| Early Japanese swordmakers were a breed apart. | | | | hundreds of years ago, it wasn't uncommon for the |
| The very best of these blacksmiths became famous | | | | governments of the world to treat convicted |
| and their blades were much sought after. The | | | | criminals in ways that would cause our litigious |
| process of handmaking a sword was meticulous and | | | | modern world to melt down. |
| difficult to follow consistently. Think about the movie | | | | The actual testing process consisted of twenty |
| "Kill Bill". Each of the top characters carried a "Hattory | | | | different cuts. The first cut would be removing the |
| Henzo" blade. Other blades pit against the Henzo | | | | hand, followed by cutting through progressively |
| blades invariably broke. Defending yourself against | | | | heavier portions of the anatomy. The ultimate cut in |
| such a blade with a lesser sword was futile. The | | | | this process was referred to as the ryo-kuruma |
| Henzo blade could slice through weapons, obstacles, | | | | (meaning "pair of wheels" cut). This cut was a single |
| and the human body with no effort whatsoever. In a | | | | slice through the thickest part of the human spine. |
| quote from the movie Henzo himself tells Uma | | | | The results of the testing would then be inscribed on |
| Thurman's character when speaking of the | | | | the tang of the sword. |
| newly-forged blade he was bestowing upon her, "If, | | | | On old examples of Japanese swords, you can often |
| on your journey, you should encounter God, God will | | | | see inscriptions such as: eight hands severed, two |
| be cut." | | | | men cut, or five legs severed. Some rare |
| There was only one major issue with the legendary | | | | seventeenth century examples have the inscription |
| Japanese swordmakers. While it was clear that a | | | | "mitsudo setsudan" which means "three bodies with |
| blade made by a legendary craftsman would be of | | | | one cut". |
| superior quality to one made by an unknown | | | | This testing of blades was what determined the |
| apprentice, since each sword was made by hand, | | | | prices that could be asked for such swords. Now, not |
| natural variety in both the materials and the actual | | | | just anyone off the street could be handed such a |
| forging process would lead to a variety in the quality | | | | sword and duplicate these cuts. Rigorous years of |
| of swords made even by the greatest of | | | | training and practice were required to master the |
| blacksmiths. Going back to our Hollywood example, | | | | techniques that allow one to inflict such terrible |
| the question would be: How do you know if one | | | | injuries. The point of the testing was that such |
| Henzo sword is better than another Henzo sword? | | | | incredible hand-to-hand power was a function of 50% |
| This quality variety led to the rise of an interesting | | | | blade, and 50% wielder. A very skilled wielder wanted |
| cottage industry. This industry was one that would | | | | tangible evidence that the blade he carried was one |
| use criminals (both alive and dead) who had been | | | | worthy of the dedication he had put into learning |
| sentenced to execution to test the blades turned | | | | warcraft. |
| out by the greatest swordsmiths. Keep in mind, | | | | |