Wrong to add a tassel?

[Battara]

Greetings folks, 

 

Been a while since I last posted.  I have an army officer's sword given to me by a friend.  Would it be wrong to add an army tassel to it (below general rank) or leave it as is, tassel-ess?

[PNSSHOGUN]

Nothing wrong with it at all if it's for your own satisfaction, or replacing a missing one confirmed through provenance. It only becomes an issue if you're selling it and claim the tassel is original to the sword.

[Michaelr]

Jose, I think this is a personal choice. Some of my swords came with tassels attached, but who is to say who put them on. I have added tassels to other swords that I have that didn’t have them on when I purchased them. I like mine with the appropriate tassel attached. I know other fellow collectors that will remove the tassel and sell it as they don’t like them. While others that I know remove them and keep them separate from the sword as they don’t like the way they look. So I feel you should do what ever You think make the sword yours. No right answer here as long as it is a ORIGINAL Tassel and an appropriate one. 
MikeR

[Lareon]

as others have said it's personal choice.

if mine came with a tassel i record it and then keep the tassel seperate out of the light and stored away to protect them. I don't often add tassels to the ones i've got. Again personal choice. I suppose if there was provenance that a certain rank owned one of my swords i might find a tassel to go with it but that is rare.

[Mister Gunto]

Ditto with what's already been said. No right or wrong answer, up to you.

Just if you sell it on, be sure to mention the tassel has been added. (Some of the better repros are difficult to tell from nice condition originals.) 

 

Personally, I like having tassels on all my guntos, and almost always add one on if it's missing. To me, they display better that way. 

[Yukihiro]

In the same way as a military rifle isn't considered "complete" without an original sling, I would tend to think that no sword is complete without the appropriate tassel, but that is only my take on the subject, nothing more, and I am no expert in the field of Japanese swords.