Why is the samurai katana better than the ninja katana?

Question

I thibk they are both great swords. But what seperates them? Besides the blade. What makes one better then the other?

Answer 1

Because the "ninja" is just a samurai with his faced covered and "hollywood's ninja sword" is a hollywood thing ....why did you want to know?

The samurai who were the "orginial ninjas" in the first place according to actual history used their own "katanas" the shirasaya sword that you're talking about you'll need to do some research on dude.  

Here's some help in how to make decisions like a "ninja" plese visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khS4zlinx...

Go study some form of Iaido and then come ask us this question again .... I'll bet you'll feel silly.

Answer 2

The Katana was designed for actual battle and is quite a bit longer than the Shinobi-to. The Ninja sword was designed for stealth and is smaller and easier to conceal.

Both swords are good for their intended purpose. For example the Ninja sword is easy to wear in places the katana is not. It can be drawn faster and the tip was designed for penetrating thicker material, mostly the Samurai armor.

The Katana was designed for the battle field and has a longer, more curved blade. By being longer in length one could defeat more attackers in this type of situation. It is important to remember that both weapons require you to be up close and personal when you kill your opponent.

Answer 3

just different person own it.

And Samurai's code,spirit is very impressive.

Answer 4

While Malcolm is right about the straight bladed sword, there was a sword that was similar to the katana referred to as shinobigatana. This sword is characterized by a shorter blade and a longer tsuka (hilt), but otherwise appeared, in saya, like a normal katana (decorative tsuba and all). The function here was in iai (drawing) -- the person able to draw fastest wins, so how do you ensure you draw faster? You shorten the blade. Saya was normal length, and often times powders or messages would be carried in the bottom of the saya.

Again, it should be pointed out that it was not necessarily that one was better than the other. Generally, the katana owned by samurai were of a higher quality and could carry a sharper edge. The ninja had no real care for the blade beyond its use as a tool, while the samurai carried more respect for it. They were simply different things.

Answer 5

... because there is no such thing as a ninja katana.  (*sigh*)

"Ninja swords" are a Hollywood fiction. There is no historical documentation that ninja used swords which were of a special design or differed from those used by other Japanese of the period. Any so called "ninja sword" is pure fantasy.

There is no such thing as a special purpose ninja sword, although Hollywood and Toei film-studios want to make us believe that. But neither ninja nor "Onmitsu Doshin", the undercover agents of the Edo police, had a "standard" short sword with a straight blade, square tsuba and black fittings.

Present day SWAT teams and military commandos use special or modified weapons to suit their task, and so did assassins and spies of the Edo period. A shorter sword slung over the back might have proven useful for penetrating a castle and combat in confined spaces, but different situations would have called for a different sword. "Ninjato" has a nice ring to it, but the "sword shopping guide for spies" has yet to be discovered ...

Answer 6

There is no such thing as a ninja sword per se. Those straight short blades with square tsubas are more a product of the imagination of Hollywood directors than historical accuracy.

Yet more propagation of the stereotypical hollywood image of a ninja. There was much more to a ninja than a guy in a black outfit with ninjato. If there was anything special about shinobito then it was that they were more like tools than the samurais sword, being used as "climbing equipment" in addition to weapons of assassination.

Answer 7

a katana was usually the ninja's weapon of choice.  They needed disposable weapons that could be easily abandoned if needed.

a high quality blade that in those days cost more than a house would really not meet up with those criteria.  If they did carry a sword it was either one of poor quality or a sword that they has stolen or taken from a samurai. or as in many cases the samurai actually performed the job of ninja on the side.

The samurai lived by their sword, their sword was their soul.  It would not be uncommon for samurai to have to sell all they owned just to get their hands on a good quality sword.  that's what made them such a prized possession

Answer 8

the person holding it.