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