bokken

The bokken (木剣), literally "wooden sword" ) or bokutō (木刀) , name generally used in Japan ) is a wooden Japanese sword imitating the shape of the katana. It can be used with the guard ( tsuba ) which protects the hands, or without the guard. It is employed in aikido, iaido , jōdō , kendo, kenjutsu , and ninjutsu .