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 due to it being more suited for indoor fighting.
The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ('sword thrust at one's side') the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. 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.
Wakizashi are not necessarily just a smaller version of the katana they could be forged differently and have a different cross section.History and useThe 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)Shinsakutō (newly made swords 1953–present)Wakizashi have been in use as far back as the 15th or 16th century. The katana was the big or long sword and the wakizashi the 'little' or companion sword. When worn together the pair of swords were called daishō, which translates literally as 'big-little'.
The wakizashi being worn together with the katana was the official sign that the wearer was a samurai or swordsman. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search A Daito (top) and wakizashi (bottom) in the form of a daishō, showing the difference in size.The wakizashi (Japanese: 脇差, 'side inserted ') is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihontō) worn by the samurai in feudal Japan.Contents1 Description2 History and use3 See also4 References5 External linksDescriptionThe wakizashi has a blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in), with wakizashi close to the length of a katana being called ō-wakizashi and wakizashi closer to tantō length being called kō-wakizashi.
0 kommentar(er)
