Sword - Tachi

A style of Japanese sword. When worn, it is hung from the waist by the obidori cord attached to two foot metal fittings on the sheath, and is characterized by the blade generally facing downward, which differs from later swords (uchigatana) that are worn directly on the waist belt with the blade facing up. Tachi have a blade length of over 60 centimeters (2 shaku), and most are 70 centimeters (2 shaku 3 sun) or longer, but those with a blade length of around 60 centimeters are called kodachi, and those that are particularly long are called ootachi. In addition, Tachi swords are generally curved at the base and have a curved shape with the width of the tip of the blade being significantly narrower than the width at the base, but it is believed that the Shinogi-zukuri curved tachi style of Japanese swords was completed around the middle of the Heian period, and the character "tachi" is used to refer to the straight swords that were used throughout the Kofun period, Nara, and early Heian period before that. Furthermore, Tachi originally referred to the sword fittings that contained the blade, but nowadays it refers to the blade itself, and the sword fittings are often called Tachi Goshirae.

Tachi are roughly divided into ceremonial swords for ceremonies and rites, and military swords for battle. Ceremonial swords include kazatachi (decorative swords), thin swords (thin swords), Efu tachi (guardian swords), and field swords (field swords), and are called gold and silver denso (decorative swords), hiraden (raden) thin swords, tweezers-shaped Efu tachi (guardian swords), and hyomon (field swords). Black lacquered tachi (swords) were the most common among military swords commonly used by samurai, and there were also kurozukuri tachi (swords made of black paint, even the metal fittings). There are also many other itomaki tachi swords, in which the handle and part of the scabbard (watarimaki) are wrapped with braided thread, and those with a nashiji or ikakeji scabbard coating are called gold nashiji family crest makie itomaki tachi swords or ikakeji raden itomaki tachi swords. Hyogo Kusari Tachi swords were used by soldiers, but in the late Kamakura period they came to be used exclusively as offerings to shrines and temples. In the mid-Muromachi period (15th century), as the style of combat changed from traditional cavalry warfare to group combat on foot, the utachi sword developed and the tachi lost its place as the mainstream Japanese sword.

[Nobuo Ogasawara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本刀の一様式。身につける場合、鞘(さや)に設けた2個の足金物(あしがなもの)につけた帯取(おびどり)の緒(お)で腰に吊(つ)るし、このとき一般に刃が下向きになるのが特色で、刃を上にして腰帯に直接差す後世の刀（打刀(うちがたな)）と相違する。太刀は刃長60センチメートル（2尺）を超え、通常は70センチメートル（2尺3寸）以上のものが多いが、60センチメートル前後のものを小太刀(こだち)、とくに寸法の長いものを大(おお)太刀という。また太刀は一般に元で大きく反り、刀身の先端の幅が元幅より著しく狭い湾刀(わんとう)形をしているが、日本刀の鎬造(しのぎづくり)湾刀の太刀様式が完成したのは平安中期ごろと推定されており、それ以前の古墳時代、奈良、平安初期を通じて用いられた直刀(ちょくとう)に対しては「大刀(たち)」の文字が用いられる。なお太刀とは元来は刀身の入った刀装を称したのであるが、現在では刀身そのものをいい、刀装に対しては太刀拵(ごしらえ)とよぶ場合が多い。

　太刀は大別して儀式・典礼用の儀仗(ぎじょう)と、戦陣用の兵仗(ひょうじょう)に区別される。儀仗には飾剣(かざたち)、細太刀（細剣）、衛府(えふ)太刀、野剣(のだち)などがあり、金銀鈿荘(でんそう)飾剣、樋螺鈿(ひらでん)細剣、毛抜形(けぬきがた)衛府太刀、平文(ひょうもん)野剣などと呼称される。武家などが一般に用いた兵仗には黒漆(こくしつ)太刀がもっとも多く、金具まで黒く塗った黒造(くろづくり)太刀もある。ほかに柄(つか)と鞘の一部分（渡巻(わたりまき)）を組糸で巻いて仕上げた糸巻太刀も多くみられ、梨地(なしじ)や沃懸(いかけ)地の鞘塗のものは、金梨地家紋蒔絵(まきえ)糸巻太刀、沃懸地螺鈿糸巻太刀などとよばれる。兵庫鎖太刀は兵仗であったが、鎌倉後期になるともっぱら社寺への奉納用となっている。室町中期（15世紀）になると、従来の騎馬戦から徒歩(かち)集団戦へと戦闘形式が変わるにつれて打刀が発達し、太刀は日本刀の主流の座を去った。

［小笠原信夫］

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