O.o nope didn't know that, but now i do^^
Blades get stuck more easily than you think, plus they can otherwise get lost, take a glancing hit while on horceback and the sword might just slip out. Also you were thinking about Wakizashi with the smaller swords.
Got a fair point there 
Aye that was the word!
Aye that was the word!
There's also the Tanto dagger and the Dai-Katana, which is two handed. The Japanese had very varied types of swords that all ended up looking a bit like the Katana. Plus paper armor. It's way more efficient than it sounds. Dozens of layers of fabric that all fray up and wrap around the blade can stop swords as well as a suit of plate, but with no were near the weight limitations.
I knew about the paper armor and the Dai-katana^^