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Manual Of How To Handle And Take Care Of Swords
With grateful appreciation to Nippon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai, The Japanese Sword Museum 1-25-10, Yoyogi, Shibuyaku, Tokyo 151 Traditionally the Japanese sword has been a most important treasure of the Japanese people. We should do what we can to preserve it in orderto pay respect to our ancestors who created such a great form of art.Swords must be treated with utmost precaution so as not to injure thehandler. Precautions to protect them from scratches and rust are alsonecessary.
I. Precautions to be taken in handling the Nipponto
1.All swords,whether encased in plain wooden scabbards and hilts(shirasaya) or formal mountings (koshirae), need to be kept intheir swordbags. The head of the scabbard (kojiri) must go intothe bag first to avoid the possibility of an accidental fall.2.To carry a sword, the scabbard (saya) must be held with one'sright hand. The hilt (tsuka) must be put up and the blade musthang down. This measure will prevent dangerous accidents.3.Whenever one draws a mounted sword out of its bag orscabbard, make sure the position of the hilt does not go lowerthan the scabbard.4.The registration card should either be tied to the scabbard orsewed onto the swordbag. The sword owner in Japan has a legalobligation to keep a sword and its registration card together.
II. How to draw a sword out of the scabbard and put it back 
 1.Whether drawing out a tachi orkatana, onemust hold the cuttingedge up and grasp the scabbardfrom underneath in the left hand ina forward holding position. Then,hold the hilt from above with theright hand. Since the scabbard israther tight fit at the opening wherethe collar (habaki) is fit (koiguchi),the initial pull must be verycarefully made so that only thecollar's length gets drawn out.Giving a sudden powerful pull maynot only impair the opening of the
 
scabbard but also might result in anuncontrollable jerk leading to injury.Holding the blade still, pull itentirely out of the scabbard veryslowly making certain the cuffingedge never faces down or sideways.2.When a blade is placed back in thescabbard, its case must be held bythe left hand and the hilt by theright hand as in pulling-out process. The tip of the sharp edge facing upmust first rest gently on theopening of the scabbard. Again,holding the blade still, slide theblade along the ditch into thescabbard. When the collar reachesthe opening of the case, a firm pushis necessary to ensure steadysettlement. As before, the cuttingedge must not face down orsideways.
III. Method of Maintenance
 The major purpose of swordcare is to make sure the steel surface doesnot oxidize or rust. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly remove thestale oil and replace it entirely with new oil. The following describes thetools used and the order of operations of swordcare.
Tools
1.
Mekugi-nuki:
A tool to removethe bamboo peg (mekugi) holdingthe blade in the hilt; usually madeof brass or bamboo.
2.
Uchiko:
 The most finely groundwhetstone powder (30-35g) forcleaning the blade surface. First,wrapped in Japanese hand-madepaper called Yoshinogami, thenrewrapped by cotton or silk cloth,it comes through the wrappingmaterials when patted on theblade surface.
 
3.
Nuguigami:
High quality thick Japanese paper must bethoroughly wrinkled to soften andremove coarse and dustyelements for wiping the bladesurface. There are two reasons forthe wiping function; one forpreliminary removal of old oil andthe other for removal of thepowder. When using flannel, thefabric must be washed,destarched in water, then dried.
4.
Abura:
A rust-preventive oilcalled choji or clove oil.
5.
Abura-nuguishi:
Paper used tospread oil over the blade surface.A piece of wiping paper or flannelwill do.
6.
Others:
A wooden hammer andbenzene, if necessary.
Method of Swordcare
1.Lay down the mounted blade andpush the peg out in preparationfor removing the hilt.2.Pull the blade out of the scabbard.3.To remove the hilt, hold its endwith the left hand on the sidewhere the back of the blade is fit,and keep the blade in a slightlyangled upright position. Use theright fist to hit the left wrist lightlya few times. When the tang(nakago) becomes slightlyloosened in the hilt, repeat untilthe tang comes out of the hilt byitself. When there is enough roomto grasp the tang, the blade maybe pulled out of the hilt by theright hand. Be careful not to hitthe left wrist too hard with theright hand as there is a dangerthat blades with short tangs like
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