

I'm on episode 7 of Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works, where Assassin has
shown up. From what I have read, his sword is a long katana, but it doesn't
have a tsuba (hand guard). As far as I know about katana, they can have
shirasaya (mountings without tsuba), but they weren't used for battle. Was the
sword just a katana that they didn't bother to put a tsuba on for stylistic
reasons, or was it actually a different kind of sword?

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FzJ9U.png)


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question
fate-stay-night
What kind of sword did Assassin use?


An exact solution is not traceable... The closest katana is a **Nodachi**
(大太刀) without a Tsuba 鍔 (Handguard) and with a blue/light yellow decorated
Tsuka 柄 (Hilt).

![Nodachi](https://i.stack.imgur.com/sgkMT.jpg) Image from [Sakura no
kuni](http://sakura-no-kuni.weebly.com/nodachi.html).

As you mentioned in your question it could also be a shirasaya 白鞘.

A Shirasaya actually contains two plain wooden parts. The Saya さや (Scabbard)
and the Tsuka. These parts are used to store a katana blade and prevent it
from corroding.

The Shirasaya Tsuka is actually not made to be used in combat because of the
missing Tsuba 鍔 (Hand guard). I also do not think that a storage tsuba is
fixed strong enough to the blade to use it for fighting.

![Shirasaya](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NevhO.png) Image ( _Sakura Shirasaya_ )
by **Bahr3DCG** from [DeviantART](http://bahr3dcg.deviantart.com/art/Sakura-
Shirasaya-322056624).

Furthermore there is also a Shikomizue 仕込み杖 that general also do not have a
tsuba.

A Shikomizue is actually a sword hidden in a stick. Propose of such a stick is
to hide the sword from the public because it was not allowed to openly carry a
sword.

![Shikomizue](https://i.stack.imgur.com/md1yL.png) Image ( _Shikomizue Katana_
) by **bernardfokke** from
[DeviantART](http://bernardfokke.deviantart.com/art/Shikomizue-
Katana-98252136).

In addition they are mostly decorated because it should look nice and
unobtrusively like the tsuka of _Monohoshizao_.

Anyway it is rather be a Nodachi because of length and it is also slightly
curved. Just without a hand guard.


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