I read a lot of books on Budō or martial ways (kind of macabre but you know to each their own).The Japanese sword is considered to be the tangible manifestation of the carrier's soul. To unsheathe is to reveal your true nature to the world. When it is on the floor you do not step over it. To do that would be an insult to the owner. Back in the day that could have serious implications. Even today it is best not to casually dismiss any type of tools of the trade. If you ever watched the Iron Chef when Bobby Flay went up against Chef Morimoto you can see how Japanese might react to this breech of etiquette (clips on You Tube). B.F stood on the cutting board - Chef Morimoto - "He's not a chef he stood up on the cutting board - that's not right ... cutting boards and knives are scared to us." Items that assist you in making a living would fall under this umbrella. Ichiro, the famous baseball player, talked about how American Baseball players distain for their baseball equipment. It is the thing that support your livelihood - I would suppose even your computer or smartphone might fall under this category! I never had a sense of that growing up in the states. In any case, all this comes from Budō - from the caring for your sword - not many Japanese even realize this. All this and more from my study of swords, that probably why I like to post pictures of swords. There is more to it something beneath the surface that escapes the casual observation.
