A wakizashi is a short Japanese samurai sword similar in appearance to a katana. The wakizashi was carried in a pair of daishos as a backup weapon. The wakizashi blade is made in the same way as a katana, but it should not exceed a length of about 60 cm. Most often, broken blades of long swords (katan) were used for production. Wakizashi was considered a protector of honor and was almost never put off by the samurai. Even in his own house, the samurai always had his wakizashi at hand in case of a sudden attack. He wore it tucked behind his belt with the kaku-obio pointed up, so that he could react directly from the scabbard to a sudden attack by the enemy. In the case of ritual suicide (sppuka) the samurai used his wakizashi, or more often the tanto dagger was used.