↑ The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords, Kōkan Nagayama, Kodansha International, 1998 P.48.↑ The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Mythology, Complete Idiot's Guides, Authors Evans Lansing Smith, Nathan Robert Brown, Publisher Penguin, 2008, ISBN 1-59257-764-4, ISBN 978-1-59257-764-4 P.144.Studies in Language and Communication, Author Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani, Publisher Peter Lang, 2008, ISBN 3-03911-711-4, ISBN 978-3-03911-711-6 P.150 ↑ The Development of Controversies: From the Early Modern Period to Online Discussion Forums, Volume 91 of Linguistic Insights.↑ Ogyû Sorai's Discourse on government (Seidan): an annotated translation, Sorai Ogyū, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999 P.105.Wakizashi were worn on the left side, secured to the waist sash ( Uwa-obi or himo). This was common when traveling due to the risk of encountering bandits. While the wearing of katana was limited to the samurai class, wakizashi of legal length ( ko-wakizashi) could be carried by the chonin class which included merchants. 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. 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 tanto due to the wakizashi being more suited for indoor fighting. 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.
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, the chisa-katana and the tantō. 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 ritual suicide. Wakizashi have been in use as far back as the 15th or 16th century. The hamon (temper line) is clearly visible.
An antique Japanese wakizashi with koshirae and related parts, shown dis-assembled.
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