A katana is a Japanese sword.
The earliest Japanese swords were straight and were influenced by the swords of China. The later, curved swords most people now familiarize with samurai warriors began to differentiate Japanese weapons from those of China. The principle sword types in Japan were the tachi, katana, wakizashi and nodachi. In China, it was the dao and the kiem. The swords of Vietnam, like other smaller countries in the region were influenced by both cultures.
Japanese
Early samurai warriors carried tachi swords, which were worn over armor, suspended by cords. These swords were effective for battling foot soldiers from horseback. Katana swords were developed after the tachi. Though similar, the katana was worn tucked into the warrior's belt. Katanas are two-handed swords with long, curved blades, averaging about 70 cm. People today are more likely to recognize the katana as a samurai's sword of choice than the earlier tachi.
A second, companion sword to the katana is the wakizashi. The wakizashi is a shorter sword with a curved blade less than 60 cm in length that is better suited for stabbing in close combat. The wakizashi is sometimes referred to as the samurai's sidearm. Samurai warriors would always carry both sword types. Together, the katana and wakizashi are referred to by the term daisho.
Another Japanese sword type carried by foot soldiers is a nodachi, which is a large, two-handed sword worn on the soldier's back that requires great strength to wield.
Chinese
While the Japanese samurai swords were single-edged, Chinese warriors had both double-edged and single-edged swords. The double-edge sword is known as a jian. The jian has a straight blade, which further differentiates it from the Japanese katana. While most jian are designed for use with one hand, there are some larger versions designed for two-handed use. These larger jian are referred to as shuangshou jian.
The Chinese single-edged sword is the dao, a curved sword that might be considered a Chinese broadsword. The dao has a canted hilt, which means it curves in a direction that is opposite the curvature of the blade.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese swords exhibit Chinese and Japanese influence. The kiem is a Vietnamese straight sword that is double-edged and can be compared with the Chinese kiem, but has a much lighter and thinner blade that can be said to be needle-like. The kiem can sometimes be mistaken to resemble European small swords.
The dao is a single-edged saber which also exhibits Chinese influence. A two-handed version of this saber called a dai dao exhibits Japanese influence in the fittings.
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