I think your first photo is actually the tanto dagger.
I've never been a huge fan of Japanese weaponry. I was playing RPGs in the early/mid 80s when all things Japanese seemed to be the new wave of 'cool', and never got the same feeling of excitement that others seemed to share. Katanas and ninja still leave me cold, I'm afraid.
I did venture into a fantasy Chinese campaign and weaponry, however, and have a strong affection some of the Chinese weapons. For some reason they don't appear on the radar much in the West, certainly nothing like as much as Japanese weapons.
