What is the sword the Sword Attendants carry?

[spartan_warrior]

I'm working on translating the RotS units into their Japanese names but I can't seem to find a name for the sword which the Sword Attendants carry. I know it`s some type of Chinese style broadsword, but what is an appropriate name in Japanese? So far the only thing I can seem to come up with is 段平 (Danbira) which means broadsword, would that be suitable or is there something else more suitable?

[Hatamoto]

I'm working on translating the RotS units into their Japanese names but I can't seem to find a name for the sword which the Sword Attendants carry. I know it`s some type of Chinese style broadsword, but what is an appropriate name in Japanese? So far the only thing I can seem to come up with is 段平 (Danbira) which means broadsword, would that be suitable or is there something else more suitable?

It's called an O-creativeassembly-to.

Its an entirely fictional sword. Call it whatever you want. Odachi may be more suitable as a Japanese term for such a large sword than Danbira though.

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Zanbato?

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[Hatamoto]

That's not a Zanbato.

This is a Zanbato!

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[vanadis]

That's not a Zanbato.

This is a Zanbato!

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The nerdiness is strong with this one!

[Altimis]

Zanbato?

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Its amazed that woman in pic can wield it because its extremely heavy, perhaps its just model?

[IGdood]

It's a Zanbato. Unfortunately they are not samurai and have inferior stats to the No-Dachi samurai.

[The_Praetor]

It's a Zanbato. Unfortunately they are not samurai and have inferior stats to the No-Dachi samurai.

They technically are samurai, but they just werent called that.
The zanbato was not primarily used in combat and was mostly a ceremonial weapon

[IGdood]

They're Attendants, a cut above the levy but not quite samurai....

And the No-Dachi was also ceremonial, it just looks too awesome not to include.

[Hatamoto]

They're Attendants, a cut above the levy but not quite samurai....

And the No-Dachi was also ceremonial, it just looks too awesome not to include.

No-Dachi have been found with marks of battle on them and there are many historical accounts of their use by individual samurai (they were somewhat popular during the muromachi period). Granted, during the sengoku period their use was extremely rare (though not unheard of), so they were mostly ceremonial then.


The Zanbato however, has always been a fantasy. I've just noticed however, that someone on wikipedia has co-opted the description for O-dachi into the Zanbato page. Bad form that.

Its amazed that woman in pic can wield it because its extremely heavy, perhaps its just model?

If it is really a real sword*, it wouldn't be very heavy.



* while I doubt anyone would have put down the money required for a real O-dachi... please please let it be true and affordable so I can also get one!

[Erwin Rommel]

At first I assumed it was chinese, since the ring at the handle, maybe the Zhanma Dao?

[Robin de Bodemloze]

I knew someone would make a comment about the girl in the photo...

[Durruti1936]

I'm working on translating the RotS units into their Japanese names but I can't seem to find a name for the sword which the Sword Attendants carry. I know it`s some type of Chinese style broadsword, but what is an appropriate name in Japanese? So far the only thing I can seem to come up with is 段平 (Danbira) which means broadsword, would that be suitable or is there something else more suitable?

The weapon is certainly unusual; looking almost like some early form of nagamaki (a short-handled naginata):

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The following early pictures of attendants show swords that are quite different

Long sword from the Heiji scroll:

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Attendant with normal tachi from the Mongol Invasions scroll

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[Manji]

It looks like it's inspired by a couple of types of chinese swords, specifically the Zhanmadao, Changdao and Miao Dao:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhanmadao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changdao_%28sword%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miao_dao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wodao

Or simply their interpretation of the japanese Zanbato.

[asdjames]

It looks like it's inspired by a couple of types of chinese swords, specifically the Zhanmadao, Changdao and Miao Dao:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhanmadao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changdao_%28sword%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miao_dao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wodao

Or simply their interpretation of the japanese Zanbato.

I guess it is a variant of Naginata

NAGAMAKI
Naginata with blades similar to katana which were mounted on short poles (circa 3-4 feet) are termed nagamaki-naoshi. Nagamaki may have a yokote like a katana; naginata do not. Nagamaki were used primarily during the Kamakura and early Muromachi eras. <~~http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/polearms.htm

[HangPC2]

Korean Sword ( Gum @ Geom @ Kal 劍 / 검 )






Yedo ( 예도 / 銳刀 )

This sword is generally a single edged saber ranging from 3 to 4 feet (1.2 m).


Samgakdo ( 삼각도 / 三角刀 )

The samgakdo, is also a recently used terminology for swords used for mat cutting. The cross section of the sword is triangular in shape hence the name Samgakdo (which means 3 sided sword).


Ssangsudo ( 쌍수도 / 雙手刀 )

This is a single edged long sword that varied from 5 to 7 feet (2.1 m). Its name means 'Two-handed sword'


Jingum @ Jingeom ( 진검 / 剣 )

Haedong jingeom (해동진검 / 海東劍) This literally means ' East Asian Practical Sword '. It is a newly used terminology that is used for today's practical Korean swords.




Chinese Sword ( Dao 刀 )








Changdao (长刀 / 長刀)

Anti-cavalry sword used in China during the Ming Dynasty. Sometimes called Miao dao (a similar but more recent weapon), the blade very much resembles a Japanese ōdachi. This weapon was adopted by General Qi Jiguang, who acquired a Kage-ryū (Aizu) manual from Japanese wokou, studied and modified it for his troops and used against enemies on the Mongol border circa 1560.










Miao Dao (苗刀)

Miao Dao is a Chinese two-handed dao or saber of the Republican era, with a narrow blade of up to 1.2 meters or more and a long hilt. The name means " sprout saber ", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a newly sprouted plant. While the miao dao is a recent weapon, the name has come to be applied to a variety of earlier Chinese long sabers, such as the zhanmadao and changdao. Along with the dadao, miao dao were used by some Chinese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War.








Japanese Sword ( Katana / Nihonto 刀 / かたな )









Sources : Ji Xiao Xin Shu

Chinese Originally Consisted Of 18 chapters. However a revised 14 chapter version actually more popular in China than the 18 chapter version for the past few centuries. In fact, it is known to exist in 6 different editions, more numerous than the original. The first 14 chapter edition was published in 1584. The remaining editions were published in 1592, 1604, 1644; there are also other Ming-era handwritten copies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Xiao_Xin_Shu



Mu Ye Je Bo


The Muyejebo is a Korean martial art manual written during the reign of King Seonjo in 1598.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_Ye_Je_Bo




Malay Sword ( Pedang Jenawi ڤدڠ جناوي )



The Chinese and Japanese two handed sword is know as Pedang Jenawi.



Pedang Jenawi Patani












Sources :http://www.konrakmeed.com

[TR00PER7]

It looks a more like the Chinese Dadao (with a longer blade) than the Nodaichi since its thicker than the Nodachi.

Although, Dadao and Nodachi mean the same thing, Great sword.

[Durruti1936]

I think the post by furinkazan on this Historical Research Center thread nails it:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=520746

Something called a seiryuu-tō blade which was so rare no extant examples survive.

Hatakeyama Shigetada, who began the Gempei War on the side of the Taira (to whom he was related), but later switched sides to the Kamakura
Minamoto was reputed to carry one name "Kōhei".

Apparently...

[O'Hea]

Doesn't the weapon appear as "zhanmadao" in the game's files? It has a strong visual resemblance to the zhanmadao, is from an appropriate timeframe, and is referred to as a zhanmadao by the developers, so I think this is a little open-and-shut. The close resemblance of the seiryuu-to illustration to various types of Chinese dao is probably what gave CA the idea.

HangPC2: nice job collecting all those terms, but most of them are from centuries after the Gempei War. Korean swords don't seem to have taken on a tachi-like shape until the Joseon dynasty, and two of the terms you listed are from Haedong Gumdo, a martial art that wasn't organized until the 1980's. (Fun fact: I'm a haedong gumdo practitioner)

[Jokern]

Maybe the description of the unit can bring some clues.

Here's a zhanmadao I found. "Horse Choppping Sword", that's a badass name.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

EDIT: The S2TW Encyclopedia didn't give anything.