by Nicholas Wilson “From youth my heart has been inclined towards (swordsmanship).” –Miyamoto Musashi For as long as I can remember, swords have fascinated me. If there was a movie to watch, a book to read, or a game to play where swords were involved, you had my attention. Martial Read More
I asked my friend Chelsea to measure my height. She asked me why. I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to say, “I want you to measure me in inches, so that I can convert that number to shaku, and figure out how long my first iaito should Read More
Death comes to us all at the end of our life’s journey, regardless of the path we walk. Inescapably, it pursues us; hiding in the shadows, it waits patiently for our time when our road runs out. Across human societies, culture and class mark subtle differences between groups’ appreciations of Read More
A winning article for 2017 Tozando Essay Contest Photos and text by Rachelle D. Lawrence In his 17th century treatise on the Japanese sword, Zen, and politics, Yagyu Munemori wrote about the “killing” sword and the “life-giving” sword. The sword that protects a life also takes a life, whether in Read More
For bokken, people from old time have always preferred heavy, hard wood. The oak tree, the distylium racemosum (isunoki), and the loquat tree are among the wood favored by swordsmen, but among them are wood that was said to be as hard as iron. One is called tetsuboku (iron wood) Read More
When the cold and dry weather drags, on, the shinai become more vulnerable to splits. When you keep training with a shinai that has splits it can be incredibly dangerous. You can get splinters in your fingers or in your eye, and there has even been a reported case of Read More
If you’re an Aikido practitioner, it’s safe to presume that you want to see improvements in your technique. And with that goal in mind, you practice day in day out to achieve it. The truth of the matter, however, is that there are probably a lot of practitioners who feel Read More
For wooden swords wood from trees such as the bamboo-leaved oak, the Japanese evergreen oak, and the distylium racemosum have been used. For top quality swords, the Japanese plum tree, ebony, and sunuke have been used. Sunuke refers to the core wood taken from distylium racemosum (isunoki) that has grown Read More
The Japanese people’s reverence of nature dates back to ancient times and is rooted in the religious worship of nature, especially since the prosperity of Sangaku Shinko. This roughly translates as ‘mountain worship’ and originated as a practice in Shugendo in the 7th century as an amalgamation of beliefs and Read More
Throughout history, humans have invented all kinds of weapons, but the bow and arrow has been used since the Paleolithic and by the Neolithic had spread to hunting tribes all over the world. The Japanese yumiya, which gave birth to kyudo (Japanese Archery), is depicted on bronze vessels as far Read More
