East Asia, Japan, late Muromachi period, ca. 1500 to 1550 CE, signed by Kanehisa. A beautiful example of a ko-wakizashi with a single-edged steel blade that is slightly shorter than a traditional wakizashi blade. The handle (tsuka) is wrapped with stingray skin (same) and cotton straps (tsuka-ito) and bears a pair of menuki with stylized faces. The hand guard (marugata tsuba) has an intricate floral motif and is flanked by a pair of blade caps (fuchi). The shinogi-zukuri steel blade features a diamond-shaped (iori-mune) profile, a lightly curved (chu-kissaki) tip, and a wavy temper pattern (chusuguba) formed by the tight-grained hammer-folding process (itame-hada); the tang is hammered with the signature "Kanehisa." The scabbard (saya) is covered in black lacquer (urushi) and has a by-knife (kozuka) with a copper handle in the peripheral slot. Included is a book volume containing different tang signatures. Size (w/ scabbard): 2.22" W x 25.4" H (5.6 cm x 64.5 cm); (blade): 16.375" L (41.6 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. Wakizashi could also 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.

Over the centuries that katana and wakizashi were made, the process of their manufacture became heavily regulated. For example, in 1683, the Tokugawa Shogunate made laws concerning the maximum size of katana and wakizashi. Meanwhile, once a samurai took ownership of his new weapon, he had to wear it in a highly regulated manner. Wakizashi and katana in this period were both deadly weapons and signs of prestige. The craftsmanship of this piece is evident and reflects hundreds of hours of work.

Provenance: private Jones collection, Boulder, Colorado, USA; ex-private Sacramento, California, USA collection

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#168332

Included book is likely from a later period. Scabbard is perhaps a modern replacement of the original scabbard, with possible repair and re-applied lacquer on top areas near opening of blade housing. Minor nicks and pitting to blade, with chipping to one upper area of stingray skin handle panels, oxidation and abrasions to hand guard, and light oxidation to handle cap. Wonderful patina throughout. Blade edge is still extremely sharp, so please handle with caution. Book has tearing to some peripheral areas and light staining to some pages.