What Was The Purpose For Red Urushi In Hi?

[Baka Gaijin]

Good morning everyone.,

 

What was the purpose for applying red Urushi to the hi on swords and Yari?

 

From what period does this come?

[PNSSHOGUN]

Chiefly decoration it seems, sometimes you see swords with small Ware filled with lacquer to prevent more rusting.

[Baka Gaijin]

Thank you John, so was this a Bakumatsu thing for export?

[Jean]

No.

[vajo]

For me it is something religious to shrines. Like a torii they are also painted in red. One of the torii parts is called nuki (english "to pierce") and it looks like a hi.

[Brian]

Used to be thought that the red filling in hi on swords had Shinto religious connotations?
Don't think there was ever a definitive answer.

[Baka Gaijin]

Thank you Jean, Brian & Chris.

[Stephen]

I fall in cover up ware that would be exposed during cutting of hi

[IanB]

I would suggest the answer is much simpler - it saves having to polish the groove, especially on yari which were low cost weapons. Cutting the groove is dead easy, I have seen it done, but polishing involves specially shaped stones and a lot of hard work polishing the rounded ends. If you look at the grooves on yari where the lacquer is chipped, you will see the metal is very rough underneath.

Ian Bottomley

[Stephen]

Brilliant! Thank you Sir Ian 

[vajo]

Ian then i would consider that swords with a painted hi are low quality?

When painting a hi a sign of low cost is why someone would spent a lot of money for a sword and paint a hi? 

[paulb]

Chris

As always there is no hard or fast rule and I am sure some better work had lacquered hi (although I dont remember seeing any) most often I have seen them on utilitarian yari and naginata.

[Ray Singer]

Discussed here a few times.

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4823-swords-hi-painted-or-lacquered-red/

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16257-red-substance-on-the-blade-of-the-sword/

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/6306-red-lacquer-in-the-bo-hi/

[Baka Gaijin]

Thank You Ian and Ray and everyone contributing to this thread.

 

NMB does the stuff yet again!!!!!

 

[Bugyotsuji]

In a dim corner of my memory there lies a yari blade possibly with a black hi. Has anyone seen anything similar? (I have seen many shades of red, from pink through near-orange.)

[Jean]

On yari no but I had a soshu jû Sukehiro tanto with a so no kurikara with black urushi