Was it just a meme weapon?

Not really. It's not the greatest sword, but it IS effective.

those were just type of sword not all looked like that

big ass swords break and bend more easily, steve-sama

that's why greatswords are usually very thick. big long katanas are little more than show pieces unless made from modern steel

getting stabbed with a sharp piece of metal would suck no matter what kind of sword just killed you

Frankly that is crap, long katana, nodachi could cut a horse out from under its rider, and were not known for being fragile. Those longer war swords were made for durability.

Plenty of practical blades were made during the edo period, though they were practical for dueling rather than warfare

>unironically having pictures of Katanas saved
Go back to your containment board

>unironically hates katanas.
I thought this was a history board?

It's a fucking sword. Period. Loving/Hating it means you drank the shitty memes from both sides of the Weeaboo fence.

Historically? No.

It was just another weapon, designed for specific conditions (opposing foes likely susceptible to cuts over thrusts, to be used without shields and against foes without shields, and to be a secondary weapon in open battle while being versatile enough to become a primary weapon in indoor or confined space combat). It was effective enough that the basic design persisted for almost a millennia, being popular throughout east Asia as this user pointed out and being a ubiquitous symbol of social station.

It might not have been as effective as some European counterparts in certain areas, and was almost identical in design to the Kriegsmesser (pic related), a weapon associated with peasants and mercenaries, and not especially popular, but it was still an effective design for its purpose.

As a modern symbol? Yes.

Orientalism is still a really pervasive force in western culture. The katana symbolises Japanese martial culture and tradition, which, like that of the Mongols, Chinese and Arabs among others are still often fetishised by western film, TV and video game media. People latch onto them because they are exotic, and as such perceived as bearing some quality that is not matched by any local counterpart. Because of this, and the fact that it is associated with perhaps the strongest and strictest non-European warrior culture, makes it an extremely common sight in media, while symbolising exotic foreign mystery that people love to latch onto.

This, combined with the fact that Japan was the only large Asian nation to avoid western colonisation, and then the only non-western nation to actively take part in the colonial era, makes Japanese culture revered even more by orientalists (otakus and such), as they proved themselves against the west, and validated (in the minds of orientalists) their culture's status as not only exotic but potent and venerable. The katana is the ultimate symbol, for many people, of this unique strength.

I don't know why people hype swords the fuck up when they were, at best, secondary weapons. Most people used spears or similar.

In Japan if you used your sword you were either out of options or you sucked at spear fighting or shooting a bow.

Or your spear broke, or your an archer who infantry closed with, or your Calvary using shock tactics at the end of the battle,

or your not on a battlefield at all but need to fight or defend yourself.

I did say last resort.

Oh wow, no I didn't. I meant to though. Weird.

It is worth noting that the average tachi is actually about 2 feet long. They just look larger when manlets carry them.

they didn't have any trouble killing each other with them

Don't know where your getting that figure, even an edo period blade was over two feet. many tachi were longer, between 90 and 120 cm

There's also additional glorification in that Bushido and everything associated with it was propaganda largely created by the late Tokugawa and Meiji era governments to promote militarism and the idea that the Japanese were a "warrior race" or whatever bullshit. Same as the "norse paganism" the Nazis loved.

I mean for example, the Boshin War in 1868-1869 had European style armies with rifles, machine guns, modern artillery and steam-powered ironclads, but in art from the period primarily depicts samurais riding around on horses with spears and swords.

>le talking about katanas is autistic me me

You should probably leave the internet and realize people actually study weaponry

That "last resot" happened a LOT.

For cavalry in particula,r any hard battle would see swords coming out. The same is true for most infantry as well, though there's a possibility you'll be skipping past it to a dagger.

Polearms eventually get broken, dropped, interleaved, or bypassed.

youtube.com/watch?v=EDkoj932YFo

>blunt longsword
>imppoper technique
>cheap larp-armor
get this shite out of my face