Kochō Wakizashi (胡蝶) – Butterfly

Kochō (胡蝶): the butterfly

In Japan, the butterfly (kochō) is a symbol of the soul, transformation and fleeting beauty. It is also bound to the celebrated dream of the philosopher Zhuangzi, who wondered whether he was a man dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being a man. Samurai sometimes bore it as an emblem, a sign of rebirth.

This wakizashi places the butterfly at the heart of its tsuba: a gilded butterfly moving among chrysanthemums. The chiselled flowers of the fuchi and kashira extend that garden further still.

A T10 steel blade with a genuine gunome hamon

The blade is forged in T10 steel, a high-carbon steel prized for its hardness. It has been clay-tempered, bringing forth a genuine gunome hamon across the mirror-polished steel.

The geometry follows the shinogi-zukuri form with a chū-kissaki tip, and the blade is grooved with a bo-hi. Hand-sharpening imparts a level of artisanal refinement that sets it apart.

A white and gold butterfly mounting

The round (maru-gata) tsuba in polished white-plated alloy presents, against a polished (migaki) ground, a gilded raised (takabori) design of chrysanthemums, leaves and a butterfly, with a rounded, polished rim (maru-mimi). A gilded brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi and kashira in gilded alloy are finely chiselled with floral motifs. The handle combines solid wood with faux white ray skin beneath a white tsuka-ito in hineri-maki, with gilded menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilded copper is finely hammered and chiselled with a floral motif.

A midnight-blue saya flecked with white

The saya is in solid wood, finished with a brilliant midnight-blue kawari-nuri lacquer flecked with white, the speckling growing denser near the kurikata like petals caught in flight. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered in brilliant black. The black-lacquered kurikata with gilded shitodome holds a midnight-blue and white cotton sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the wakizashi

With a blade of 51 cm and an overall length of 78 cm, Kochō carries the proportions of a wakizashi, the shorter companion to the katana. Its 23 cm handle offers a comfortable one-handed grip, with room for the second hand to rest in support. At 1 kg, it remains entirely manageable. In its saya it measures 80 cm, an ideal format whether displayed alone or alongside a katana.