Tachi Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The tachi (太刀) is a Japanese sword, often said to be more curved and slightly longer than the katana. As opposed to the traditional manner of wearing the katana, it was worn hung from the belt with cutting-edge down, and usually used by cavalry. The longest of these tachi (considered very old odachi) in existence is more than 2 meters in length but believed to be ceremonial.
It was the predecessor to the katana as the battle-blade of feudal Japan's bushi warrior class, and as it evolved into the later design, the two were often differentiated from each other only by how they were worn and by the fittings for the blades. In later Japanese feudal history, during the Sengoku and Edo periods, certain high-ranking warriors of what became the ruling class would wear their sword tachi-style (edge-downward), rather than with the saya (scabbard) thrust through the obi (belt) with the edge upward.