Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)

blade, (1852); mounting, 19th century

Not on view

A wakizashi is a short sword with a blade between 30 and 60 cm long, usually worn in tandem with a full-length sword (katana). Wakizashi were fashionable in the Muromachi period (1392–1573) and later.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
Date: blade, (1852); mounting, 19th century
Geography: Tokyo
Culture: Japanese
Medium: Steel, wood, rayskin (samé), lacquer, thread, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi)
Dimensions: L. 22 in. (55.9 cm); L. of blade 16 7/16 in. (41.8 cm); L. of cutting edge 12 in. (30.4 cm)
Classification: Swords
Credit Line: Gift of Brayton Ives and W. T. Walters, 1891
Object Number: 91.2.79
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Sword Guard (Tsuba), Joka , after Yasuchika Japanese, Iron, lacquer, gold, Japanese, Tokyo — Sword Guard (Tsuba)
Fittings maker Inscribed by Joka
early 19th century

Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi), Yokoyama Kōzukedaijō Sukesada Japanese, Steel, wood, lacquer, ray skin (samé), thread, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), iron, Japanese — Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)
Swordsmith Blade inscribed by Yokoyama Kōzukedaijō Sukesada
Fittings maker Fittings inscribed by 乙柳軒政信 Otsuryūken Masanobu
blade, late 17th century; mounting, 19th century

彫鐫画譜 Album of Designs for Metal Carving (<i>Chōsen Gafu</i>), 嵐山常行画 Ranzan Tsuneyuki Japanese, Ink on paper, pasted into a bound volume, Japanese — 彫鐫画譜 Album of Designs for Metal Carving (*Chōsen Gafu*)
Mount maker 嵐山常行画 Ranzan Tsuneyuki
mid-19th century

Blades and Mountings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō), Naotane Taikei Japanese, Steel, wood, lacquer, rayskin, silk, iron, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, silver, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), Japanese — Blades and Mountings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō)
Swordsmith Blades inscribed by Naotane Taikei
Decorator Engraving on blades attributed to Honjō Yoshitane
Fittings maker Sword guards (Tsuba) inscribed by Yukinaka
blades, dated 1839; mountings, 19th century

Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana), Steel, wood, silver, iron, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper, gold, Japanese — Blade and Mounting for a Sword (Katana)
Japanese
blade, 17th century; mounting, 19th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.