Kotodama Wakizashi (言霊) – Spirit of Words

Kotodama (言霊): the spirit of words

Kotodama is an ancient Japanese belief that words carry spiritual power. To speak a word is already to act upon the world: auspicious words draw good fortune, while ill-chosen ones can invite misfortune. Calligraphy and inscription take on an almost sacred significance within this tradition.

This wakizashi makes kotodama the very soul of its tsuba, pierced with stylised characters encircling the guard, an incantation cast in iron.

A two-tone black T10 steel blade with bo-hi

The blade is crafted from T10 steel, a high-carbon steel prized for its hardness. It follows a shinogi-zukuri geometry with a chū-kissaki point, and is hollowed by a bo-hi.

The finish is two-tone: a glossy black-coated body and a bright polished edge, separated by a broad, undulating contrasting line. This line is a decorative hamon achieved through surface treatment.

A mounting adorned with pierced characters

The blackened iron tsuba in mokkō-gata form presents a lightly textured ground (ishime) and stylised characters pierced as silhouettes (kage-sukashi) around its perimeter, with a rounded silver-polished rim (maru-mimi). A gilt brass seppa completes the assembly.

The fuchi and kashira in silver-toned alloy are chiselled with frieze motifs. The handle combines wood with a faux black ray skin, bound with a black tsuka-ito in hineri-maki, and fitted with silver-toned menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilt copper, finely ridged, bears a raised central medallion.

A brushed black and blue saya

The saya is constructed from solid wood, coated in a kawari-nuri lacquer in black and blue with brushed effects (evocative of broad brushstrokes) with a silver-grey marbled zone towards the kojiri. The koiguchi is lacquered in high-gloss black, and the rounded kojiri (maru) echoes the silver marbling. The black-lacquered kurikata, fitted with a gilt shitodome, accommodates a black cotton sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the wakizashi

With a blade of 51 cm and an overall length of 78 cm, Kotodama carries the proportions of a wakizashi, the shorter companion to the katana. Its 23 cm handle offers a comfortable single-handed grip, with room for the supporting hand. At 1 kg, it remains agile. Housed in its saya it measures 80 cm, an ideal format for display alone or alongside a katana.