Daisho, the samurai set of long and short sword

In the medieval Japan wearing a set of two swords was a privilege and a status symbol for the samurai class. There were other social classes which were allowed to wear one sword, but only the samurai were wearing two. The set was called daishō, from daitō, meaning long sword, and shōtō, meaning short sword.

Often, a daishō was formed with a katana and a wakizashi or a katana and a tantō, but the term was applied to other combinations as well. In today's photo you can see a daishō made of a katana and wakizashi, displayed in tokonoma, inside a samurai house in Matsue.