Nakago with it's own hi.

[Guest Simon Rowson]

I was looking through an old Japanese book on Nihonto and found the following intriguing photograph. It appears to show a hi located only in the nakago and is obviously not the result of some incredibly-drastic shortening (although the blade does appear to be suriage).

 

The hi appears to be in situ and I am rather baffled as to it's placement - perhaps it affects the balance of the blade in some way? (just a wild guess)

 

I look forward to other opinions>

 

Simon

 

[USMC-LCPL]

Weight reduction? Perhaps it was a certain smith's clever but outwardly discrete way of indicating that he forged a mumei sword?

[Grey Doffin]

The blade has been shortened. If the lower mekugi-ana is the original, the blade had a very short hi that did extend beyond the habaki. If the original hole has been lost (below the current nakago) then the hi would extend even further above the habaki. In other words, the hi never was in the nakago only, until the suriage took place.

Grey

[nagamaki - Franco]

yes, when you see a hi like this one on what was a long blade it is very likely that it was cut originally for balance. This nakago is O-suriage to my eyes too.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Hi Simon.

Likely the hi is on Omote only.

Looks like a shortened sword that had a koshibi now buried under the tsuka.