The Battousai Lives!... Not Really...

Now you too can practice the deadly art of Battou-Ryu… sort of. If you aren’t familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) franchise, you likely have no idea what I’m talking about and this post will mean little to you. But, if you know of, or are a fan of, the franchise, or just find life imitating art to be weird and cool, you’ll be really interested in this.

So, I saw this story last night on Anime News Network about a discovery of a reverse blade sword. For those who don’t already know, the Rurouni Kenshin story is a fictional one that takes place during the waning days of the Edo period of Japan when the transition of Japan from older into more modern periods saw the decline of swords and the rise of guns. The titular character is Kenshin Himura. He is a samurai (or former samurai) who has given up his past in an effort to atone for his days as a deadly fighter that earned him the nickname “manslayer”.

Part of his reformation, he tasks himself with fighting off criminals and the like using the skills her honed as a samurai. His sword, however, is no ordinary samurai sword. While at first glance it looks like any katana with its distinctive curve, it is in fact a reverse-bladed sword. In other words, the front side of the sword that is usually sharp is dull, and the back side that is usually dull is sharp.

Now, while this seems simple enough, technically speaking it isn’t. Japanese swords are one of if not the most powerful bladed cutting instruments in the world, because of the way in which they are crafted. The distinct curvature of the blade, along with its wedge shape, made it both durable, and easy to cut with incredible precision and power. Though it would be easy enough to turn a sword around if you wanted to use it to club an enemy not slice them open, it complicates the artistry of sword-fighting. This is made even more critical within the world of the Kenshin story because his style relies on speed in drawing the sword and striking the opponent, something that would undoubtedly be hampered and bring risk unto oneself if fighting an opponent trying to kill you while you’re trying to turn your sword around.

Nevertheless, while the manga borrowed from events in history – most prominently the troubles in the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Shinsengumi – the concept behind Kenshin’s sword was a work of fiction. Put simply, the author, Nobuhiro Watsuki, made up the idea of a reverse-bladed sword. Which isn’t hard to imagine. Given the time period and the object you’re talking about the idea of purposely making a sword that would be difficult to kill with makes about as much sense as making a gun that can’t shoot, or a phone that can’t make calls. You can almost imagine that if one ever was made it was by accident and was destroyed. Considering the dedication and secrecy that once went into the crafting of a Japanese sword, and the tradition that is still ascribed to them today, the very idea of making a reverse-bladed sword likely would have been laughable if not insulting.

Well, as the article points out, they might’ve missed one. A family whose legacy dates back to tending to the horses of the shogunate in the Edo period, dug up a relic from amongst their items in storage. Too short to be considered a sword, and lacking a few of the distinctive characteristics of a true Japanese sword, it does lack the formal designation of “sword”. However, it is based on the principles of a Japanese short sword, albeit with the blade, “on the wrong side”.

So to sum this up, a manga author in 1995 writes a story about a fictional individual in history using a fictional weapon. That weapon is then discovered some 19 years later to at least now have had a reasonable possibility of actually existing. As my protégé said after reading this article, “Oh Japan, I love you…”