When is a blade a hira-zukuri wakizashi and when is it a sunnobi Tanto.

[Jon]

So if you have a Hira-zukuri blade at 31cm what makes it either a Hira-zukuri wakizashi or a sunnobi Tanto…bit confused on this one.

 

jon

[akednb]

Hira-zukuri refers to the shape or form of the blade...the niku continue to mune without shinogi. Sunnobi refer to length that is over 1 shaku (a bit over 30 cm) so sunnobi tanto refer to the a tanto which is a bit over tanto "textbook length" or over 1 shaku. It is actually wakizashi lenght but the shape of the blade still looks more like tanto than waki. So the terms just refer to different thing, one is form one is length another is the shape ...so you can have a blade that is 31 cm no shinogi with a bit of sori it is both hirazukuri and sunnobi tanto...like this Monoyoshi.

 

https://www.touken-w...ugawake-meito/54990/

[Jacques]

It's a wakizashi. On this subject, there is often a misunderstanding of the term sunnobi (even among some Japanese). A sunnobi  is a tanto whose length is greater than the average length of tanto (26cm)  (Source Kokan Nagayama's book).   

 

Ake @

 

The description of the Monoyoshi Sadamune says it's a wakizashi (Sadamune saku no wakizashi  貞宗作の脇差) as well here 

 

https://www.tokugawa...sures/sword/post-18/.

[Jon]

3 hours ago, Jacques D. said:

A sunnobi  is a tanto whose length is greater than the average length of tanto (26cm) 

Cheers that’s helpful so so effectively a if it’s 26-30cm blade,  it’s a sunnobi Tanto..if it’s over 30cm then it’s a wakizashi even if it’s a Hira-zukuri blade and looks more like a Tanto than a Wakizashi. 

[Jacques]

Only the length counts, whatever the architecture of the blade. Over one shaku (30.3 cm), it's a wakizashi . Wakizashi in shinogi zukuri only appeared at the beginning of the Muromachi period.