Here’s a great index of the types of Japanese Knives.
Japanese knives tend to be a lot more specialized for particular type of cutting compared to the western knives. Hence, much wider variety of knives and terms. This section describes and explains different types and styles of the kitchen knives. via Japanese Kitchen Knife Types And Styles.
As you can probably imagine, there is a lot of specialist cuisine in Japan that requires a wider variety of cutting edge. Â This can be a useful reference if you are trying to get up to speed on all the different types.