Nagasa length of gendai/showato. Any specific rule?

[Bruno]

Hi everyone,

 

I was wondering if you guys know something accurate about nagasa length of military swords including gendaito and showato.

 

I have noticed many different lenghts around 65, 66, 67 etc till 70 cm and more.

 

The most common lengths I saw are between 65 to 67 cm. And read that longer blades are special order.

 

Were there strict rules regarding nagasa lenght (minimum/maximum) at that time? If so, why so much differences? And from what lenght a sword can be considered as " special demand/order"?

 

 

I have a couple of books but nothing relevant about that, that is why I decided to ask here.

 

Maybe showato/gendaito owners can share here about lenghts of their swords to have a better idea of what was done, allowed, asked at that time. It would be interesting to see if quality is related to length.

 

Any infos would be much appreciated.

[cabowen]

Swords made under contract by Jumei Tosho for the military were by rule to be made within a certain range of lengths. The Yasukuni smiths were also instructed to make blades within a certain range. I don't recall exactly what the range was but I am sure George or someone else will have that at their finger tips....It was something like 2 shaku to 2 shaku 2 sun 5 bu.....

 

There was no rule otherwise and smiths were free to make swords whatever length they wanted to. Most were made around 2 shaku 2 sun as this seems to be the most convenient length.

 

Swords considered jo sun (2 shaku 3 sun) and longer are rare and in many, if not most cases, were made to order....

[george trotter]

Hi Bruno,

Chris is right I think. A length over the longest length from the Yasukuni and RJT "standard" length list would have to be specially asked for.

RJT lengths were

small: 2.0-2.1 shaku (60.6 - 63.6cm)

medium: 2.1-2.2 shaku (63.6 - 66.7cm)

long: 2.2-2.3 shaku (66.7-69.7cm)

Nakago: 7 sun (about 21cm)....I think this became longer as battle experience showed the tsuka kept breaking off at the end of the nakago, so a longer nakago, lacquered binding and 2 holes for Type 3 mounts made the sword more robust in action..

 

Seki gunto mostly seem to be about 66-67cm and most nakagos seem about 19cm.

 

I have a RJT blade by Nagao Kunishiro that is 69.8cm and a Type 3 mounted blade that I can't decide is gendai or showato and it is 62.1cm.

I much prefer this short blade...I am 6 foot 2 inches (186cm) with longer arms than most so don't need a longer blade, but I must say, even as a big man I find the longer sword heavy and a bit of a bother to use (not that I have)...if I was an average height Japanese Officer I would avoid the longer lengths (it is a mystery why some officers ordered them)...this is probably why they are considerably rarer than the 66-67 lengths. As I am not a swordsman, it would be more appropriate for one of them to comment on lengths in use.

There are always exceptions in nihonto so I think you will always find something that "breaks the rules".

[nagamaki - Franco]

  cabowen said:

Swords considered jo sun (2 shaku 3 sun) and longer are rare and in many, if not most cases, were made to order....

 

http://www.nihontocraft.com/Yasukuni_Shrine_Yasuhiro_Katana.html

[Bruno]

Thanks Chris, George and Franco.

 

Everything is clear for me now!

[cabowen]

I have a Yasukuni blade by Yasunori 靖徳 that is 31" long (illustrated and discussed in the Kishida book on Yasukuni-to). Clearly these were special order blades and are quite rare.

[Bazza]

  cabowen said:

Swords considered jo sun (2 shaku 3 sun) and longer are rare and in many, if not most cases, were made to order....

 

For many years now I've had a sword by HOKKE SABURO NOBUFUSA that is 2 shaku 3 sun 4 bu nagasa (70.9 cm or 27 7/8 inches). With a kasane of 5 mm and mihaba of 3 cm I think George could handle this with ease!!!

 

Regards,

BaZZa.

[Ed Harbulak]

It would seem gendaito can also be shorter than "normal". I have a Yasukuni blade by Yasumitsu that is only 57.9 cm. or 1.911 shaku in length. No doubt it's a custom made blade for a shorter officier who did not want a standard length or longer sword. Exceptions seem to be the norm when it comes to Nihonto. Perhaps the best course of actioin is to just enjoy the blades we own and not worry too much about how long a given blade is.

Ed

[David Flynn]

In Japanese swords, there always exceptions.