Brasque
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Okay, let's start from the beginning.
1st: Samurai and Ninja get Katana proficiency for free ... for ... free. Good, we have the settled? Yes, ninja don't get longsword proficiency and yes, technically if you can use a Katana you can use any comparable edged weapon to a basic (i.e. lethal) level. If the level in abstraction of Pathfinder is to be believed, then "proficiency" must be taken to mean a high level of skill not simply and understanding of which end to hold towards the enemy. I teach longsword combat, and am currently studying kenjutsu, please trust me when I say they are not the same.
2nd: You are correct "katana" does not equal "bastard sword" when the use of the European bastard sword is compared to the use of the European long sword. However, by the same token the way in which the sword is used is not analogous to the longsword either. Arguing again that proficiency equals a high skill level then a Katana deserves its own stats not to represent drastically different physical properties, but to represent the way subtle differences equate to different schools of martial practice and usage.
(I personally like the idea of longsword like stats with a slightly higher crit rate, or maybe rather a +1 bonus to init, to represent the faster draw a curved sword allows, which is one leading theory to how the current Katana evolved. I also argue strongly in keeping the Katana a 2 handed weapon in keeping with the vast majority of kenjutsu styles favoring that method of use, however perhaps a new weapon ability which allows 2 handed use at a certain class or character level thus keeping it true to both styles of use, but not costing quite as much a full feat. Food for thoughy.)
3rd: The Katana in Pathfinder IS NOT yet a bastard sword. Those rules are not published yet, and while this is the place to discuss what you want them to be, it is not the time to engage in the internet equivalent of hysterics over a hold over to a tiny one line reference in 3rd ed D&D.
4th: Orientalism? Really? I think that's a bit harsh, or a bit pointless. The class is called "samurai." Samurai were just a regional variation of mounted armour wearing aristocratic warriors, if you are not going to embrace some level of the larger than life stories and air of Romanticism that has permeated that word in stories and media (notably in the west where Pathfinder is made )then just stick with the fighter or cavalier class and seriously consider a different hobby.
By and large the tone of this message is ungracious and maybe even inappropriate, but please forgive my crudeness and hopefully I have added something to this discussion that is worthwhile.
