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A bokken (木剣, bok(u), "wood", and ken, "sword"), is a wooden Japanese sword used for training, usually the size and shape of a katana, but sometimes shaped like other swords. Other common shapes are wakizashi and tantō. They are also known as bokutō (木刀, "wooden sword"), which is also the usual term in Japan.

These should not be confused with shinai, the bamboo sword used in kendo.

Contents 1 Usage 2 Construction 3 History 4 Types of Bokken 5 Wood types 6 Highest impact strength woods 7 Media depiction 7.1 Movies 7.2 Manga and anime 7.3 Games 8 See also 9 External links

A bokken is used as an inexpensive and relatively safe substitute for a real blade in training for several martial arts. They are used in the early stages of training in iaido, when a practitioner has not yet reached the level where use of an iaito would be safe. An exception occurs when a certain kata involving two people is performed. Then the veteran teacher, or iaidoka, will use a bokken for safety. There are also specially designed bokken made for sword drawing. These are, for the most part, supplied with a plastic or wooden saya and are generally slimmer than a normal bokken and not suited for regular sword techniques.

Kenjutsu makes heavy use of the regular bokken in various drills, as does the Bujinkan and other Ninjutsu systems.

Bokken are used for the practice of kendo; to learn to make proper strokes and get accustomed to the curvature of the blade, as well as to practice the kata (forms). More than a few kata take advantage of the curvature of the blade and the presence of the tsuba, or hand guard, to block the opponent's sword. This is not possible with the straight "blade" of the shinai.

Many Aikido techniques are derived from use of the Japanese sword, although Aikido is primarily an empty-handed art. The focus of the bokken in some aikido dojo is not that of a weapon, but that of a tool to enhance focus. These wooden swords often have a smooth transition between handle and 'blade' and are not used with a tsuba. Other bokken are made to accept a tsuba and have a clearly defined transition between the handle and the 'blade'. Aikidoka practice a form of sword work known as Aiki-Ken that is slightly different from other Japanese arts. The bokken is used in Aiki-Ken to learn proper body placement and distance (maai) from the attacker, in an attempt to be in the safest and most powerful position. Philosophically, Aiki-Ken stresses the importance of moving into the safest killing position, allowing the Aikidoka the option not to perform the killing blow.

The quality of the bokken depends on several factors. The type of wood used, along with the quality of the wood itself, and the skill of the craftsman, are all critical factors in the manufacture of a good quality bokken. Almost all mass produced inexpensive bokken are made from porous, loose-grained southeast Asian wood.^{[citation needed]} These bokken are easily broken when used in even light to medium contact drills, and are best left to work in kata only.^{[citation needed]} Furthermore, the wood is often so porous, that if the varnish is stripped off the inexpensive bokken, one can see the use of wood fillers to fill the holes^{[citation needed]}.

While most species of North American red oak are unsuitable for construction of bokken, there are some Asian species of red oak that have a significantly tighter grain and will last longer.^{[citation needed]}

Superior woods, such as Japanese white oak, also known as Kashi, has been a proven staple, having a tighter grain than red oak wood. Another choice, hickory wood, seems to have a very good blend of hardness and impact resistance, while still having a relatively low cost.

The use of exotic hardwoods is not unusual when looking at some of the more expensive bokken. Some are made from Brazilian cherrywood (Jatoba), others from purpleheart, and some very expensive ones made from Lignum Vitae. Tropical woods are often quite heavy, a feature often sought in bokken despite the brittleness of these heavy and hard materials. Many of the exotics are suitable for suburi (solo practice), but not for paired practice where there is hard contact with other bokken.

Suburito are bokken designed for suburi. Suburi, literally "bare cutting," are solo cutting exercises. Suburito are thicker and heavier than normal bokken, and users of suburito have to develop both strength and technique. Their weight does, however, tend to make them poorly balanced; consequently, they are usually not used for paired practice or kata.

Historically, bokken are as old as Japanese blades, and were used for the training of warriors. Miyamoto Musashi, a kenjutsu master, was infamous for fighting fully armed foes with only one or two bokken. In a famous legend, he defeated Sasaki Kojiro with a bokken he had carved from an oar while traveling on a boat to the predetermined island for the duel.

The following list is the basic styles of bokken made:

1. daitō (katana-sized);
2. shoto or wakizashi bo (wakizashi-sized);
3. tanto bo (tantō-sized); and
4. suburi can be made in daito and shoto sizes but are meant for solo training. They are much heavier and harder to use, developing greater muscles, increasing skills with 'normal' sized bokken. One famous user of suburi sized bokken is Miyamoto Musashi who used one in his duel against Sasaki Kojiro.

Bokken can also be made in any style of weapon required such as nagamaki, no-dachi, yari, naginata, kama, etc. The few examples above are the most widely-used.

Some studies done on wood for bokken use have found that Appalachian Hickory (also known as impact grade hickory) is a desirable wood for bokken use^{[citation needed]}. It is strong and flexible, and does not lose quality over time like other woods^{[citation needed]}. Appalachian hickory has numbered levels to allow for varying usage, ranging from 3 with a density of .75sg to 7 with a density of .97sg. Level 3 is good for light contact and will last longer than most woods, but level 7 strength is unmatched by any wood (even Japanese white oak which is the most common wood for bokken) and will last for years without any change in the grain or quality of the wood.

However, no matter the quality or strength of a wood, no bokken is indestructible and all types of wood will break with sufficient stress.

Wood name	Specific Gravity	Impact Strength
1: Impact Grade Hickory	.775	345
2: Osage orange	.80	243
3: Kingwood (Rosewood)	Unknown	230
4: African mopane	Unknown	200
5: Laminated Rosewood Composite	1.30	198
6: White birch	.62	196
7: Hop hornbeam (American ironwood)	Unknown	196
8: White ash	.60	196
9: Honduras Rosewood	1.00	189
10: Beech	Unknown	180

• The suburito has been popularised in Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel Snow Crash as the "redneck katana". It is described as "a one-metre-long piece of heavy rebar with tape wrapped around one end to make a handle. The rebar approximates a katana, but it is very much heavier." The baseball player Frank Thomas has been using a taped-up piece of rebar to build his strength since 1991.[1]

• In the movie The Last Samurai, the Samurai and children train with bokken.
• In Usagi Yojimbo, the main character and his son, Jotaro were allowed to wield a bokken in their youth.
• In The Twilight Samurai, the main character, Iguchi Seibei uses a bokuto, or wooden practice sword in a duel.

• In Rurouni Kenshin, Kamiya Kaoru uses a bokken, as her family's Kamiya Kasshin Ryu forbids lethal swords. Her students Myōjin Yahiko and Tsukayama Yūtarō wield either a bokken or a shinai (but never both at once).
• In the anime series Outlaw Star the assassin Twilight Suzuka uses a bokken as her weapon of choice. Gene Starwind believes that the reason for this is to prevent detection by metal detectors.
• In the anime Demon City Shinjuki, the main character is an instructor of the sword arts and his weapon of choice is a bokken
• In the manga and anime Gintama, the main character Sakata Gintoki uses a bokken that he bought on a class field trip in Lake Toya.
• In the Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School the main character, Ryoko Mitsurugi used a bokken exclusively as her weapon of choice.
• In the Shaman King there is a character called Ryunosuke Umemiya who was nicknamed "Bokuto no Ryu", or as he is known in the English manga, "Wooden Sword" Ryu (In the English anime he is called "Rio.") The bokken/bokuto is his signature weapon.
• In the Ranma ½, Upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno uses a bokken as his signature weapon, though it often falls short in duels with Ranma.
• In the manga, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, Narugami uses a wooden sword that is actually Thor's hammer Mjollnir in disguise.

• In the Nintendo Wii game, Red Steel, the player trains with a bokken in Otori's dojo.
• In the game True Crime: New York City, the player can purchase a bokken and use it as a non-lethal alternative to the katana available from the same location.
• In the game Samurai Warriors, the character Date Masamune uses two bokken as weapons.
• In the game Ninja Gaiden Black, the main character Ryu Hayabusa can use a bokken (named Wooden Sword) to attack his enemies. When this weapon is upgraded to the maximum level, its appearance changes to resemble an Eku.

• Iaido
• Kendo
• Kenjutsu
• Aikido
• Aiki-Ken
• Shinai
• Wasters

• A discussion of different woods with regard to bokken design, focusing particularly on durability
• Information about making or selecting a bokken
• Bukikan - Custom maker of bokken.
• Tozando bokken shop in Japan.