Habaki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The habaki (啖呵) is a piece of metal encircling the base of the blade of a Japanese bladed weapon. It has the double purpose of locking the tsuba (guard) in place, and to maintain the weapon in its scabbard (saya).
A katana, a type of Japanese longsword, is drawn by grasping the saya near the top and pressing the tsuba with the thumb to emerge the blade just enough to unwedge the habaki from inside the saya. The blade is then free in the saya, and can be drawn out very quickly. This is known as "Koiguchi-o kiru", or "tanka o kiru" (啖呵を切る, "clearing the tanka"). This is obviously an extremely aggressive gesture, since a fatal cut can be given in a fraction of a second thereafter (see iaido).
The expression "tanka o kiru" is now widely used in Japan, in the sense of "getting ready to begin something", or "getting ready to speak", especially with an aggressive connotation [1].
[edit] Safety
Oil on the habaki can rub off onto the inside of the koiguchi, saturating the wood, and allowing the katana to slip too easily from the saya. To avoid this potentially dangerous situation, the habaki should not be oiled during routine sword cleaning.
[edit] External links
- Habaki - On Japanese Swords
- The Craft of the Japanese Sword, Leon and Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara ; Kodansha International; ISBN 0-87011-798-X
- The Samurai Sword: A Handbook, John M. Yumoto ; Charles E. Tuttle Company; ISBN 0-8048-0509-1
- The Japanese Sword, Kanzan Sato ; Kodansha International; ISBN 0-87011-562-6
- Japanese Swords, Nobuo Ogasawara ; Hoikusha Publishing Co, Ltd. ISBN 4-586-54022-2
