Wakizashi

The wakizashi (Japanese: 脇差, "side inserted [sword]"[1]) is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihontō)[2][3] worn by the samurai in feudal Japan.

A Daito (top) and wakizashi (bottom) in the form of a daishō, showing the difference in size.

Description

The wakizashi has a blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in),[1] with wakizashi close to the length of a katana being called ō-wakizashi and wakizashi closer to tantō length being called kō-wakizashi.[1] 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".[4] The katana was the "big" or long sword and the wakizashi the "little" or companion sword.[5][6] Wakizashi are not necessarily just a smaller version of the katana; they could be forged differently and have a different cross section.[7]

History and use

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

  • Jokotō (ancient swords, until around 900 A.D.)
  • Kotō (old swords from around 900–1596)
  • Shintō (new swords 1596–1780)
  • Shinshintō (newer swords 1781–1876)
  • Gendaitō (modern swords 1876–1945)[8]
  • Shinsakutō (newly made swords 1953–present)[9]

Wakizashi have been in use as far back as the 15th[10] or 16th century.[11] The wakizashi was used as a backup or auxiliary sword;[1] it was also used for close quarters fighting, to behead a defeated opponent[12] and sometimes to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide.[13] 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[14] and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] While the wearing of katana was limited to the samurai class, wakizashi of legal length (kō-wakizashi) could be carried by the chonin class which included merchants. This was common when traveling because of the risk of encountering bandits.[18][19] Wakizashi were worn on the left side, secured to the waist sash (Uwa-obi or himo).[20]

  • An antique Japanese wakizashi with koshirae and related parts, shown dis-assembled. The hamon (temper line) is clearly visible.
  • Wakisashi by Sanpin Masatoshi, early 1600s. The disassembled koshirae shows the tsuba (guard), the twin kōgai (hair pin) and the Kozuka (small knife). On display at the British Museum.
  • Edo period wakizashi
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See also

References
  1. Ogyû Sorai's Discourse on government (Seidan): an annotated translation, Sorai Ogyū, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999 p. 105
  2. The Development of Controversies: From the Early Modern Period to Online Discussion Forums, Volume 91 of Linguistic Insights. Studies in Language and Communication, Author Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani, Publisher Peter Lang, 2008, ISBN 978-3-03911-711-6 p. 150
  3. The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Mythology, Complete Idiot's Guides, Authors Evans Lansing Smith, Nathan Robert Brown, Publisher Penguin, 2008, ISBN 978-1-59257-764-4 p. 144
  4. The Japanese sword, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 p.68
  5. Mol, Serge (2003). Classical weaponry of Japan: special weapons and tactics of the martial arts. Kodansha International. pp. 18–24. ISBN 4-7700-2941-1.
  6. Ratti, Oscar; Westbrook, Adele (1973). Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan. Tuttle Publishing. p. 258. ISBN 0-8048-1684-0.
  7. Samurai: The Code of the Warrior, Thomas Louis, Tommy Ito, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2008 P.138
  8. Clive Sinclaire (1 November 2004). Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior. Lyons Press. pp. 40–58. ISBN 978-1-59228-720-8.
  9. トム岸田 (24 September 2004). 靖国刀. Kodansha International. p. 42. ISBN 978-4-7700-2754-2.
  10. Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Clive Sinclaire, Globe Pequot, 2004 P.87
  11. Samurai: The Code of the Warrior, Thomas Louis, Tommy Ito, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2008 P138
  12. The encyclopedia of nineteenth-century land warfare: an illustrated world view, Byron Farwell, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001 P.240
  13. A glossary of the construction, decoration and use of arms and armor in all countries and in all times, together with some closely related subjects, George Cameron Stone, Jack Brussel Pub., 1961 P.201
  14. Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan, William E. Deal, Oxford University Press US, 2007 P.158
  15. Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan (Google eBook), Karl F. Friday, Psychology Press, 2004 P.78
  16. The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.35
  17. The Japanese sword, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 P.68
  18. Taiho-jutsu: law and order in the age of the samurai, Don Cunningham, Tuttle Publishing, 2004 P,23
  19. The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.28
  20. Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan, Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook, Tuttle Publishing, 1991 P.260
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