kaiken (dagger)

The {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} was once carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense in indoor spaces where the long-bladed katana and intermediate-length {{transliteration|ja|wakizashi}} were inconvenient. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket-like space ({{transliteration|ja|futokoro}}) or in the sleeve pouch ({{transliteration|ja|tamoto}}){{cite book|first=Clive |last=Sinclaire|title=Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=IQ3FAZG94ZsC|page=88}}|date=1 November 2004|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-1-59228-720-8|pages=88–}} for self-defense and for ritual suicide by slashing the veins in the left side of the neck.{{cite book|first1=Leonis |last1=Tarassuk|last2=Blair |first2=Claude|title=The Complete encyclopedia of arms & weapons: the most comprehensive reference work ever published on arms and armour from prehistoric times to the present|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=GEGUZwEACAAJ |page=306}}|year=1982|publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=306}}{{cite book|first1=Hakuseki |last1=Arai|first2=Henri L. |last2=Joly|first3=Hogitarō |last3=Inada|title=The Sword Book in "Honchō Gunkikō"|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=2jQYnQEACAAJ |page=42}}|year=1913|publisher=C. E. Tuttle |page=42}} When a samurai woman married, she was expected to carry a {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} with her when she moved in with her husband.{{cite book|first=Serge |last=Mol|title=Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ZzIXkFec0e8C|page=27}}|year=2003|publisher=Kodansha International|isbn=978-4-7700-2941-6|pages=27–}}

The {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} was also carried concealed in its {{transliteration|ja|shirasaya}} by the lower classes who were not permitted to wear swords, in particular by criminals in the Edo period.

In modern Japan, a {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} is worn as a traditional accessory for the {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}} (referee) in sumo matches for the highest ranks. However, a real blade is not used. No one legally wears or carries a {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} today in Japan, as this is a violation of the Gun and Sword Law.{{clarify|reason=Which Gun and Sword Law? When was it passed?|date=March 2023}} They can be legally transported, however, provided they are carried together with their registration certificate.

Due to pronunciation changes over time, the blade's name has shifted from {{transliteration|ja|kwaiken}} to {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}}.{{cite book|first1=Garland Hampton |last1=Cannon|first2=Nicholas W. |last2=Warren|title=The Japanese Contributions to the English Language: An Historical Dictionary|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=GiCTPPnBuHEC|page=65}}|year=1996|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03764-8|pages=65–}} The {{transliteration|ja|kaiken}} is also referred to as a {{transliteration|ja|futokoro-gatana}}{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} or a {{nihongo3|{{gloss|protection sword/blade}}|守り刀|mamori-gatana}}.

• Japanese sword
• {{transliteration|ja|Tantō}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Kwaiken tanto}}

• {{cite book|last=Minoru |first=Nishio|title=Iwanami kokugo jiten|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=DxIhmwEACAAJ}}|orig-year=1979|editor=Nishio Minoru |editor2=Iwabuchi Etsutarō |editor3=Mizutani Shizuo |edition=3rd |year=1985 |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |location=Tokyo |language=ja |isbn=4-00-080003-5 |pages=155 }}
• [http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/ Nihonto message board forum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204081704/http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm Richard Stein's Japanese sword guide]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100312063307/http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/ebook01/relay/107_05.html Japan Arts Council e-book Mamori-gatana pp. 179–180]

{{Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment}}

{{Knives}}

Category:Samurai swords

Category:Japanese sword types

Category:Japanese knives

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