Katana

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A katana

A katana is a moderately-curved Japanese longsword that was historically used by samurai.

Description

A katana with a wakizashi acquired through an Animus mod

A longsword of Japanese origin, the katana is characterized by a single-edged and moderately curved blade forged from steel. Further distinguishing features include its typically circular crossguard and the long, round grip could accommodate two hands, depending on the user's style of swordsmanship.

Historically, the katana was a particularly powerful sword compared to others around the world, even during the 18th century. The nearly identical wakizashi is a short Japanese sword which functions as a sidearm to the katana.

History

True to its heritage, the katana was a ubiquitous weapon among samurai throughout Japanese history. It saw widespread use during the Sengoku period in the hands of famed warlords such as Oda Nobunaga and Uesugi Kenshin and their generals. Japanese Assassins, notably Hattori Hanzō, also regularly utilized the weapon. In the Edo period, the legendary ronin Miyamoto Musashi used his personal katana known as the Musashi Masamune to rack up an unprecedented 61 duel win streak against his opponents. After his death, the Masamune was kept as a family heirloom for the Saigo Clan until the Boshin War.

Uesugi Kenshin fighting on horseback with a katana

As an East Asian weapon, the katana was exceedingly rare in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, some western Assassins managed to acquire the weapon during their lifetimes, such as the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who was given a pair of katanas by the Chinese businesswoman Lee Huiyin to replace his original swords, which had been broken in a duel against the Japanese Templar Shimazu Saito.

During the French Revolution, the French Assassin Arno Dorian also managed to come across a katana being sold on the black market in Paris and purchased it for himself.

Centuries later in 2014, while reliving the genetic memories of the Templar Shay Cormac through the Helix, an Abstergo Entertainment research analyst hacked the Animus to grant themselves a virtual katana and an accompanying wakizashi. A few years later, the rogue Abstergo employee and Animus engineer Layla Hassan would do something similar during her session reliving the memories of the Medjay Bayek of Siwa with her Portable Animus HR-8.

The katana still remains a weapon of the Japanese Brotherhood to the present day; Kiyoshi Takakura regularly wields one, such as in 2017 when he and fellow Assassin Arend Schut-Cunningham raided the Abstergo Entertainment campus in Montreal in the hopes of kidnapping Animus specialist Felix Oladele.

Weapon statistics

Ptolemaic Egypt

Rarity	Quality (Max Level 55)	Damage (Max Level 55)	Attributes	Availability
Legendary	123	527	Critical Hit Rate III Bleeding on Hit III Instant Charging	Purchase the For Honor Pack DLC.

Seven Years' War

Speed	Combo	Damage	Cost	Availability
2	3	4	N/A	Uplay
Description
The katana is a two-handed longsword used by the samurai warriors of Japan. It is made available through an Animus modification.

French Revolution

Level	Damage	Parry	Speed	Range	Cost	Modifiers	Availability
◆◆◆◆◆	6	6	4	2	25,000₣	Additional damage: +25%	Purchase
Description
This slightly-curved sword hails from Japan,and is very rare in Europe.

Behind the scenes

In Japanese, katana (刀) is a term ascribed to any single-edged sword with a curved blade, roughly analogous to the English word saber and can be applied to sabers of other cultural origins. The katana appears as a weapon in Assassin's Creed: Rogue and Assassin's Creed: Unity.

In the former, it is unlocked as a Uplay reward and necessarily paired with a wakizashi because the player character, Shay Cormac, normally dual wields with a parrying dagger in the off-hand. The name of the weapon in the game is simply "Katana" and the sword in the off-hand is never identified as a wakizashi; it is merely a smaller sword sharing an identical model, but it is too short to be a katana. The in-game description for the weapon also specifies that it is only an Animus modification. This is in contrast to its appearance in Unity, where it is one of the most powerful weapons that can be purchased by the main character of Arno Dorian. However, Arno retains his usual fencing animations when using the katana which is improper form for the weapon.

The katana is also available in Assassin's Creed: Origins via the For Honor Pack, a DLC which provides players with weapons based on For Honor, another video game developed by Ubisoft. This katana, the Ippei Blade, is anachronistic for the setting of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Gallery

Concept art of a katana and wakizashi

Oda Nobunaga wielding a katana

The Assassin Hattori Masanari training with a katana

Kiyoshi Takakura wielding a katana

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Memories
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (Animus mod; first identified as "katana")
• Assassin's Creed: Unity
• Assassin's Creed: Uprising
• Assassin's Creed: Origins (Animus mod)
• Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple