blade Sword  Code of Bushido  Little represents the idolized
samurai and their code of bushido better than their sword, the
katana. Although not the only weapon available to samurai, the
sword is the only weapon that has remained constant to the
samurai throughout time. The katana (long sword), the wakizashi
(medium sword) and the tanto (short sword) haven’t always been
the primary weapon of choice for warfare, however. Yabusame, the
art of horseback archery, has often seen its share of experience
in combat. The Naginata, a pole weapon consisting of a shaft
with a long curved blade mounted to the end, was another
favorite to samurai on and off the battlefield.  Originally,
battles including samurai were determined by hundreds or
thousands of individual duels similar to archaic Greek warfare
before the rise of the hoplite. As new weapons were introduced
to the battlefield, the tactics of battles changed. Samurai
using longbows, the yumi, could skirt the edge of battle picking
off individual men or charge into