How to pronounce "Kwaiken"

K

KenHash

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Many people think that Kwaiken is pronounced the way it is spelled. Like the movie "Bridge over the River Kwai".

However, the correct pronunciation is KAIKEN. That's Kai as in KAI (Kershaw/ZT). The "w" is silent.

Kaiken 懐剣 sometimes called a "Futokoro Katana" the shortest tanto generally considered between 12-15 cm (4.72-5.9 inches) in blade length
and can be tucked away deep inside the clothing. Which is what Futokoro means. Often carried by women of the Samurai family class.
This odd spelling goes back to the mid 1800s when the earliest translations of Japanese to English was being made.
This system was evetually replaced by the Hepburn system in 1908 which is how Japanese is written in the English alphabet today.

en.wikipedia.org

Hepburn romanization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I wonder how many knifemakers outside of Japan who make tanto bladed knives and name them XXXX Kwaiken know this.



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I had no idea.

4 cm seems a little short for a katana, but I guess it’s okay if you’re cutting a grain of rice.

Parker
 
I sort of wondered about this. Thought it was just a bastardized romanization of something Japanese.
When I did some nihonto study, I never saw 'kwaiken' to describe small tanto/blade. Maybe kozuka for small knife...
 
catspa said:
I had no idea.

4 cm seems a little short for a katana, but I guess it’s okay if you’re cutting a grain of rice.

Parker
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My error. Have corrected above.
I misread "Sun" which is approximately an inch.
"4寸（約12cm）から5寸（約15cm）までの長さの短刀を懐剣"
"4 sun (approx 12cm) to 5 sun (approx 15cm) blade length tanto is a Kaiken"
 
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jideta said:
I sort of wondered about this. Thought it was just a bastardized romanization of something Japanese.
When I did some nihonto study, I never saw 'kwaiken' to describe small tanto/blade. Maybe kozuka for small knife...
Click to expand...
Yes, a Kozuka is specifically a small knife that is made to be carried in a slot in the Saya (scabbard). And they tend to have a specific design. A Kogai was also often carried in the scabbard for hair maintenance.
NrGmUz.jpg
 
🙃 I always thought it was "Kraken".
So I avoid ocean cruises, and NEVER eat octopus!
 
That makes much more sense. And thank you for adding the inch equivalent, for those of us to whom metric is a second language. Good work.

Parker
 
KenHash said:
Yes, a Kozuka is specifically a small knife that is made to be carried in a slot in the Saya (scabbard). And they tend to have a specific design. A Kogai was also often carried in the scabbard for hair maintenance.
NrGmUz.jpg
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Its been my understanding that the small knife was kogatana, kozuka is the small decorative Tsuka (handle) that was fitted to the kogatana?
 
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Arathol said:
Its been my understanding that the small knife was kogatana, kozuka is the small decorative Tsuka (handle) that was fitted to the kogatana?
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I believe that misnderstanding comes from the word "Kozuka" being written 小柄　(Small Handle). However, Kozuka refers to the whole small knife.
The knife of course "can" be called a Kogatana 小刀 (small blade/katana) as that is a generic term for any small Japanese knife.
Even a tiny Kiridashi can sometimes be called Kogatana.
 
Not so sure, but from everything I've read over the years its the other way around....Kozuka actually refers to the just handle but is "westernized" to refer to the whole knife, while gokatana is the actual blade....a quick search found this -
mk4Hcr7.gif


tsiHhpb.gif


JAPANESE SWORD VISUAL GLOSSARY

Japanese sword information including graphic presentations of the parts of the Japanese sword blade and types of mountings including katana and tachi.
www.japaneseswordindex.com
 
Arathol said:
Not so sure, but from everything I've read over the years its the other way around....Kozuka actually refers to the just handle but is "westernized" to refer to the whole knife, while gokatana is the actual blade....a quick search found this -
mk4Hcr7.gif


tsiHhpb.gif


JAPANESE SWORD VISUAL GLOSSARY

Japanese sword information including graphic presentations of the parts of the Japanese sword blade and types of mountings including katana and tachi.
www.japaneseswordindex.com
Click to expand...
On your linked site it states; " The most common is a kozuka or small knife. [Technically the kozuka is just the handle, the blade is the kokatana or gokatana] "
Apparently Kozuka can refer to the entire small knife or just the handle.

小柄（こづか[1]）とは、日本刀に付属する小刀の柄である。また、小刀そのものを指して言うこともあり、打刀などの鞘の内側の溝に装着する。

Kozuka is the handle of a kogatana attached to a Japanese sword. Also, sometimes it refers to the kogatana itself, and it is attached to the groove on the inner side of the of a Uchigatana sword or the like.

ja.wikipedia.org

小柄 - Wikipedia

ja.wikipedia.org ja.wikipedia.org
 
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