KATANAGATARI 1
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In those days, the Capital1 boasted six hundred and forty-five official schools for swordplay, great and small─but when you throw in all the unofficial schools, there were easily a thousand. Famous among them was the Hisho2 Dojo, on the east3 side of the city, an elite institution with strong ties to the bakufu4 and a history extending back to the Age of Warring States,5 and a household name for anyone conversant in the martial arts.
Within these walls, seven men faced off.
But no─to say they faced each other confuses things. In actuality, six men surrounded one man, in a circle.
Not what you would call a sporting atmosphere.
Something was awry.
Dressed in the black gi6 of Hisho Dojo, the six men stood with their bokutos7 at the ready. Unbelievably, the man trapped in their weir of swords was empty-handed.
This was not exactly the right time for contemplation, but the man penned by the other six was focused not on them, but on the floor, as if puzzled by the planks below his feet.
The only one without a gi, he was bare to the waist and basically in rags. While fit and long in stature─he was not what you call slender. You could say that he had just enough muscle in just the right places. His tousled hair was knotted at the back. Every movement radiated wildness.
He shook his head.
Eyes on his feet.
“What’s wrong now?”
She spoke at a remove, from a corner of the dojo.
A woman in a brash, brilliant kimono leaned comfortably against the wall. The perfect vantage point for watching the seven men─that is, the six men encircling the one. She did nothing to hide her smile. While young─her long hair was completely white. No strand of black.
“If something’s on your mind, just say it.”
The man seemed bothered by her question.
“It’s not like that─I’m just a little out of place. I’m an island monkey. I don’t think I’ve ever stepped on wood so shiny.”
“I suppose not.”
The woman smirked.
Enjoying herself.
“Don’t take the name of the dojo seriously. The floors aren’t actually made of ice. Pay attention to these guys─none of them should be mistaken for expendable. Men of their ability go down in history─”
“History? Who needs it. Can’t help you, can’t help me,” the lone man said. “All that matters is they’re swordsmen.8 And up against a sword, I never lose.”
“That’s some confidence. And no doubt justified. But remember, you’re not up against one man. There’s six.”
“Six swords.”
“Six is six. Even if you punch and kick and headbutt all at once, that’s only five─you and your kenpo9 are in over your head. Something must be wrong with you to face a sword barehanded. But then again, if you were any other way, you’d be no use to me.”
“I want to show you. I want you to need me. I need you to. Nothing else matters.”
The six men shrank their circle.
Not happy.
And why would they be? Those two were blabbing as if none of them were here─it was enough to annoy anybody, not to say the elite of a venerable dojo.
Their stirring made the trapped man raise his head.
But his words─
“Alright. Let’s go.”
─were endlessly aloof.
The same went for his expression.
“No use thinking. No room to move, but no room to slip─let’s go. You say the word.”
“Alright,” the woman nodded. “Let’s─”
Begin.
Before she could say the word, the six men─six wooden swords─rose to action. Swordsmen of such legendary promise could aim10 at the same target without clashing. Sparing none of him, their swords would fall at once over his body─
Or would they?
“Ugh─what a pain…”
Even now, he showed no sign of excitement.
“I told you─this isn’t kenpo. This is swordplay.11 And even with six, they’re short a sword─against me. Feast your eyes on this.”
The Swordless Swordsman crouched─low to the ground.
“Kyotoryu12─Shichika Hachiretsu13─”
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That’s as good a place to start as any.
To unroll the scroll of this war of katanas.
This swashbuckling play on swords, this piecemeal period piece.
And so we begin: the Tale of the Sword14♪
1 京の都 KYŌ NO MIYAKO phrasing of 京都 KYŌTO (“capital city”) that brings out the literal meaning
2 氷床 HISHŌ “floors of ice”
3 左京 SAKYŌ “left capital”
4 幕府 BAKUFU shogunate
5 戦国時代 SENGOKU JIDAI historical period of conflict, culminating in the unification of Japan
6 着 GI attire worn when practicing the martial arts
7 木刀 BOKUTŌ wooden sword
8 剣士 KENSHI swordfighters
9 拳法 KENPŌ “law/method of the fist”
10 剣線 KENSEN “line of the sword”
11 剣法 KENPŌ “law of the sword” homophone with 拳法 KENPŌ
12 虚刀流 KYOTŌRYŪ “fictive katana style” (KYOTŌ, and not KYŌTO)
13 七花八裂 SHICHIKA HACHIRETSU destroying seven foes pun on 八つ裂き YATSUZAKI “tear apart” and the saying 七転八起 SHICHITEN HAKKI “fall down seven times, get up eight”
14 刀語 KATANAGATARI (a neologism) Sword Tale