Kaiken (dagger)
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A kaiken (懐剣? prior to modern orthographic reform kwaiken; also futokoro-gatana) is a dagger formerly carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense indoors where the long katana and intermediate wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in the obi for self-defense and rarely for jigai (suicide). A woman received a kaiken as part of her wedding gifts. Many of these daggers had black-lacquered handles and matching scabbards. They could be carried in a pouch of brocade with a drawstring for easy access. In modern times, kaiken have become part of the traditional Japanese marriage, being one of the items carried by a bride for good luck.
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(1985) in Nishio Minoru, Iwabuchi Etsutarō, Mizutani Shizuo: Iwanami Kokugo Jiten, 3 (in Japanese), Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 155. ISBN 4-00-080003-5.
