Shishi to Hana Wakizashi (獅子と花) – Lion and Flowers

Shishi to Hana (獅子と花): the lion and the flowers

The pairing of the lion (shishi) and flowers (the peony above all) is a classical motif in Japanese art, known as botan ni shishi. The king of animals and the queen of flowers together embody strength and beauty, power and grace.

This wakizashi takes that motif as the centrepiece of its tsuba, where the lion moves among blossoms against a silvered ground. The chiselled flowers of the fuchi and kashira extend the same garden across the entire mounting.

A mirror-polished 1045 steel blade with bo-hi

The blade is forged in 1045 steel, a robust, versatile high-carbon steel that is straightforward to maintain. It follows a shinogi-zukuri geometry with a chū-kissaki point, and a bo-hi that runs the length of the blade.

The surface is mirror-polished and carries no hamon, delivering a clean, luminous finish.

A silvered mounting of lion and flowers

The round (maru-gata) silvered-alloy tsuba presents a closely worked grained ground (nanako) and a lion among flowers in high relief (takabori), with gilded highlights (iroe) and a rounded rim (maru-mimi). A gilded brass seppa completes the assembly.

The patinated silvered-alloy fuchi carries a chiselled frieze of flowers, while the kashira takes the form of a rounded cap chiselled with foliate motifs. The handle combines a wooden core with a faux white ray skin, bound in a hineri-maki wrap of black tsuka-ito, with gilded menuki set beneath the braid. The ichimai habaki in gilded copper depicts in relief the ocean, the rising sun, and gulls in flight.

A mottled black lacquered scabbard

The saya is crafted from solid wood and clad in a textured mottled black lacquer in the ishime-nuri style, with a stone-grain finish. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered black in keeping with the scabbard. The black-lacquered kurikata, fitted with a gilded brass shitodome, accommodates a black-and-white maru-sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the wakizashi

With a blade of 51 cm and an overall length of 78 cm, Shishi to Hana 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 in support. At 1 kg, it remains thoroughly manageable. In its saya it measures 80 cm, a format ideally suited to display alone or alongside a katana.