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Personalize your custom “刀” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “刀” title below...

Katana

Japanese Samurai Sword

 dāo
 katana
 
Katana Scroll

刀 is the Japanese Kanji for “sword.” This refers to the style of sword carried by warriors, samurai, and shogun of ancient Japan.

With the pacification of Japan, such swords are now only used for ceremony and decoration. The true art of sword-smithing is all but lost in Japan with new sword production dedicated to making inexpensive replicas for the tourist and foreign market.

For those of you that want to ask whether I can get you a real antique sword. Let me tell you that most real Asian swords were melted down after WWII in Japan, and during the Great Leap Forward in China. Any remaining swords are family heirlooms that nobody will part with.

Please carefully note that the Japanese kanji character shown above is only for a Japanese audience. In China, this character means “knife.” See our other entry for “sword” in Chinese.
Note: 刀 can mean knife, sword, or blade in Korean, depending on context.

Naginata / Halberd

 naginata
Naginata / Halberd Scroll

薙刀 is the Japanese word naginata.

Samurai with Naginata A naginata is a special kind of halberd or long sword carried by some Samurai and other warriors. It is still used ceremonially in some schools of martial arts.

 battou jutsu
Battojutsu Scroll

Battōjutsu or 抜刀術 is the art of sword drawing associated closely with the tradition of Kenjutsu.

Battōjutsu typically is done with a real and sharp-bladed katana and is often practiced as a form of kata.

Ono-Ha Itto-Ryu

 ono ha Ittou ryuu
Ono-Ha Itto-Ryu Scroll

小野派一刀流 is Ono-ha Ittō-ryū, the oldest branch of Ittō-ryū styles from Ittosai Kagehisa's original martial arts style.

Live By The Sword Die By The Sword

Matthew 26:52

 fán dòng dāo de bì sǐ zài dāo xià
Live By The Sword Die By The Sword Scroll

凡动刀的,必死在刀下 is the second part of Matthew 26:52 from the Chinese Union Bible where Jesus suggests that one who uses a sword will also die by it.


Not the results for 刀 that you were looking for?

Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your search...

Characters

If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese

Pronunciation
Romanization
Simple Dictionary Definition

see styles
dāo
    dao1
tao
 katana(p); tou / katana(p); to
    かたな(P); とう

More info & calligraphy:

Katana
knife; blade; single-edged sword; cutlass; CL:把[ba3]; (slang) dollar (loanword); classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper); classifier for knife cuts or stabs
(1) sword (esp. Japanese single-edged); katana; (2) (とう only) scalpel; (3) (とう only) (See 彫刻刀・ちょうこくとう) chisel; burin; graver; (4) (とう only) (See 刀銭) knife money (knife-shaped commodity money used in ancient China); (personal name) Tou
sword

薙刀

see styles
 naginata
    なぎなた

More info & calligraphy:

Naginata / Halberd
halberd; long sword

抜刀術

see styles
 battoujutsu / battojutsu
    ばっとうじゅつ

More info & calligraphy:

Battojutsu
(See 居合い) art of sword drawing

一刀

see styles
 ittou; hitokatana / itto; hitokatana
    いっとう; ひとかたな
(1) (いっとう only) sword; blade; (2) single stroke; (surname) Itsutou

三刀

see styles
 mito
    みと
(surname) Mito

両刀

see styles
 ryoutou / ryoto
    りょうとう
(1) two swords; (2) (abbreviation) (See 両刀使い・りょうとうづかい・2) being skilled in two fields; (an) expert in two fields; (3) (abbreviation) (See 両刀使い・りょうとうづかい・3) liking both alcohol and sweets; person who likes alcohol and sweets equally well; (4) (abbreviation) (See 両刀使い・りょうとうづかい・4) bisexual (person)

中刀

see styles
 nakagatana
    なかがたな
(surname) Nakagatana

主刀

see styles
zhǔ dāo
    zhu3 dao1
chu tao
to act as the chief surgeon; chief surgeon

久刀

see styles
 hisato
    ひさと
(personal name) Hisato

五刀

see styles
wǔ dāo
    wu3 dao1
wu tao
 gotou / goto
    ごとう
(surname) Gotou
The 'five swords' or slayers who were sent in pursuit of a man who fled from his king, e. g. the five skandhas 五蘊.

伝刀

see styles
 dendou / dendo
    でんどう
(surname) Dendou

作刀

see styles
 sakutou / sakuto
    さくとう
(noun/participle) Japanese sword making

佩刀

see styles
 haitou / haito
    はいとう
(n,vs,vi) wearing a sword; sword one is wearing; (given name) Hakashi

傳刀

see styles
 dendou / dendo
    でんどう
(surname) Dendou

儀刀

see styles
 gitou / gito
    ぎとう
ceremonial sword

入刀

see styles
 nyuutou / nyuto
    にゅうとう
(noun/participle) cutting the cake (at a wedding)

冰刀

see styles
bīng dāo
    bing1 dao1
ping tao
ice skates; ice skate blades

凶刀

see styles
xiōng dāo
    xiong1 dao1
hsiung tao
murder weapon (i.e. knife)

刀上

see styles
 katagami
    かたがみ
(surname) Katagami

刀下

see styles
 touka / toka
    とうか
under the sword

刀井

see styles
 katanai
    かたない
(surname) Katanai

刀伊

see styles
 toi
    とい
(hist) Jurchen pirate tribe who invaded Tsushima in 1019 (kor: doe); (female given name) Toi

刀俎

see styles
dāo zǔ
    dao1 zu3
tao tsu
sacrificial knife and altar

刀傷

see styles
 toushou / tosho
    とうしょう
sword cut

刀儀

see styles
 tsurugi
    つるぎ
(surname) Tsurugi

刀具

see styles
dāo jù
    dao1 ju4
tao chü
cutting tool

刀出

see styles
 katanade
    かたなで
(place-name) Katanade

刀刃

see styles
dāo rèn
    dao1 ren4
tao jen
 toujin / tojin
    とうじん
knife blade; crucial point
sword blade

刀利

see styles
 tori
    とり
(surname) Tori

刀刺

see styles
dāo cì
    dao1 ci4
tao tz`u
    tao tzu
to stab; to attack with knife

Click here for more results from our dictionary

The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Katanakatanadāo / dao1 / daotao
Naginata
Halberd
薙刀naginata
Battojutsu抜刀術battou jutsu
battoujutsu
batto jutsu
Ono-Ha Itto-Ryu小野派一刀流ono ha Ittou ryuu
onohaIttouryuu
ono ha Itto ryu
Live By The Sword Die By The Sword凡動刀的必死在刀下
凡动刀的必死在刀下
fán dòng dāo de bì sǐ zài dāo xià
fan2 dong4 dao1 de bi4 si3 zai4 dao1 xia4
fan dong dao de bi si zai dao xia
fan tung tao te pi ssu tsai tao hsia
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.
In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.


Dictionary

Lookup in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...

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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form of art alive.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.


Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.