HomeJapaneseFellow Sama Redditor’s; what is the Samurai Etiquette? And is it disrespectful to display/give someone a Katana with the blades edge facing downwards?
If I were to speak to someone of higher rank than me, I would say ____-sama.
Secondly, I’m not sure I understand your question. You’re asking what the “Samurai Etiquette” is? What part? Like any system of etiquette, it’s an elaborate tangle of rules and taboos for different situations. It’s really too big of a question to cover in one Reddit post. I can only guess you’re thinking of [bushido](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido), which is the samurai “code” that the samurai class wrote at length about–but really *after* all the wars were fought. The code was mostly a way to justify their position as a higher up social caste and most Japanese folks regard samurai as largely corrupt rather than how we portray them in the West, where bushido is often taken at face value.
Thirdly, I don’t think so but I’m not an expert.
The standard way to hand over a katana to someone else is to hold the hilt in both hands, the katana pointing straight up, the edge towards you. This isn’t specific to samurai, but everyone who uses a katana… samurai are just the most prominent example.
Shogo did a video discussing this, and why it’s not really impractical nor dangerous (I mean, it’s still a sharp sword, but not unreasonably dangerous). The general gist of it iirc was that it points up because you’re usually sitting on a tatami, so pointing it down would be impossible. The edge of course points towards you because it’s obviously rude and even threatening to point the edge at another person.
I do think it will always be improper to hand a katana with the blade facing downwards, because that puts the blade at the highest risk of taking or causing meaningful damage if it were to droop or drop. Improper handling would certainly be disrespectful if you don’t own the blade, or if the other person feels you’re putting them or their property at needless risk.
2 comments
Okay, first things first.
You would never call someone Sama ____ .
If I were to speak to someone of higher rank than me, I would say ____-sama.
Secondly, I’m not sure I understand your question. You’re asking what the “Samurai Etiquette” is? What part? Like any system of etiquette, it’s an elaborate tangle of rules and taboos for different situations. It’s really too big of a question to cover in one Reddit post. I can only guess you’re thinking of [bushido](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido), which is the samurai “code” that the samurai class wrote at length about–but really *after* all the wars were fought. The code was mostly a way to justify their position as a higher up social caste and most Japanese folks regard samurai as largely corrupt rather than how we portray them in the West, where bushido is often taken at face value.
Thirdly, I don’t think so but I’m not an expert.
The standard way to hand over a katana to someone else is to hold the hilt in both hands, the katana pointing straight up, the edge towards you. This isn’t specific to samurai, but everyone who uses a katana… samurai are just the most prominent example.
Shogo did a video discussing this, and why it’s not really impractical nor dangerous (I mean, it’s still a sharp sword, but not unreasonably dangerous). The general gist of it iirc was that it points up because you’re usually sitting on a tatami, so pointing it down would be impossible. The edge of course points towards you because it’s obviously rude and even threatening to point the edge at another person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6efb9SIJfAw
I do think it will always be improper to hand a katana with the blade facing downwards, because that puts the blade at the highest risk of taking or causing meaningful damage if it were to droop or drop. Improper handling would certainly be disrespectful if you don’t own the blade, or if the other person feels you’re putting them or their property at needless risk.