Menuki Placement

[IJASWORDS]

May be this is a question for NIHONTOPHILES, but certainly applies to GUNTO. There seems to be no "standard" with regard to the MENUKI (or TSUKA ornament) placement. Some are left side low, some swords are right side low. Is the placement optional/different for left handed owners/or just random? Only on NCO swords have I seen consistency, and they were repetitiously cast in moulds. Neil.   

[Dave R]

With officers swords being private purchase there would be variation. I can think of two reasons immediately,

  Tachi and Katana have different placement of Menuki, so it would depend on which the manufacturer or customer regarded the sword as being. The Mei placement varies for the same reason, traditionally to be outboard in the wearing position, and this too varies on Shin-Gunto. It would be interesting to see if Mei placement influenced Menuki placement.

 The other reason is that Menuki placement also varies according to the school of swordsmanship followed.

Personally, given the general lack of expertise in traditional swordsmanship commented on by contemporary authorities, I would go with the idea it varied with the placement of the Mei and other inscriptions on the Nakago.