脇差

脇差

Japanese

脇差: a wakizashi (with both full koshirae and simpler shirasaya) below a katana (also with koshirae and shirasaya), showing the difference in size.

Kanji in this term
脇	差
わき Grade: S	さ(し) > ざ(し) Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Etymology

Compound of 脇 (waki, “armpit, side of the torso”) +‎ 差 (sashi, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 差す sasu “to insert, to stick into”), from the way the wakizashi would be stuck at one's side through the 帯 (obi, “belt or sash”).[1] The sashi changes to zashi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) わきざし [wàkízáshí] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠kʲiza̠ɕi]

Noun

脇差 (hiragana わきざし, rōmaji wakizashi)

1. (weaponry) a traditional Japanese shortsword, often used as a secondary weapon to a katana

   Traditionally 30cm to 60cm in length. For more details, see Wakizashi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Coordinate terms

• 刀 (かたな) (katana): traditional Japanese single-bladed curved sword
• 短 (たん)刀 (とう) (tantō): traditional Japanese shortsword or dagger (30cm and shorter)
• 大小 (だいしょう) (daishō): “big and small”: the katana and wakizashi as a set

See also

• 鎧通 (よろいどう)し (yoroidōshi): a kind of stout dagger intended for thrusting

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN