Saya size

[kissakai]

Hi

I just wondered why the saya was so much longer than the blade

 

 

[Moley]

A "poser", pretending to be in a higher class ??

 

[kissakai]

How vary dare you Gwyn!             A poser!

Makes sense as only the outside would be seen

 

[Michaelr]

Try putting a wire down inside the Saya to see how far it is cut out. I have seen long Saya with shorter blades that were cut out for that blade and as Gwyn  said they were made to “ look bigger”   Others were just repurposed from longer blades.

             MikeR

[kissakai]

I put a wire down the say and it stops about the length of the blade and an interesting point so maybe not cobbled together

 

[Tanto54]

I think that it is made like that for balance when it is worn.  Imagine trying to put it through your obi and wear it like a wakizashi if the saya was only as long as the blade...

[sabiji]

  On 9/23/2020 at 10:04 AM, Moley said:

A "poser", pretending to be in a higher class ??

 

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Possibly the other way around. Tanto lost importance with the decree of the Bushi to wear a pair of swords (katana and wakizashi) in the Edo period. Only in Bakumatsu did this rule soften and Tanto became popular again. Nevertheless, the tanto was reserved for the nobility and the samurai.
Certain commoners were allowed to wear a wakizashi, but not a tanto.
But it's only one possible explanation ...