Special Terminology
Bakufu: Military rule under a Shogun.
Battôjutsu: An art of sword drawing that involved slicing
though targets.
Bôjutsu: Staff fighting.
Budô: Martial art.
Bushidô: "Way of the Warrior." A code of honour with similarities
to European Chivalry.
Chokutô: A straight sword used in very early Japanese
history (before the Katana was invented).
Daimyô: Feudal lord.
Daishô: The pair of swords carried by the Samurai - the
long sword (katana) and the short sword (wakizashi).
Edo Period: 1600-1867. The period when Japan was under the Tokugawa
Shôgunate.
Giri: Duty.
Gunpai: A war fan.
Hakama: Divided skirt-like trousers worn by the Samurai.
Hari-kiri: A crude name for what is more formally known as Seppuku.
Heian Period: 782-1184, when Japan's capital was located in
Kyoto.
Iaijutsu: Art of sword-drawing.
Kamakura Period: 1185-1332, when Kamakura was capital of Japan.
Also known as the "golden age" of the Japanese sword.
Kanpaku: Regent.
Katana: Single edged, curved long sword.
Ken: Sword.
Kotô: Any sword made before the Edo Period.
Kyûbanomichi: Mounted archery.
Kyûjutsu: Archery
Momoyama Period: 1573-1599, when Samurai began carrying around
their Daishô. Also the beginning of the Shintô period.
Mon: A crest or coat of arms.
Montsuki: A kimono top worn at formal occasions.
Muramasa: Swordsmith.
Musha Shugyô: Warrior pilgrimage.
Naginata: Long spear.
Nanbokuchô Period: 1333-1391, when two Emperors were vying
for power over Japan.
Nôdachi: A straight long sword.
Rônin: Masterless Samurai.
Ryû: A fighting style or school.
Samurai: "To serve upon a noble." An elite warrior class.
Sensei: "One who goes before." Teacher.
Seppuku: Ritual suicide by self-disembowelment. Also known more
crudely as hari kiri.
Shinshintô: Any sword made after the Meiji Restoration
(1870).
Shintô: Any sword made between 1596 and 1870.
Shôgun: Warlord.
Sôjutsu: Spear fighting.
Sôhei: Warrior monks.
Tachi: Long, deeply curved sword used by ancient Samurai on
horseback.
Uchigatana: "The inner sword," term used to refer to a Samurai's
longer sword.
Wakizashi: Short sword.
Zanshin: Samurai's alledged "spider sense." (or, 'ability to
sense a disturbance in the Force) :-)
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