Ask most people to name a Japanese sword and they will say katana. Ask them about the tachi and you will often get a pause — or a guess that it is simply a longer version of the same thing....

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Among tantō, three blade shapes appear again and again in auction catalogues, dealer descriptions, and museum labels — often used interchangeably, often confused. Shōbu-zukuri, unokubi-zukuri, kamuriotoshi-zukuri: the names are evocative, the distinctions real, and the difference between them is not...

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Ask most collectors to name the Japanese sword they most want to own, and the answer is almost always a katana. The wakizashi — shorter, quieter, less immediately commanding — tends to be treated as an afterthought: the smaller sword...

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Most collectors assume that fakes are a problem confined to the antique sword market. They are not. Counterfeit contemporary Japanese swords — forged blades bearing the names of living, licensed swordsmiths — exist, and they are being sold on major...

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