| We usually appreciate Japanese Katanas as craftworks at places
like museums. The mystique beauty of the "Hamons", the meshes of "Sageo", the curve
from the top to the end; there is certainly a beauty as a craftwork. I had the chance
to take a grip of Kurosawa's Katana. For me, who had never held a Katana, it was
way heavier than expected and some never experienced nervousness ran over my body.
There was no Hamon on Kurosawa's Katana. There must be no need for a Katana grinded
for wielding. However, with the authenticity of Kurosawa's brilliant movement of
wielding the target and the beautiful surface of the wielded target, another beauty
appears in a Katana which the Hamon had disappeared while grinded with the primal
sake of cutting. While visiting the training room, I suddenly hit upon the meaning
of Shizan Iaido as an aesthetic. "A form for a form" and "A form for cutting" differs
in nature. Controlling the breath, cool down your mind, then move on to action with
an empty mind. After the explosive action, you must control your breath again, and
sheathe. The continuous movement from seize to action, from action to seize has no
futility thus awesome. In case of Kurosawa, the ritual is not the form, but wielding
is the ritual. The meaning of life is not an issue here. If the meaning of life is
something to be seeken, Kurosawa's life is to wield. For that sake, he is always
living with a discipline, and spending his daily life of quietness. Considering his
attitude, it awakened my mind to reconsider the original meaning of spiritual and
physical training of Bu-do, which is nowadays being forgotten, and could not help
feeling the pride of living as a Kenshi. |
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