  KATANA - the Krakow Array for Triggering with Amplitude discrimiNAtion - has
been built and used as a trigger and veto detector for the S$\pi$RIT TPC at
RIKEN. Its construction allows operating in magnetic field and providing fast
response for ionizing particles, giving the approximate forward multiplicity
and charge information. Depending on this information, trigger and veto signals
are generated. The article presents performance of the detector and details of
its construction. A simple phenomenological parametrization of the number of
emitted scintillation photons in plastic scintillator is proposed. The effect
of the light output deterioration in the plastic scintillator due to the
in-beam irradiation is discussed.
