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To attempt to come to grips with the sword in all its implications is to explore peril, fear, and wonder in a fundamental way. The sword is a physical entity whose utilization demands an intense discharge of psychic energy. At the same time that it enhances our power, it also makes us vulnerable to others similarly armed. Because it is a weapon, it confronts us with the terror of mortality and considerations of moral action, often making the linkage between the two painfully real and present.

The sword, as a Yagyu swordsman once said, can both give life and take life. To take up training in the sword, then, is to confront life itself.

2. The Way of the Sword

Over centuries, Japanese warriors, or bushi, reflected on and refined the use of weapons. While armed with a variety of fighting tools—the bow, the spear, the halberd known as naginata—over time, the professional class of feudal fighters known as samurai developed a special affinity for the sword.

When a samurai boy reached the age of five, he underwent a special ceremony. Standing on a go board, the child was presented with a replica sword, henceforth to be carried as a symbol of his status and his duty.