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The wakizashi is a short, curved sword used by samurai in feudal Japan. It was often used with a longer katana in dual wielding. The length is not officially defined and can include daggers. It was used for combat, decapitation, and ritual suicide. Samurai always carried their wakizashi for personal protection.
The Japanese word wakizashi literally means “side arm”. The wakizashi sword is a short sword with a curved blade. Its smaller size makes it easier to use when dual wielding. It was most commonly used by samurai in feudal Japan and first appeared somewhere in the 14th century.
The wakizashi sword was typically used in conjunction with a longer blade, often a katana, which translates to “long sword.” The term for wielding two weapons in Japan is daisho, which means “long and short.” Wakizashi can be up to 60 centimeters (24 inches) long. Any shorter blade, when used in the style of wakizashi swords, is a wakizashi. The shorter length allowed for better balance in the usually weaker off hand.
There is no official length denoting wakizashi swords. Daggers and other short swords can be considered wakizashi. The rulers of feudal Japan attempted to regulate the use and display of the daisho that people were able to wear to elevate samurai status. There were large groups of law-breaking bandits who even wore wakizashi the same length as their katana.
Wakizashi that were longer or shorter than their prescribed length were given a prefix. “O-” was given to longer swords and “Ko-” to shorter swords, such as Ko-wakizashi. A habaki was placed under the hilt of the wakizashi sword to secure it in place while it was in its sheath. The hilt of the sword would be wrapped in cloth to absorb sweat and reduce slipping.
Wakizashi were used in combat as backup weapons, for dual wielding, to decapitate enemies, and to commit ritual suicide. This has led foreigners to call it “blade of honor”. Ritual suicide, or seppuku, is one of the most distinct and respectable acts someone can commit in traditional Japanese culture.
Collecting heads from enemies killed on the battlefield for trophies was a common practice in feudal Japan. The warrior should hold the head of the grappling victim with one hand and cut off the head with the other. The shorter blade of the wakizashi sword made it much easier to make. It has also been used to save the blade on the katana to avoid unnecessary damage.
Samurai never parted with their wakizashi sword. When entering another house, the katana had to be given to a servant to reduce suspicion, but the samurai was permitted to keep the wakizashi for personal protection. A wakizashi was worn from the moment the samurai woke up to the moment he went to bed, and then slept under his pillow.
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