Label TextA wakizashi is a short sword with blade 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) in length. It was usually worn with a katana, or full-length sword, as a backup or auxiliary sword for fighting at close quarters. The name of the smith, Sukehide, and date of manufacture are carved on the tang—the portion of the blade that forms the sword handle.
Sukehide was a smith from the Yoshioka Ichimonji school centered in the iron-rich Bizen province—an area that is now Okayama Prefecture—during the Kamakura period (1192–1332). The Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the oldest Japanese sword appraising organization in Japan, ranked this wakizashi as a Jūyo Token, or Important Sword, based on its age, authenticity, and artistic quality.