Talk:Uchigatana

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"The uchigatana was forged in both long and short lengths. Those over 60 centimeters (30 inches) in length were called katana (the length of the longsword varied for each individual according to his height), while any sword two-thirds of the length of the longer uchigatana were called wakizashi"

not correct. uchigatana is the "correct name" of the katana (over 60 cm lenght). wakizashi is wakizashi not a uchigatana. if u ask a uchigatana in Japan they show u a katana (the long sword) not the wakizashi (the short one). --Drachen 10:14, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Removed falacius sentence about "uchigatana" meaning "house-sword", I wish people who only know a few words of Japanese would keep their grubbies off of the wikipedia articles. --Yorinaga 22:35, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Quick draw on the battlefield"

I'm very interested to learn the source of the claim that "This sword was developed out of the ever-increasing need for speed on the battlefield, where quickly unsheathing one’s sword and cutting down the enemy was a matter of life or death. Its rapid acceptance indicated that battlefield combat had grown in intensity. Since it was shorter, it could be used in more confined quarters, such as inside a building."

I know at least one scholar who says the opposite: That quick draw on the battlefield was not critical at all on the battlefield. I'll wait for the author of that quote to bring out his source first then we can discuss details. Fred26 08:02, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

I wonder if perhaps it was merely perceived to be critical, while not actually being so. Common sense leads me to agree with your statement, since one would not wade into foes with a sheathed sword; a quick draw would only be useful if one was attacked in non-combat situations. If you have a source saying that it wasn't critical, I'd say go ahead and delete the statement. --Edwin Herdman 08:44, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Heh, thought noone was gonna respond :). Lemme see if I can remember where I dug up that particular claim. (been 5 months after all). I'm fairly sure it was brought up by [Donn Draeger] though but I'll check.Fred26 12:14, 6 April 2007 (UTC)