What Is a Wakizashi?

The wakizashi is a Japanese sword with ties to feudal times. Samurai often utilized it as a backup weapon and wore it as a companion to the katana (a bigger Japanese sword). When worn together, this tandem of swords was called daisho (meaning large and small).

The blade on a wakizashi is between 12 to 24 inches long. Along with this, it was was often used to decapitate a samurai’s defeated enemies, as its smaller size was perfect for one handed use. The size of the blade also allowed samurai to bring it with them everywhere, even when they felt the need to leave their larger katanas at the door of an establishment.

The wakizashi is well-known for sometimes being used to commit suicide or seppuku, a ritual suicide performed in feudal Japan.