How long is long term?

[piryohae3]

I know that shirasaya is for long term storage but what counts as being long term? Days? Weeks? Months? Longer?

[Ken-Hawaii]

In general, a blade is stored in shirasaya when it's not being used for battle or attendance on a Daimyo. Both shirasaya & koshirae were stored in a katanadansu.

[Rivkin]

Can be about 1000 years.

 

Kirill R.

[piryohae3]

Would popping the nakago in and out of the tsuka daily eventually cause the inside of the tsuka to wear out and cause a loose fit?

[paulb]

Ultmately yes. It depends on how carefully its done but any friction will gradually wear wood away and loosen the fit. Why would you want to remove the tsuka on a daily basis?

the only reason to remove it is to study the nakago or the overall shape which normally wouldn't require daily inspection. When looking at the blade holding it in the tsuka is a much more secure and safer option (for both blade and observer)

[piryohae3]

I wouldn't but from what I read it sounded like changing the blade between shirasaya and koshirae nightly used to be a common thing to do.

[Rivkin]

A lot of western museums have now large collections of rusted rods because most European collectors around 1900 refused to buy blades in shirasaya, koshirae only. No nightly changes - one is a legitimate long term storage option, the other is not save rare cases.

 

Kirill R.