Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Japanese sword with long, slightly curved, single-edged blade. The blade shows hamon and has a complex pattern of tempered and untempered steel along the spine. The blade has a long tang with a distinctive shape. The handle has rayskin wrapped around it, with a long metal habaki near the blade. The curved guard is relatively short. The entire object appears to be made of metal. The background is light gray.