Shoto lightsabers were scaled lightsabers whose blades were considerably shorter than the normal. They were used by shorter combatants like Yoda, Yaddle, or Even Piell, whose stature made it impractical to wield a full-sized lightsaber, and also as off-hand weapons for duelists who employed twin-bladed techniques as part of Jar'Kai, like Ahsoka Tano and the Tenth Brother.
History[]
Republic Era[]
The long-lived Jedi Grand Master Yoda, on account of his diminutive size, built his lightsaber as a shoto.[4] The only slightly less diminutive Lannik Jedi Master Even Piell also owned a shoto[10] as well as Master Yaddle, who also had a shoto. Tholothian Jedi Knight D'urban Wen-Hurd had two shotos with a blue and green blade and adopted a unique lightsaber combat style which involved dual-wielding shotos, accompanied by acrobatic maneuvers and daggerlike thrusts.[11]
At some point prior to the Mission to Mortis, the Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano adopted the practice of Jar'Kai,[12] and constructed a shoto lightsaber to this end. This weapon was essentially an abridged version of her original lightsaber, and mimicked the saber's basic aesthetic, save for the shorter blade which possessed a greenish-yellow tinge.[13] This shoto would go on to serve Tano throughout the Clone Wars, up until the moment when she severed ties with the Jedi Order and relinquished both her lightsabers into the care of her former master, Anakin Skywalker.[14] Skywalker would ultimately return Tano's weapons to her when she agreed to help lead a 501st division in the Siege of Mandalore, although he substituted the crystals inside for blue ones; a change that he wryly remarked had improved them.[15]
Age of the Empire[]
Tano would abandon her original pair of lightsabers after the execution of Order 66 in order to fake her death to the Galactic Empire. A year later, she constructed a second pair of lightsabers which also included a shoto during the uprising on Raada.[6][16]
The Imperial Inquisitor known as the Tenth Brother, formerly the Jedi Master Prosset Dibs, wielded a pair of shotos, in contrast to the double-bladed spinning lightsabers used by the rest of the Inquisitors.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
- "One of them is shorter, almost like a lightsaber dagger, which I thought was really cool."
- ―Ashley Eckstein, voice of Ahsoka Tano
A shoto lightsaber first appeared in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, with Yoda's lightsaber.[1] The weapon's name was first given in the mobile game Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings.[18]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- William Shakespeare's The Clone Army Attacketh: Star Wars Part the Second
- William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge: Star Wars Part the Third
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Exit from Endor" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Crisis on Coruscant" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ Gadgets and Gear
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "Fire Across the Galaxy"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Darth Vader (2017) 17
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ahsoka
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
- ↑ Star Wars: The Mini Book of Lightsabers
- ↑ Ahsoka — "Part One: Master and Apprentice"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
- ↑ Brotherhood
- ↑ Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Overlords"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Wrong Jedi"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Old Friends Not Forgotten"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "The Future of the Force"
- ↑ "Coming of Age" — Star Wars Insider 123
- ↑ Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings