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Every culture has their own distinct blade — be it the Filipino balisong, Scottish Sgian Dubh, or Old English seax. But perhaps none is as enigmatic as the Japanese tanto. Most of the time, however, our preconceived notions of the tanto are completely wrong.
In Japanese, the word tanto means “short blade.” As the style arose midway during the Heian period about 1,000 years ago, it was more in comparison to the length of a sword. In the millennium since then, they became smaller, were made more ornate, and represented by over a dozen different blade styles. In later years, the tanto often signified the wearer’s badge of rank. Ironically, after the Meiji Restoration, they became more utilitarian in look and feel.
The tanto blade has a few…
