Wakizashi

Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:Infobox weapon

The Template:Nihongo is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihontō)<ref>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, Template:ISBN p. 150</ref><ref>The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Mythology, Complete Idiot's Guides, Authors Evans Lansing Smith, Nathan Robert Brown, Publisher Penguin, 2008, Template:ISBN p. 144</ref> worn by the samurai in feudal Japan. Its name refers to the practice of wearing it inserted through one's obi or sash at one's side, whereas the larger tachi sword was worn slung from a cord.

History and use

The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:<ref name="nagoyatrans">Transition of kotō, shintō, shinshintō, and gendaitō. Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Touken World</ref>

Jokotō (ancient swords, until around AD 900)
Kotō (old swords from around 900–1596)
Shintō (new swords 1596–1780)
Shinshintō (newer swords 1781–1876)
Gendaitō (modern or contemporary swords 1876–present)

The wakizashi has a blade between Template:Convert in length.<ref name="Ogyû Sorai's Discourse on government (Seidan)"/> Wakizashi close to the length of a katana are called ō-wakizashi and wakizashi closer to tantō length are called ko-wakizashi.<ref name="Ogyû Sorai's Discourse on government (Seidan)"/> Wakizashi are not necessarily just a smaller version of the katana; they could be forged differently and have a different cross-section.<ref>Samurai: The Code of the Warrior, Thomas Louis, Tommy Ito, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2008 P.138</ref>

File:Long Sword and Scabbard LACMA AC1999.186.1.1-.16.jpg

Antique Japanese daishō, the traditional pairing of two Japanese swords which were the symbol of the samurai, showing the traditional Japanese sword cases (koshirae) and the difference in size between the katana (bottom) and the smaller wakizashi (top).

Wakizashi have been in use as far back as the 15th<ref>Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Clive Sinclaire, Globe Pequot, 2004 P.87</ref> or 16th century.<ref>Samurai: The Code of the Warrior, Thomas Louis, Tommy Ito, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2008 P138</ref> The wakizashi was used as a backup or auxiliary sword;<ref name="Ogyû Sorai's Discourse on government (Seidan)"/> it was also used for close quarters fighting, to behead a defeated opponent<ref>The encyclopedia of nineteenth-century land warfare: an illustrated world view, Byron Farwell, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001 P.240</ref> and sometimes to commit seppuku.<ref>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</ref> 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<ref>Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan, William E. Deal, Oxford University Press US, 2007 P.158</ref> and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes.<ref>Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan (Google eBook), Karl Friday, Psychology Press, 2004 P.78</ref>

File:Wakizashi Soshu Akihiro.jpg

Although the number of forged swords decreased in the Meiji period, many artistically excellent mountings were made. A wakizashi forged by Soshu Akihiro. Nanboku-chō period (top). Wakizashi mounting, Early Meiji period (bottom).

During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate required samurai to wear Katana and shorter swords in pairs. These short swords were wakizashi and tanto, and wakizashi were mainly selected.<ref name="rekishi200942">歴史人 September 2020. pp.42-43. Template:ASIN</ref> The wakizashi being worn together with the katana was the official sign that the wearer was a samurai. When worn together, the pair of swords were called daishō, which translates literally as "big-little". Only samurai could wear the daishō: it represented their social power and personal honour.<ref>The Japanese sword, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 p.68</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During this period, commoners were allowed to wear one legal-length ko-wakizashi, which made it popular for the general public to wear wakizashi. This was common when traveling because of the risk of encountering bandits.<ref>Taiho-jutsu: law and order in the age of the samurai, Don Cunningham, Tuttle Publishing, 2004 P,23</ref><ref>The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.48</ref> Wakizashi were worn on the left side, secured to the waist sash (Uwa-obi or himo).<ref>Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan, Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook, Tuttle Publishing, 1991 P.260</ref><ref name="rekishi200942"/> It was not until the Edo period in 1638 when the rulers of Japan tried to regulate the types of swords and the social strata which were allowed to wear them that the lengths of katana and wakizashi were officially set.<ref>The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.35</ref>

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.<ref>The Japanese sword, Kanzan Satō, Kodansha International, 1983 P.68</ref>