Quote Originally Posted by Watchman View Post
The thing was called tachi back then though; there's some functional difference between those and the later katanas (though, both were made and used in like zillion different varieties like all swords), but I can't be arsed to look up the details ATM.
The tachi is longer and slightly more curved than the katana (or at least, differently curved). In short, a more dedicated cavalry weapon compared to the later katana all-purpose sword.