Thedaishō (大小,daishō)—"large and small"[1]—is aJapanese term for a matched pair of traditionally madeJapanese swords(nihonto) worn by thesamurai class infeudal Japan.
The etymology of the worddaishō becomes apparent when the termsdaitō, meaning long sword, andshōtō, meaning short sword, are used;daitō +shōtō =daishō.[2] Adaishō is typically depicted as akatana andwakizashi (or atantō) mounted in matchingkoshirae, but originally thedaishō was the wearing of any long and shortkatana together.[3] Thekatana/wakizashi pairing is not the onlydaishō combination as generally any longer sword paired with atantō is considered to be adaishō.Daishō eventually came to mean two swords having amatched set of fittings. Adaishō could also have matching blades made by the sameswordsmith, but this was in fact uncommon and not necessary for two swords to be considered to be adaishō, as it would have been more expensive for a samurai.[4][5][6][7]
The concept of thedaisho originated with the pairing of a short sword with whatever long sword was being worn during a particular time period. Thetachi would be paired with atantō, and later thekatana would be paired with another shorter katana called achiisagatana. With the advent of thekatana, thewakizashi eventually was chosen by samurai as the short sword over thetantō. Kanzan Satō, in his book titledThe Japanese Sword, notes that there did not seem to be any particular need for thewakizashi and suggests that thewakizashi may have become more popular than thetantō as thewakizashi was more suited for indoor fighting. He mentions the custom of leaving thekatana at the door of a castle or palace when entering while continuing to wear thewakizashi inside.[8]
Daishō may have become popular around the end of theMuromachi period (1336 to 1573)[4] as several early examples date from the late 16th century.[9] An edict in 1629 defining the duties of a samurai required thatdaishō be worn when on official duty.[10] Wearingdaishō was limited to thesamurai class in 1683, and became a symbol of their rank[11] Samurai could wear decorative swords in daily life, but the Tokugawa shogunate regulated the appearance of swords for formal attire such as when samurai came to a castle. The daisho for formal attire was limited to the scabbard in solid black, the hilt winding thread and the hilt wrapped with white ray skin.[12]
According to most traditionalkenjutsu schools, only one sword of thedaisho would have been used in combat. However, in the first half of the 17th century, the famous swordsmanMiyamoto Musashi promoted the use of a one-handed grip, which allowed both swords to be used simultaneously. This technique, callednitōken, is a main element of theNiten Ichi-ryū style of swordsmanship that Musashi founded.[13]
During theMeiji period an edict was passed in 1871 abolishing the requirement thatdaishō be worn by samurai, and in 1876 wearing swords in public by most of Japan's population was banned; thus ended the use of thedaishō as the symbol of the samurai. The samurai class was abolished soon after the sword ban.[14][15][16]
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