Wakizashi


The wakizashi is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords worn by the samurai in feudal Japan.

Description

The wakizashi has a blade between, with wakizashi close to the length of a katana being called ō-wakizashi and wakizashi closer to tantō length being called kō-wakizashi. The wakizashi being worn together with the katana was the official sign that the wearer was a samurai or swordsman. When worn together the pair of swords were called daishō, which translates literally as "big-little". The katana was the "big" or long sword and the wakizashi the "little" or companion sword. Wakizashi are not necessarily just a smaller version of the katana; they could be forged differently and have a different cross section.

History and use

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:
Wakizashi have been in use as far back as the 15th or 16th century. The wakizashi was used as a backup or auxiliary sword; it was also used for close quarters fighting, to behead a defeated opponent and sometimes to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide. The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ; the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. It was not until the Edo period in 1638 when the rulers of Japan tried to regulate the types of swords and the social groups which were allowed to wear them that the lengths of katana and wakizashi were officially set.
Kanzan Satō, in his book titled The Japanese Sword, notes that there did not seem to be any particular need for the wakizashi and suggests that the wakizashi may have become more popular than the tantō because it was more suited for indoor fighting. He mentions the custom of leaving the katana at the door of a castle or palace when entering while continuing to wear the wakizashi inside.
While the wearing of katana was limited to the samurai class, wakizashi of legal length could be carried by the chonin class which included merchants. This was common when traveling because of the risk of encountering bandits. Wakizashi were worn on the left side, secured to the waist sash.