Sword right or left?

[Sousui]

I was wondering where the sword should be if you are sitting seiza on the ground. I read that it should be on your right so you can't draw it, but a few days after I read that I saw some pictures where the katana was on the left side. So where should it be?

[Karasu Maru]

The real sword and iaito should be usually put at
your right side, though some ryu-ha recommend
the left side.
You should follow your teacher's instruction.
The bamboo sword is often put in your left, and
the wooden sword is put right.

When the sword is at your right side and you greet
someone, you should put your left hand on the floor,
and, next, put your right hand.
When the sword is at your left, you should put your
right hand on the floor, and, next, put your left hand.
In the kendo, there seem to be a lot of teachers who
teach that both hands are put on the floor together.

[Sousui]

Thank you for your information.

[Brian Owens]

Sorry for the late reply, but I just now saw this thread.

Not only can the "correct" placement vary from school to school, but also from time to time.

For example, in some schools the sword is placed on one side when opening class, and on the other when closing class.

Another variable is which way the edge faces.

For this and other aspects, the only "correct" way is the way you are taught in the school you are attending.

HTH.

[wmuromoto]

The placement of the sword or practice weapon is usually, in my observation and opinion, based on the intent and meaning. Consider a mind set in which you are using a live blade, or you train to consider that your wooden sword or shinai is merely in place of the dangerous use of a sharp blade, and your training partner knows it, and you know it, and you have to be very careful not to hurt yourself or him/her, and likewise, and you also want to show that you have no aggressive intent once the kata is over...and you see how the seemingly convoluted etiquette evolved out of necessity.

Usually, as others have said, the sword is put to the right as a sign of nonagression, since as one sensei jokingly said, "There are no left-handed samurai." Well, at least nine times out of ten you won't find a left-handed samurai, so bowing with the sword to the right is nonagressive, nor do you consider the person you are bowing to a threat.

I was told that to bow with one hand slightly preceding the other maintains watchfulness, but it is not supposed to be necessary when bowing to one's sensei that you have trained with for years; then it would be considered somewhat overdone and overcautious and in addition, display a lack of trust. But the sensei who told me this said, "But what the heck, just do what your teachers tell you to do to make them happy."

I've seen one time where the sword was placed to the left, and even to the rear. This was in a very old video from a film clip of Nakayama Hakudo performing iai before the Japanese Emperor before WWII. The emperor and his entourage was probably in those directions, so to put the sword in front of them would be too "burei," too lacking in respect.

The above example simply shows that there are times and places where a specific answer is not enough; you have to understand the intent and meaning and then interpret it for the specific moment.

Wayne Muromoto

[Phil Hobson]

Where the sword goes, how you bow, whether you move both hands or one at a time, are all aspects of each particular ryu-ha, and may be done for reasons of readiness, etiquette, tradition, or any combination of the above.

There is no way to generalize across different ryu-ha who may be doing the exact same movements for very different reasons, or doing very different movements for the exact same reason.

As said above, you do it the way your teacher tells you. Someday you might even find out why!