Kamon Orientation On Naginata

[Guido]

A question for the polearm experts:

 

While the orientation of kamon on yari-saya seems to be always upwards (i.e. when the yari is held vertically), on naginata-saya I’ve seen both upwards and sidewards (i.e. if the naginata is held horizontally) pointing kamon. I don’t have much literature on polearms, but there seems to be historical evidence for both.

 

Are there any rules for this?

[george trotter]

Hi Guido, 

I have not studied this question in any way, but may I say that we would need to see a few examples of "definite upwards pointing mon" (eg. Honda hollyhock and Matsudaira paulownia) to be sure which way they are meant to be oriented.on these saya.

Tokugawa hollyhock and some others are the "correct" orientation over 360 degrees.

Regards,

[Guido]

The two examples I posted above were photoshopped by me to illustrate my point - I‘m talking about 90 degrees. If you google 薙刀鞘, you‘ll find quite a few pictures that show both orientations. Sorry if I wasn‘t more precise.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Good question... I'm not even able to understand the direction of mine...

[SteveM]

Take a look at this, Carlo

https://www.kamon18.com/cart/shop/08035.html

[Guido]

To bring this thread to a conclusion (kind of): after doing research on the internet, going through all my books, and 30 years’ worth of Ginza Chōshūya catalogs, I can state that the orientation of more than 70% of all kamon on naginata-saya is towards the tip, i.e. if the pole is held vertically. However, I still don't know if there's a "rule" in regard to the orientation, just my empirical evidence.

 

The reason for my question was that I had a naginata-saya with cracks, a split tip section, lots of bumps, nicks, and termite holes, that I wanted to restore. When I started sanding it down, I actually found a faint kamon under the black topcoat. After lots of wood glue, wood putty, 20 layers of cashew, and hours of sanding in between, I’m quite happy with my restoration efforts.

 

Btw, I got the new kamon (one on each side) from a company in Kyōto. They call it “makie-sticker”, and they are made of red lacquer (or maybe plastic?) with a gold lacquer coating, and are 3-dimensional, i.e. have a raised design of about 1 mm. If you don’t use a magnifying glass, they look like real hira-makie.

[Brian]

Great job!
Are you going to do more clear coat over it to give it a gloss, or as is? Either way, it's ready for the next few years.

[Gakusee]

Guido, thanks for the empirical research and the outcome. It is great to know how it is mostly done.

And the restoration job - excellent. Well done!

[Guido]

Are you going to do more clear coat over it to give it a gloss, or as is?.

Actually I cut back the last coat with charcoal powder to give it a more matte, antique look.

[Bugyotsuji]

Yesterday I found a saya sporting both omote and ura mon. It struck me that the rule, if there is one, will have generally followed the physical usage. If you found 70% upright when the naginata is held vertically, then that must have been the most 'comfortable' orientation.

[Bugyotsuji]

Last week I came across a Yari Saya with the Mon upright on a vertically standing pole, but inverted on the other side...!

 

Or are they diagonal?

[Guest]

Hi Piers, has it got anything do do with resting the Naginata on a wall kake, so that the Kamon is showing in the correct configuration?

[Bugyotsuji]

This is doing my head in. The more I look at it, the more the butterfly has worked its way round to not being for vertical display at all! It gives you the choice of saya left or saya right on a wall display as you say, Malcolm, or in the ceiling rack they had set over the Genkan.