Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1372206-20130716032819/@comment-7472785-20130717053622

To a point, this discussion is moot, as the RWBY world is neither Japan nor our world in general.

In the description Gambol Shroud, really a 'gunnomorphing' sword/sheath blade, was described as a katana mainly for optical reference in form and function - namely in being the strong hand part in dual wielding fight.