Kaiken (dagger) - Wikipedia

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A kaiken (懐剣, prior to modern orthographic reform kwaiken (pocket knife);^[1] also futokoro-gatana) is an 8–10 inches (20–25 cm) long, single or double-bladed dagger^[2] without ornamental fittings housed in a plain mount, formerly carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense in indoor spaces where the long blade katana and intermediate sword wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket-like space (futokoro) or in the sleeve pouch (tamoto)^[3] for self-defense and for ritual suicide by slashing the veins in the left side of the neck.^[4]^[5] When a samurai woman married, she was expected to carry a kaiken with her when she moves to her husband's house to live.^[6]

References

^ The Japanese Contributions to the English Language: An Historical Dictionary, Authors Garland Hampton Cannon, Nicholas W. Warren, Publisher Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-447-03764-4, ISBN 978-3-447-03764-8 P.65
^ A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times, Author George Cameron Stone, Publisher Courier Dover Publications, 1999, ISBN 0-486-40726-8, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5 P.405
^ Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Clive Sinclaire, Globe Pequot, Nov 1, 2004 P.88
^ The complete encyclopedia of arms & weapons: the most comprehensive reference work ever published on arms and armor, Claude Blair, Publisher Bonanza Books, 1986, ISBN 0-517-48776-4, ISBN 978-0-517-48776-1 P.306
^ The sword book in Honchō gunkikō and The book of Samé, Kō hi sei gi of Inaba Tsūriō, Authors Hakuseki Arai, Tsūryū Inaba, Publisher C. E. Tuttle, 1963 P.42
^ Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts, Author Serge Mol, Publisher Kodansha International, 2003, ISBN 4-7700-2941-1, ISBN 978-4-7700-2941-6 P.27

Nishio Minoru, Iwabuchi Etsutarō, Mizutani Shizuo, ed. (1985). Iwanami Kokugo Jiten (in Japanese) (3 ed.). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. p. 155. ISBN 4-00-080003-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month=, |chapterurl=, and |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nihonto.

Japanese weapons, armour and equipment

Swords

Chokutō Dōtanuki Guntō Katana Kodachi Nagamaki Ninjatō Ōdachi Shikomizue Tachi Tantō Tsurugi Wakizashi
Construction	Glossary Horimono Sword mountings Sword polishing Swordsmithing Tameshigiri

Knives and daggers

Polearms and spears

Practice weapons

Armour

Auxiliary armours Bōgu Dō Dō-maru Haramaki Kabuto Karuta Kikko Kusari Men-yoroi Ō-yoroi Sangu Tatami
Types	Brigandine Lame Lamellar Laminar Mail Plate Mail and plate armour Scale

Clothing

Samurai accoutrements

Chain and rope weapons

Clubs and truncheons

Staff weapons

Projectile and throwing weapons

Firearms and guns

Improvised and other weapons

Signal devices

Users

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers

This article related to weaponry is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

See also

References

External links