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what is wakizashi
Wakizashi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A wakizashi was used as a samurai's weapon when the Katana was unavailable. When entering a building, a samurai would leave his katana on a rack near the entrance. However, the wakizashi would be worn at all times, and therefore, it made a sidearm for the samurai (similar to a soldier's use of a pistol). The samurai would have worn it from the time they awoke to the time they went to sleep. In earlier periods, and especially during times of civil wars, a tanto was worn in place of a wakizashi.