Why Samurai Always Carried Two Katana

Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo from Let’s ask Shogo, the interpreter of the online lessons and owner of this website.

If you find images of samurai in the past, you will probably notice that they almost always carried two katana with them. But why did they always carry two? Wasn’t one enough? Or why couldn’t they carry three?

First of all, when samurai were fighting in war, they generally carried two swords: a long katana called Tachi and a short sword called “Yoroi-dōshi (armor-piercing).” The Tachi was not only a weapon but also a symbol of the samurai. The short sword was also used to attack from a close distance through the gaps in the armor in the event of a duel with another samurai. Thus, carrying two katana was a symbol of a samurai of high rank. 

Since there was no specific rule in the Sengoku period, it may have been possible for a samurai to carry three swords. However, since the weapons used on the battlefield were basically long ones, such as naginata and spear, having several short katana did not make much sense.

Even after the end of the Sengoku period (1467~1615), which lasted 150 years, and the beginning of the peaceful Edo period (1603~1868), samurai carried two swords. However, this was because it was required by law during the Edo period. It was the obligation and right of the samurai to carry two katana at all times. On the other hand, it was illegal for a person who did not have the status of a samurai to carry two katana.

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