Lot 62A
East Asia, Japan, Edo Period, ca. 1650 CE; World War II era, ca. 1939 to 1945 CE. A beautiful wakizashi with an Edo period steel blade and handle fitted within a WWII-era, leather-wrapped scabbard (saya). The wooden handle (tsuka) is wrapped with stingray skin (samegawa) and cotton straps (tsuka-ito) and adorned with a pair of copper dragon-form menuki. A horn cap (kashira) tops the handle, and a lower gilt copper cap exhibits a pair of Japanese arrow types. Separating the handle from the blade is a hand guard (marugata sukashi tsuba) adorned with an openwork flower. The shinogi-zukuri blade features a diamond-shaped (iori-mune) profile, a curved (chu-kissaki) tip, and a wavy (gunome) temper pattern formed by the tight-grained hammer-folding process (itame-hada). Compact swords of this type were common weapons carried by Japanese fighter pilots who needed to have a usable but condensed weapon that could fit within the cockpit of their aircraft. Size (w/ scabbard): 2.875" W x 31.5" H (7.3 cm x 80 cm); (blade): 21.25" L (54 cm)
This traditional Japanese sword was both a weapon and a symbol of authority and social status. The wakizashi paired with the longer katana sword marked the wearer as a samurai. The shorter sword was seen as an auxiliary weapon, also used for fighting in close quarters. In addition, Wakizashi could be worn by non-samurai if worn alone, and members of the merchant class (chonin) wore them because of the frequency of encountering bandits when traveling between Japan's cities.
Provenance: private Jones collection, Boulder, Colorado, USA; ex-private Sacramento, California, USA collection
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#169087
- Condition: Blade, hand guard, and handle are from the Edo period; fuchi, kashira, and leather scabbard are from the WWII era. Horn cap reattached beneath wrappings with light adhesive residue visible along underside. Minor abrasions to blade faces, with light oxidation to hand guard, and light abrasions to leather on sheath. Great patina throughout.
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