Katana

Historically, katana (刀) were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (日本刀, nihontō) that were used by the samurai of feudal Japan. Modern versions of the katana are sometimes made using non-traditional materials and methods. The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.

History

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

The first use of "katana" (gatana) as a word to describe a long sword that was different from a tachi occurs as early as the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). These references to "uchigatana" and "tsubagatana" seem to indicate a different style of sword, possibly a less costly sword for lower-ranking warriors. The evolution of the tachi into the katana seems to have started during the early Muromachi period (1337 to 1573). Starting around the year 1400, long swords signed with the "katana" signature were made. This was in response to samurai wearing their tachi in what is now called "katana style" (cutting edge up). Japanese swords are traditionally worn with the signature facing away from the wearer. When a tachi was worn in the style of a katana, with the cutting edge up, the tachi's signature would be facing the wrong way. The fact that swordsmiths started signing swords with a katana signature shows that some samurai of that time period had started wearing their swords in a different manner.

Katana (disambiguation)

Katana is Japanese for backsword and often refers to uchigatana, especially in English. For a list of fictional katana, see Katanas in fiction. Katana may also refer to:

Dreamcast

The Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト, Hepburn: Dorīmukyasuto) is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998 in Japan, September 9, 1999 in North America, and October 14, 1999 in Europe. It was the first in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. The Dreamcast is Sega's final home console, marking the end of the company's 18 years in the console market.

In contrast to the expensive hardware of the unsuccessful Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast was designed to reduce costs with "off-the-shelf" components, including a Hitachi SH-4 CPU and an NEC PowerVR2 GPU. Released in Japan to a subdued reception, the Dreamcast enjoyed a successful U.S. launch backed by a large marketing campaign, but interest in the system steadily declined as Sony built hype for the upcoming PlayStation 2. Sales did not meet Sega's expectations despite several price cuts, and the company continued to incur significant financial losses. After a change in leadership, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast on March 31, 2001, withdrawing from the console business and restructuring itself as a third-party publisher. 9.13 million Dreamcast units were sold worldwide.

Once (The Tyde album)

Once is the debut album by American indie rock band The Tyde, released in 2001.

Neal Casal, of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, lists Once as one of his favourite albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs written by Darren Rademaker.

References

Once (film)

Once is a 2007 Irish romantic musical drama film, written and directed by John Carney. Set in Dublin, Ireland, the naturalistic drama stars musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Collaborators prior to making the film performing under the stage moniker The Swell Season, Hansard and Irglová composed and performed all of the original songs in the film.

Shot for only €112,000, the film was successful, earning substantial per-screen box office averages in the United States. It received enthusiastic reviews and awards such as the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film. Hansard and Irglová's song "Falling Slowly" won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the soundtrack as a whole also received a Grammy Award nomination.

Once spent years in development with the Irish Film Board. It was during a period where the film board had no chief executive (for about 6 months) that the film was given the go-ahead by a lower level executive on the provision that the producers could make it on a budget of approximately €112,000 and not the initial higher budget.

The Thief and the Cobbler

The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated fantasy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Canadian animator Richard Williams. The film is famous for its long, troubled history. Due to independent funding and complex animation, The Thief and the Cobbler was in and out of production for over two decades. It was finally placed into full production in 1988 when Warner Bros. agreed to finance and distribute the film. Negotiations broke down when production went over budget and behind schedule. Warner Bros. pulled out and a completion bond company assumed control of the film. The film was re-edited and restructured by producer Fred Calvert without Williams's involvement, and released in Australia and South Africa as The Princess and the Cobbler in 1993; two years later, Miramax released an even more heavily edited version of the film in North America under the title Arabian Knight.

With The Thief and the Cobbler being in production from 1964 until 1995, a total of 31 years, it surpassed the 20-year Guinness record by Tiefland (1954). This was, upon release, the last film of Kenneth Williams, who died in 1988, Sir Anthony Quayle, who died in 1989, and Vincent Price, who died in 1993. This is also, to date, the final film to feature Stanley Baxter.