position of swords on stand
ok i know i have asked this question before and was told there is no tradition or nothing to dictate how you place the sword on the stand. what I was told(blade up, always, right side means it's a time of war, left side peace.) when I said this on a forum years ago I was laughed at. well, what is the truth?
Yes, you've got it right. The sword rack was not actually for display, but for storing the sword in a handy position for wearing it. So having the grip to the left allowed you to pick it up easily with the right hand and tuck it into the sash most smoothly. However, when in a situation of imminent danger, you needed to pick up the sword with your left hand and draw it with your right, so grip to the right was more combat ready.
What determined whether the blade would face up or down, was which side of the blade was the obverse side. Peace time rule was grip facing left and the side with the tang signature facing front. For later samurai swords worn on the waist sash this meant blade up, but for earlier Tachi swords worn hung from the hip this meant blade down. In other words it went on the rack as it should be worn.
Peace time rule for a Samurai was to sit with sword to the right, as that was the least combat ready position. Sword to the left indicated animosity to whom sitting in front.
thank you nick I knew you would know. I had mentioned the placement of a sword years ago and was told I was wrong there is no right way or wrong way until now I had just blew it off and thought maybe I am wrong.
Great information to have.
I display my swords as katana,wakizashi and tanto edge up.
My kaigunto’s and tachi’s are displayed edge down.
When a Wakizashi was involved, Samurai practice was to put the Wakizashi at the top, as that was the most handy. Wakizashi always were worn inside the house except in the WC or bath. Therefore it was first to be worn out of bed and last to be divested before bed, so the top rack was the usual position.
As the longer sword was not worn inside the house, the correct protocol in the morning was to pick up the wakizashi from the top rack, tuck it into the sash, take the main sword with your right hand and carry it to the entrance, where you finally slid it into the belt. The main sword was like shoes, you put it on and off at the entrance.
One important rule about wakizashi was and still is that you never put it in the same rack as the Uchigatana unless they were a matching pair.
On the other hand, 99% of museum displays today would have the long sword on top and wakizashi on the bottom, as that tends to be more pleasing to the eye, but least favored, as impractical, by real Samurai.
The worst way to greet a guest is to have the wakizashi below and sword on top, both grips to the right. That's how you might have treated an enemy messenger.
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