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The wakizashi (Japanese: 脇差, 'side inserted sword' [1]) is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords [2] [3] worn by the samurai in feudal Japan.Its name refers to the practice of wearing it inserted through one's obi or sash at one's side, whereas the larger tachi sword was worn slung from a cord.
Japanese swordsmithing is the labour-intensive bladesmithing process developed in Japan beginning in the sixth century for forging traditionally made bladed weapons [1] [2] including katana, wakizashi, tantō, yari, naginata, nagamaki, tachi, nodachi, ōdachi, kodachi, and ya.
A katana (刀, かたな, lit. 'one-sided blade') is a Japanese sabre characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.
However, to maintain the quality of Japanese swords, the Japanese government limits the number of Japanese swords a swordsmith can make in a year to 24 (up to 2 swords per month). Therefore, many of the swords called "Japanese sword" distributed around the world today are made in China, and the manufacturing process and quality are not authorized.
Kiku-ichimonji (菊一文字) ("Chrysanthemum-straight line"), often romanized with a somewhat misplaced hyphen as Kikuichi-monji, is a collective name given to the katana (a type of Japanese sword) made by the thirteen swordsmiths who were in attendance to the Emperor Go-Toba in 1208.
kōgai (笄) – a skewer for the owner's hair-do, carried in a pocket of the scabbards of katana and wakizashi on the side opposite of the kozuka. [33] [34] kogatana (小刀) – any knife, particularly a small utility knife carried in a pocket of the scabbards of katana and wakizashi. ko-itame-hada (小板目肌) – see itame-hada. [35]
Wazamono (Japanese: 業 （ わざ ） 物 （ もの ）) is a Japanese term that, in a literal sense, refers to an instrument that plays as it should; in the context of Japanese swords and sword collecting, wazamono denotes any sword with a sharp edge that has been tested to cut well, usually by professional sword appraisers via the art of tameshigiri (test cutting).
Historically, it is unclear when the term "iaijutsu" originated. It is also unclear when techniques to draw katana from the scabbard were first practiced as a dedicated form of exercise. The Japanese sword has existed since the Nara period (710–794), where techniques to draw the sword have been practiced under other names than 'iaijutsu'. [3]