Wakizashi (short sword of a daisho set)
Artist
Japanese
Date1416, mountings early 1800s
Mediumsteel; grip of wood ray-skin, silk cord, with fittings of copper alloy, shakudo, gold, and silver
Dimensions69 x 7.3 x 6 cm (27 3/16 x 2 7/8 x 2 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineGift of Mrs. E. D. Buffington
Object number1917.70.1
DescriptionDaisho set with 1917.69.Blade bears horimono of bonji (outside) and suken (inside). Fittings from the early 19th century, match those of the katana 1917.69.1. Grip of ray skin wrapped in braided silk cord with menuki in copper alloy and gold. Tsuba of chiseled inlaid iron. All metal fittings with samurai themes.
Label TextThe importance of the sword originates in the fact that it is one of the three Japanese imperial regalia. As legend has it the imperial sword was acquired from the tail of a dragon by the brother of Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess from whom the imperial lineage is descended. Early swords were straight, flat and two-edged but from the late eighth century onwards, as battles were fought on horseback, swords gained a single curved, cutting edge for downward-slashing strokes. The sword became an effective defensive as well as offensive weapon and was imbued with spiritual energy through the religious rites involved in its skilled production. By the 1580s all warriors wore daisho, a matched pair of long and short swords (katana and wakizashi) thrust edge up through the sash. However, from the early seventeenth century onwards the Tokugawa shogunate made the daisho the exclusive mark of samurai status. It also fostered the ideals of Bushido, "The Way of the Warrior," a code which promoted the sword as "the soul of the samurai." Samurai treasured their sword-blades and provided them with fine mountings. The fifteenth century blades of this daisho are provided with nineteenth century scabbards decorated in lacquer with flying heavenly beings (apsaras) playing a flute and a small drum. It is notable that the hand-guards (tsuba) and the metal sleeve and pommel sets (fuchi-kashira) of the swords depict the Battle of Ichi-no-tani and its celebrated confrontation between the young Taira Atsumori and Kumagai Naozane (see exhibited print). The hilt ornaments (menuki) placed between the ray-skin and the wrapping, are shaped like a sheathed sword, bow-and-helmet, shoulder-guards and bamboo whips. The handle of the small utility knife (kozuka) of the shorter sword is decorated with gold shishi lions while the skewer (kogai) used as a hair-pick and ear-cleaner is decorated with a dragon.ProvenanceGift of Mrs. E. D. Buffington
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