutta Geneve 日本語: 太刀。備前国 長船派 祐定による。1515年(永正12年)2月作。鞘はカワシンジュガイ（青貝）と金箔で螺鈿が施されている。
context_page_description: A tachi was a type of traditionally made Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Tachi and katana generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on the location of the mei, or signature, on the tang. The tachi style of swords preceded the development of the katana, which was not mentioned by name until near the end of the twelfth century; tachi are known to have been made in the Kotō period, ranging from 900 to 1596.
context_section_description: According to author Karl F. Friday, before the 13th century there are no written references or drawings etc. that show swords of any kind were actually used while on horseback.
  The uchigatana was derived from the tachi and was the predecessor to the katana as the battlesword of feudal Japan's bushi (warrior class), and as it evolved into the later design, the tachi and the uchigatana were often differentiated from each other only by how they were worn, the fittings for the blades, and the location of the signature (mei).
  The Mongol invasions of Japan facilitated a change in the designs of Japanese swords. It turned out that the tachi that samurai had used until then had a thick and heavy blade, which was inconvenient to fight against a large number of enemies in close combat. Also, because Tachi until then had been made with emphasis on hardness and lacked flexibility, it was easy to break or chip the blade, and it turned out to be difficult to regrind when the blade was chipped. In response to this, a new method of manufacturing Japanese swords was developed, and an innovative sword of the Sōshū school was born. The swordsmiths at the Sōshū school combined hard and soft steel to make blades, and by optimizing the temperature and timing of heating and cooling the blades, they realized stronger blades. Sōshū school tachi and katana are light because the width from the blade to the ridge side is wide but the cross section is thin, and they are excellent in penetrating ability because the whole curve is gentle and the tip is long and straight. The most famous swordsmith in the Sōshū school is Masamune.
  In later Japanese feudal history, during the Sengoku and Edo periods, certain high-ranking warriors of what became the ruling class would wear their sword tachi-style (edge-downward), rather than with the scabbard thrust through the belt with the edge upward.
  With the rising of statism in Shōwa Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy implemented swords called shin and kaiguntō, which were worn tachi style (cutting edge down).
caption: Tachi forged by Bizen Osafune Sukesada, 1515. Scabbard in aogai-nashiji lacquer, gold decorations.
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