The bokken is used as an inexpensive and relatively safe substitute for a real sword in several martial arts such as kendo, aikido and kenjutsu, in that it is considerably cheaper, easy to replace, does not demand the care, attention and skill necessary to wield and maintain a live sword both safely for the user and other practitioners nearby – for example regular oiling, sharpening, the usage of specific parts of a blade, spatial awareness, etc... While it has several advantages over use of a "live" edged weapon, it is still deadly if used incorrectly, and any training with a bokken/bokuto should be done with due care and attention under the supervision of a suitably accredited and experienced teacher. Swords may seem more dramatic in part to the lacerations and puncture wounds they are designed to inflict; injuries occurring from bokken are very similar to those caused by clubs and similar battering weapons; compound fractures, ruptured organs, and other such crush injuries - in some ways a bokken can be more deadly as the injuries caused are often unseen. It is not a sparring weapon, but intended to train in kata and acclimate the student to the feel of a real sword: for sparring, a bamboo shinai should be used instead for obvious safety reasons.

Historically, bokken are as old as Japanese swords, and were used for the training of warriors. The bokken is a wooden training tool for those martial artists interested in learning the use of a sword. In Japan, the sword and the art of its use goes back before the times of written history. There are legends that tell of the mythical period of the gods concerning their use of swords.