In fact, they are essentially all used to describe the same thing - a Wakizashi with either a slightly longer blade or longer handle than usual. There is a fair amount of confusion about what the differences are between a O Wakizashi (great Wakizashi), Ko Katana (small Katana) or Chisa Katana (also means 'small Katana'). But before we do, there is one more popular variant of Wakizashi we need to take a look at. Luckily, there are some who do, so let's take a look at what is available for those wishing to own a decent Daisho set. But as that is below the actual cost price, it is not worth their time making - and so simple economics mean that you just don't find the variety of Wakizashi for sale as you can with Katana. However, because it is shorter - even if they cost almost the same amount to make, you can't list Wakizashi for sale at the same price as a Katana - people expect that they should be less even if the cost price is, say, $260 - if the Katana is $300 they usually feel that vendors should list a Wakizashi for sale at $250. It still needs to be hand forged, shaped, tempered, polished, mounted up in the same type of fittings and as it is only on average 6" shorter in the blade and 4" - the material costs and slightly reduced shipping rate do not make it all that much cheaper to make.Īs competition between various sword manufacturers is quite, pardon the pun, cut-throat - Katana tend to have extremely low profit margins - and it is not uncommon for a Katana that sells for $300 to have a wholesale price of $270 or so. There is very little difference in the amount of labor required to make a Wakizashi or a Katana. So why is it that it is so hard to find Wakizashi for sale and create a traditional Daisho set? The main reason is simply, the cost of manufacture. But many don't, and those that do many have 40 or 50 different Katana varieties, but only one or two Wakizashi. Most companies that sell Katana also offer a Wakizashi for sale. If it is so important, why are there so few wakizashi for sale? In this way, the Wakizashi was the Samurai's best friend and constant companion, yet so many collectors of Japanese swords neglect it and only collect half of what it was to be a Samurai, and no true collection of Japanese swords can be considered complete without one. And with it by his side day and night, it represented his willingness to die for the glory and honor of his Feudal Lord, and his utter disregard for his own death. For it was often the Wakizashi that was used in the ceremony of seppuku, ritual suicide. ![]() It is unnatural not to do so,īut the importance of the Wakizashi to the Samurai went even further. "This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you would want to makeįullest use of your available weaponry. In his own words from his famous book of five rings: To Musashi, to die with the Wakizashi still sheathed was unacceptable, and a metaphor for giving one's all. Some sword schools even trained almost exclusively in the Wakizashi, using its faster draw time and faster attacks to surprise and overwhelm an oppponent before they had time to draw their Katana, keeping in close so that they never even really stand a chance to employ it.īut perhaps the most famous use of the Wakizashi was to use it at the same time as the Katana, the two sword fighting style mastered by the Ronin sword saint (Kensai) Miyamoto Musashi with the Katana in the right hand and the Wakizashi in the left. ![]() Indeed, it was customary for a Samurai visiting a castle, house or when coming home to check his Katana at the door, but to also ask of him to relinquish his Wakizashi was unheard of.Įven when he slept, a Samurai's Wakizashi was the weapon closest to him and the first thing he would reach for if he was suddenly attacked, and its shorter blade and formidable speed made it especially useful for fighting in cramped spaces or indoors, where the full swing of a Katana was impractical. However you may not have known that even in the Edo period, where everything was heavily regulated, after 1645 there were Wakizashi for sale to the merchant classes and other well to do people who could afford to buy them, and that they were permitted to be worn and carried almost anywhere. You probably already know that the Daisho (meaning 'big and small'), the pairing of the Katana and Wakizashi, was only worn by the Samurai class of Feudal Japan, and that commoners were forbidden to carry the Katana or the Daisho on pain of death. ![]() Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)Ī beautiful example of antique Edo period Daisho - Katana and Wakizashi - the pairing of which was exclusive to the Samurai class. ![]() Ultra Durable 'Beater' Katana under $400.Affordable Traditional Blades with 'Hamon'.
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