A sword, similiar in design to a
katana, wielded not only by samurai, but by "non-warrior" class people who were forbidden
by law to wear a longsword. The
wakazashi has a shorter blade than a katana, usually ranging from 12-23 inches in length.
Should
a samurai's katana break in combat, or if the samurai needed an
offhand weapon, he would usually carry a
wakazashi as a back-up