Group of Samurai by the Sphinx in 1864

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by laEspadaAncha

Ian Bottomley suggests they were possibly the weapon of common rank and file footsoldiers. However, this itself would preclude the inclusion of any katana, which were reserved for the Samurai class,

Ashigaru (foot soldiers) in certain domains and in certain time periods were considered to be samurai and would not have been prohibited from wearing a katana and wakizashi.