short sword(wakizashi)
The term “small” refers to swords with a blade length of 1 shaku (approx. 30 cm) or more but less than 2 shaku (approx. 60 cm). Generally speaking, it is the “small” of the “large and small arrangements” (a combination of two swords, one large and one small, made to a predetermined size). The term “wakizashi no kenya” (“sword of wakizashi”) and “wakizashi no tachi” (“sword of wakizashi”) are used to describe this type of sword, which is thought to have been attached to a tachi sword. There are various theories on the origin of the word, but the most popular theory is that it came from the fact that the sword was inserted by the side of the waist.
