From: Brendan <brenda02@m4.sprynet.com>
To: ffml@fanfic.com
Subject: [FFML] Re: Way of the Ninjitsu Chapter 2
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 02:25:50 -0500

On Mon, 22 Nov 1999, "Parson aka Deunan" <gte132q@prism.gatech.edu> wrote:
>>Katana is a traditional combat sword - some versions conflict about whether
>>the 'official katana' is straight or curved - but I take the curved
>version.
    The Katana is the long sword which was created because the earlier
swords weren't very effective against Mongol invaders in the (I think) 13th
century.  The blade is fairly straight when it's being forged, aquiring it's
curvature in the tempering process.  Creating one of these swords is a long
involved process deeply steeped in Shinto traditions.  And after the blade is
completed the lower quality are tested on straw dummies, and the best are
tested on the bodies of executed criminals.

Not anymore.  I really doubt they do that sort of thing nowadays, though traditionally, yes, they used to do that.  o_o;

>>It is generally a two handed slicing blade, but ninjas have been known to
>>wield two. It's size can range from 3 to 5 feet or so.
>
>I was wondering where you got that fact about the use of two katanas.  In
>all the literature I've have seen and read I've heard of no mention of that.
>I've always heard that was simply a "myth" and popularized in comics like
>TMNT or other anime.
    In point of fact paired swords was the ultimate symbol of the
Samurai.  Only the Samurai were allowed to wear two swords.  So a Ninja with
two swords, even if they weren't the Daisho long and short, would be a
calculated insult to any Samurai who saw them.

<snip>

Uh-oh.  Another point where the argument of whether ninjas ever really existed...  >_<  I'll let this one go...  o_o;;;

    I would definately consider any Kitana armed Ninja a rareity.  First
off the Kitana is extremely expensive, and while it's a fantastic cutting
weapon, it's not much good for anything else.  You can't stab with one
effectively unless you're highly trained, it's hard to parry with one because
the edge is very fragile, and it's both easy to recognise and hard to
conceil.

I have to interject here.  First of all, it wouldn't be that hard to obtain a katana, particularly towards the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.  Quality swords were fairly rare, as master smiths had turned to crafting firearms, etc.  However, any fool could have picked up a katana from a fallen grunt off any battlefield.  Towards the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, anyone could have gottena katana; but again, the quality was usually rather questionable.

It's true that a katana is a great cutting tool.  The Japanese were probably the first to craft a weapon that was (in terms of present day physics) able to cut with 100% of the power you put into it.  I'll leave it to the physicists here to figure out the vector diagrams for a katana in motion and in the cutting process.  o.O;  However, it's also true that a katana was also a great impaling tool.  Well over half the forms I practice were forms that were (though admittedly a little watered down over the years) used in combat, and nearly half have some sort of stabbing element in it.  Just because the katana is a blade that was crafted for cutting doesn't mean it's just as good as a stabbing weapon.  Moreover, it's also a great blocking tool.  It's not as good as a giant shield, but the backs of the sword were usually softer than the tempered blade itself and lent itself to a great defensive element.  An opponent strikes and their blade sinks slightly into the back of your sword.  It gives you that much more leverage when you pivot, and cut his arm off.  Furthermore, a sword was always turned when blocking.  A lot of the movies that you see where one samurai simply draws and blocks with the blade side is patently laughable.  The blade is sturdy, but why subject the blade to more sharpening than need be?  Blocking with the back of the blade made for a more efficient block, and for less sharpening.

Finally, hidden weapons weren't always popular (though that could be debated since they were hidden in the first place), but were known to have existed.  The zatoichi was a full length tang, or cutting blade, hidden in the guide of a walking stick.  Granted, it was a pretty big walking stick, but it was a walking stick.  If you've ever read any Usagi Yojimbo, just look for the blind Masseuse and you'll know what I'm talking about.  And yes, those weapons did exist.  You can find a few in museums that carry a fairly comprehensive collection of fine Japanese weapons.

Just my $.02...

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