Sword Display

Is there a respectful way to display swords? I bought a few decorative sets that are stored horizontally, and wanted to know the best way to store them. Should the blade face a specific direction, north, west? should the curvature be up or down? Should it not be in certain rooms in the house?

Thanks for your time and info!!

keith

Curvature should always be up. I can't vouch for the direction of the handle. I know the one the city of Denton has on display is handle to the right, and I'm reasonably certain that my instructor intentionally displayed it that way on purpose.

Thanks for the info, but out of curiousity, why is the curvature always up?

k

Well storing them edge down allows the razor sharp edge to rest on the inside of wooden scabbard. Probably has something to do with letting moisture collect near the edge as well. Then there's tradition...

OK. Thanks again for the info. I know it's getting late, but do you know of a link or webpage that you know of where I can read up about it some more?

Although my sword is only decorative, with no "dark spots" on the blade, it mysertiously moved twice. Once the whole display moved to the side, and once the handle moved out of the display, only leaving the blade end in the display. My wife is freaking out, and is trying to find someone to bless the house again.

Thanks,
Keith

For what it's worth...if the sword is stored with the handle to the right the "kurigata and sageo" will be faced toward the wall. Not only would you not be able to see the full beauty of the sword but disrespectful to the swordsmith.

According to my sensei it is all about respect.
It is disrespectful to the blade to rest its edge on anything that might damage it.
It is disrespectful to the scabbard that would be damaged with an edge sawing on it.
It is disrespectful to your guests to displayed a weapon with the handle to the right. (That would make it easy for the right handed owner to snatch it up and attack.)
It would be disrespectful to artistry of the craftsman who created the weapon to be displayed it in a respectful fashion.
In short, display the sheathed sword with curve up and handle to the left.

If you wear a katana, the edge is up and the handle is forward. The sword's blade has two sides, and the side facing out in this situation is called the "omote" or face. The saya's kurigata is on the omote side of the saya, so I tend to think of it like a nose. The edge or "ha" is then kinda like the top of its head or hair.

This is just my way of visualizing the thing, but I notice that most of the sword display etiquette follows the other aspects of reishiki (personal etiquette).

Thus,

* if you bow to your sword, your sword bows to you
Hilt to the left, omote to the floor, edge to you.

* when seated with sword out, your sword bows to you
Hilt forward, omote to the floor, edge to you.

* when the sword is cast aside, your sword bows to the wall
Hilt right, omote to the floor, edge to the wall.
Note that this depends on which wall; an overriding
concern is to never put the tip toward the tokonoma or
shamisen (areas of honor). If necessary, turn the hilt
correctly but still keep the edge to the wall.

* when the sword is on display, it observes the room
Hilt to the left, omote into the room, edge up.
Generally, choose a wall for display where the tip will
not threaten an entrance or position of honor in the
room, so you can admire the omote and the sword can
admire you.

Again, this is my mode of visualizing and remembering the various considerations for stowing the sword. Separately, when handing the sword from person to person, there are considerations:

* when sheathed, make it ready to draw
If you hand a sword in its saya to someone else, show
trust and honor to the recipient by putting yourself in
harm's way. Hilt to their right, edge up or edge toward
you. Let them take the center of the saya in one hand,
or the hilt in their right hand.

* when unsheathed, make it ready to smite
If you hand an unsheathed sword to someone, show honor
and trust in the recipient by putting yourself in harm's
way. Hold the hilt with your left hand near the tail
end. Edge toward you, tip up. They take the
power position near the guard and could immediately
cut downward. That's a display of trust.

Those who have been in iaido longer than I are encouraged to correct me. I expect they'd think I put too much energy into coming up with this "bowing" analogy but it works for me.

As long as the edge is up on display, everything is ok. And considering you are not a practitioner of Japanese sword arts, it shouldn't matter which side you want to place the handle.

Some Japanese sword art schools will teach you to place the handle to the left. Others teach to have the handle on the right.

Having the handle on the right side made it accessable to the owner/warrior if under threat or danger in ancient times. Japanese swordsmanship arts consistantly make initial contact on the handle with the right hand when deploying the sword for combat. So hence the preference for some to have the handle displayed to the right. At the sametime, some of the aesthetic features of the mountings of the sword are hidden and not seen unless displaying the sword on rack with handle to the left. But this is not of concern to the warrior who is staying ready about sudden attack.

Displaying handle on the left was not for the practical grab right away, right hand get to handle sooner and fight attitude. It was more of a nonwarrior, collector/admirer, scholar and etc. kind of displaying. At the sametime placing handle on left shows the aesthetic and artistic qualities of the sword that is mainly seen when the handle is displayed on the left side. A rapid grab and deploy is not of a concern here. It is also in a sense a more peaceful way of displaying the sword.

A visitor that enters the room that has the sword can see the intent of the owner by seeing whether the handle is on the right or left.

That's a basic idea of the significance of having the handle on right or left. In this day and age of the gun, it doesn't really matter at this point. People just display the way they want by preference and certain traditions.

As for having the edge placed upward, this has been explained already by the others for preservation purposes.

Display the sword with the omote facing out, so the handle would be to left regardless of the kind of sword. This is because the koshirae is desigined to be seen from one side, the same is better on that side, the knots on the tsuka are more attractive on that side and if you have a kozuka/kogatana you will be able to see it, as well as the kurigata and any decorative knotwork with the sageo.

A katana will be edge up.

A tachi will be edge down.

I am not sure if it matters as much for swords in shira saya, but my guess is that if the saya are written on, it will be on the omote depending on if the blade is a katana or tachi, so the above would apply.

Thats for general display. At a dojo it may be different. At our school the kissaki always points away from the shinza, so the racks at one side of the floor have the tsuka on the left and on the other side it is on the right.

thanks,
Allen

Ummmm .... guys?
Keith said he was displaying a decorative sword set. It is not even a sword, it is a wall hanger meant for display. Storing edge up is valid because that's how they are worn and it will do no damage. However, if you like the way it looks better with the edge down, go for it! It's a wall hanger and you don't have to worry about damage to the edge. Everything else depends entirely upon how you want it to look. There will be no "disrespect" to the sword since it technically isn't one. As for your problems, it is most likely caused by the sword not fitting properly into the sheath (saya). Since these are just decorative wall hangers, pull out the sword and place some masking tape inside the mouth of the saya. Build it up until the sword fits tightly and cannot easily be removed from the saya. This will keep it from vibrating loose and coming out of the saya in the future.

Good luck!

To be correct the tsuka is to the right and turned to the left before visitors arrive. As one draws with the right it's facing left and shows no animosity to guests. If its a wall-hanger its of no consequence. If is a real one best put it away somewhere safe. No sense in advertising you have swords around the house. I don't even use sword bags to carry mine. Fishing and ski bags are good.

Thank you all for the wealth of information. Yes, it is only a decoritve sword, made by some factory, but it was the cheapest way to deocorate my home. I wanted to have a real sword made, so that I may pass it down to my son when I leave. He just made 16 months. The cost and danger of having a true sword outweighed the pride of passing a true work of art down. Is it true that there are only a handful of people that can still make swords in Japan? I heard that they are "National Treasures". I would love to have that title!

As for the sword "slipping out", there was no vibration, and it sits rather snug. It really threw my wife and I on the floor. Twice.

Me personally, I have not practiced the sword arts, but have the utmost respect for the time, patience, skill, and precision of not only making the weapon, but to know every angle from respect and storage.

Thanks again guys,

Keith Manzoku

well, the way I see it, there are two options (and don't take this the wrong way, I'm just being straightforward):

1) it's a decorative sword that you seem to know almost nothing about. In this sense, it doesn't matter in the least what you do with it, because it's an empty object. Whatever way you display it will have no real significance.

Another thing to consider is that a sword, like a gun, isn't "dangerous" because it's sharp; it's dangerous because of the way it's used or misused. Trust me, a "wallhanger" is more dangerous than a real sword because the owner doesn't think of it as dangerous, it's "just a toy." And your child will view it this way as well if he's not brought up to believe that it is a very serious thing, to be treated with great care and respect, instead of just as something that he's not allowed to touch until he's older.

2) on the other hand, you seem to want to know more about it. I would recommend learning. This doesn't mean that you have to go buy a "real" sword right off, or even that you have to learn technique. Start with research. Even if you want to learn technique, there's no reason you couldn't do so with your "wallhanger" - you could even use a long stick.

If you want to pass it on to your child, I would think that you'd want it to be meaningful. So learn, and don't just scratch the surface!

Quote:

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well, the way I see it, there are two options (and don't take this the wrong way, I'm just being straightforward):

1) it's a decorative sword that you seem to know almost nothing about. In this sense, it doesn't matter in the least what you do with it, because it's an empty object. Whatever way you display it will have no real significance.

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All swords are empty objects. Its the attitudes, the humility we put into our practice that makes it what it is. For example if I called myself "Sensei" I doubt very much it would be a "Sensei's sword".