Asymmetrically carved hi?

[xiayang]

I'd like to share an observation that has been puzzling me, and perhaps some of you may be able to shed light on this: 

I've noticed that some blades appear to have asymmetrically carved hi.

 

Now I may perhaps be a bit peculiar in this regard, but to be honest, this greatly upsets my sense of aesthetics.

 

Just to avoid misunderstandings, I'm not talking about cases where the asymmetry is clearly intentional (e.g., bohi on one side, futasuji-hi on the other, like this one).  I am referring to examples where the length of the bohi differs by just a few millimetres, like in the two images attached below [found on aoijapan.jp].  Both of these blades were attributed to well-regarded koto makers and designated juyo token, so they were evidently recognised as high-quality items.

 

Given the precision and attention to detail that is normally associated with nihonto-related crafts, this sort of seemingly accidental asymmetry strikes me as odd.

 

Is it just sloppy workmanship of whoever carved the hi, possibly indicative of ato-bori, or a poor polishing job?  Might this even be intended for functional reasons (balance)? 

And would this be considered a flaw and affect the value of the blade?  It certainly does to me...  Or do people think this gives the blade a sort of rustic charm?

Is there something obvious I'm missing here?

 

 

[ChrisW]

Could simply be an artifact of the angle of the photo being taken... or more likely, the sword is simply not symmetrical on both sides (one side being more polished down than the other). I think it is the later because you can see slight differences in distances around the boshi.

[Geraint]

Dear Jan.

 

I think Chris has it, it's a consequence of the polishing over time.  On the positive side at least it narrows down the pool of Juyo swords for you to buy.  On the negative side, now I've seen it I won't be able to get it out of my head!

Thanks for that. 

 

All the best.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi were added at any time during the swords life, one gets the impression many were done "on the cheap".

[Brian]

Agree, it bothers me too. I suspect it was not that way at time of manufacture, but either way it is not serious, but definitely bothers my sense of OCD
Modern technology allows us to easily compare the 2 sides, side by side. Looking at it in hand, much harder to compare.

[xiayang]

4 hours ago, ChrisW said:

Could simply be an artifact of the angle of the photo being taken... or more likely, the sword is simply not symmetrical on both sides (one side being more polished down than the other). I think it is the later because you can see slight differences in distances around the boshi.

 

That must be it, indeed.  Now that you mention it, in the second picture you can see that even the geometry of the kissaki is asymmetric.  That makes it even worse, argh!  

 

Thanks to everyone who replied!

[WillFalstaff]

In the Kapps and Yoshihara’s Craft of book (1987), they describe how the hi are carved by apprentices, but I’m not sure if that was the case throughout history. That could explain the asymmetry. 

 

I think the polisher has to make decisions on the sword he’s working on as a whole. If there is a flaw/damage on one side, and creating asymmetry hides this well, then that’s more important than keeping complete symmetry. I’m betting whoever polished the sword had a discussion with the customer about this asymmetry and decisions were made for the sword as a whole. It’s distasteful to some, but to others it may be a unique characteristic or a personality. 

 

[Andrew Ickeringill]

The first time I ever performed hi-togi during my apprenticeship, I asked my sensei the same question.

 

He explained that sometimes the asymmetry in the hi-saki is done deliberately, as ending the hi on both sides in the exact same spot can create a weak point in the kissaki, which puts that area at higher risk of taking fatal damage during use. However, he added that not all hi are carved with this in mind, and some asymmetry you see here could’ve been caused by polishing, but polishing alone doesn’t account for all cases.

 

The same explanation was given to me by a mukansa-ranked tosho, who occasionally used this technique, depending on the dimensions of the blade.

[WillFalstaff]

1 hour ago, Andrew Ickeringill said:

The first time I ever performed hi-togi during my apprenticeship, I asked my sensei the same question.

 

He explained that sometimes the asymmetry in the hi-saki is done deliberately, as ending the hi on both sides in the exact same spot can create a weak point in the kissaki, which puts that area at higher risk of taking fatal damage during use. However, he added that not all hi are carved with this in mind, and some asymmetry you see here could’ve been caused by polishing, but polishing alone doesn’t account for all cases.

 

The same explanation was given to me by a mukansa-ranked tosho, who occasionally used this technique, depending on the dimensions of the blade.

 

Andrew, have you encountered this type of asymmetry often? I’ve seen this just a few time, but I’ve never particularly minded it. 

[Andrew Ickeringill]

2 hours ago, WillFalstaff said:

 

Andrew, have you encountered this type of asymmetry often? I’ve seen this just a few time, but I’ve never particularly minded it. 

Yes, quite often, to varying degrees, most of the time the difference is negligible and it would go unnoticed by most people.

[Brian]

Andrew, always a pleasure hearing from you.
Very reasonable explanation, thanks for sharing.

[Jussi Ekholm]

Thanks for sharing Andrew, it is nice to hear the explanation.