Gunto Menuki positions

[moss]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone has seen a left handed Gunto.?

I guess what I mean is that the Menuki are in the opposite positions ,I guess it makes sense if you're a left hander.

Thanks in advance Moss

[SwordGuyJoe]

I have seen a couple, but not too many. This would have been a custom wrap for a specific customer in mind. I don't think the pre-assembled blades were made with the "left-handed" menuki positioning, but I could be wrong.

[moss]

Cheers James,

It is nicely wrapped but the position throws me every time I look.

Moss

[SwordGuyJoe]

I have a wak that is wrapped that way and I am still not used to it either!

[Ted Tenold]

Menuki that are positioned opposite to the normal wouldn't be for left handers. Left handedness in Japan is very uncommon, and menuki placement is not an indicator of an owners dominant hand.

 

Here is a good article to read regarding menuki placement;

 

http://www.una.edu/faculty/takeuchi/DrT ... cement.htm

[moss]

Thanks for the link Ted,

I had come to the assumption that the mounts on this Gunto were for a left hander as even the press stud for the leather retention strap on the field scabbard is on the opposite side which I had assumed was to facilitate release from the saya for a left hander.

Is it totally improbable that the Japanese military would have enlisted soldiers particularily towards the end of the war that were left handed?

Many thanks for any help.

Moss

[Ted Tenold]

Well, sure it's possible that the IJA conscripted left handers, however few they might be. But I doubt seriously that the IJA made exceptions to the regulations regarding wear of sidearms for lefthanders. Remember a left hand draw would necessitate a right hip suspension. Doesn't seem likely. However, there *may* have been an exception for an amputee, which I would say is far more credible reason to be sensitive to personal requirement over military regulations.

[moss]

Thanks Ted ,

I guess the plot thickens and we will never really know definatively what was the real reason for the fitment in this case.

It just adds its own thread in the fabric of life.

Many thanks Nic Moss