KATANAGATARI 1
Why a swordsman might forsake the sword.
More than anything, it opened up a plethora of foot techniques76─having both hands free would seem to be the main advantage of letting go of a katana, but not so. The Kakitsubata, and the springboard, and the rebound up onto the ceiling shared something fundamental.
Namely.
Without a sword─the body is light.77
Uneri would have done well to brood over the fearsome benefits of a person as large as Shichika being light and possessing a mobility at odds with his size.
“Even if you get it now, it’s too late─by the way, with a footing this good, this move will be three times as powerful─wait and see!”
Because this one actually doesn’t tear you into smithereens, he made a minute correction.
Then he bounded from the ceiling toward the floor.
And─
Threw all of his weight into a trio of furiously spinning kicks, his ankle an adze78─! “Kyotoryu Fatal Orchid Seven: Rakka Rozeki!”79
Tottori’s renowned Inaba Desert…
It was the instant that Gekoku Castle fell.
1 揚げ足を取る AGEASHI WO TORU finding fault
2 私利私欲 SHIRI SHIYOKU “private gains and desires”
3 天涯孤独 TENGAI KODOKU alone in the whole world
4 死者 SHISHA the deceased
5 一番縁遠い ICHIBAN ENDŌI “the number-one distant in ties”
6 罪滅ぼし TSUMI HOROBOSHI “sin exterminating”
7 刷り込み SURIKOMI the precise term for the biological phenomenon
8 前衛的 ZEN’EITEKI the Japanese term is a fairly direct translation of the French word
9 鬱陶しい UTTŌSHII annoying
10 防具 BŌGU protective gear
11 剣道 KENDŌ the martial art of swordsmanship
12 物我一体 MOTSUGA ITTAI others and self are one
13 構え KAMAE opening form of a move
14 座合 ZA’AI iainuki, only seated
15 邀撃 YŌGEKI interception
16 際どい KIWADOI precarious
17 軌道 KIDŌ trajectory
18 本末転倒 HONMATSU TENTŌ wagging the dog
19 絶体絶命 ZETTAI ZETSUMEI “sure death”
20 弔い TOMURAI simple ceremony for the dead
21 接待好き SETTAI ZUKI enjoys playing the host
22 豪華 GŌKA extravagant
23 暮らしやすい KURASHI YASUI “easy to live in”
24 回りくどい MAWARI KUDOI roundabout
25 持久戦 JIKYŪSEN a protracted war
26 結論 KETSURON conclusion
27 二の舞 NI NO MAI “second dance”
28 保険 HOKEN insurance
29 先祖 SENZO ancestor
30 眉唾物 MAYUTSUBA MONO “eyebrow spit” thus called from a superstition that saliva rubbed into the eyebrows would discourage the antics of shapeshifting tanuki and foxes
31 鼻摘み者 HANATSUMAMI MONO “someone who makes you pinch your nose”
32 偏執 HENSHŪ nuance of 偏執病 HENSHŪBYŌ paranoid disorder
33 妄執 MŌSHŪ possessed by an idea
34 のっぽ NOPPO tall (but not necessarily imposing)
35 ぼんくら BONKURA dimwitted
36 言い直した IINAOSHITA restated
37 目に明らか ME NI AKIRAKA clear to the eye
38 特徴 TOKUCHŌ characterizing feature
39 矮躯 WAIKU small body
40 背水の陣 HAISUI NO JIN “water-to-the-back formation” that disallows desertions
41 ぶっつけ本番 BUTTSUKE HONBAN “opening night with no rehearsal”
42 土足 DOSOKU “dirty feet”
43 不完全 FUKANZEN incomplete
44 けちだな KECHI DANA “what a miser”
45 杜若 KAKITSUBATA “The Iris”
46 餌食 EJIKI prey
47 絶対領域 ZETTAI RYŌIKI “absolute realm” sliver of thigh visible on a girl wearing a skirt and high socks vs. 絶対零度 ZETTAI REIDO “absolute zero,” the coldest temperature
48 森羅万象有象無象 SHINRA BANSHŌ UZŌ MUZŌ all manner of creation
49 薔薇 BARA “The Rose”
50 陽動 YŌDŌ diversionary measure
51 変幻自在 HENGEN JIZAI protean, changing and seeming at will
52 極めつき KIWAMETSUKI ultimate
53 引き技 HIKIWAZA in kendo, a quick strike before springing away
54 あまりの剣圧 AMARI NO KEN’ATSU so great a “sword pressure”
55 剣技 KENGI “sword performance”
56 おやすみなさい OYASUMI NASAI “do rest”
57 手負い TEOI being wounded (but not dead)
58 境地 KYŌCHI figurative land/place
59 連撃 RENGEKI a series of attacks
60 編隊 HENTAI formation (of fighter planes)
61 残心の姿勢 ZANSHIN NO SHISEI keeping up one’s guard in defense
62 隠しだま KAKUSHI DAMA hidden ball (trick)
63 斬刀狩り ZANTŌ GARI play on 残党狩り ZANTŌ GARI mopping-up operation
64 鯉口 KOIGUCHI “mouth of the carp” thin hole, like puckered fish lips
65 厭いもせず ITOI MO SEZU tirelessly
66 凝固 GYŌKO congeal
67 有効 YŪKŌ valid
68 砂漠化 SABAKUKA desertification
69 とぼける TOBOKERU act dumb
70 出撃 SHUTSUGEKI sortie
71 凌駕 RYŌGA surpass, overtake
72 今風 IMAFŪ “now-style”
73 三角飛び SANKAKU TOBI “triangle jump” a leap having three points of contact: start, middle, finish
74 鴨居 KAMOI the wood-framed channel overhead through which the fusuma slides
75 目測 MOKUSOKU “eye measure”
76 足技 ASHIWAZA moves using only the legs
77 身軽 MIGARU agile
78 斧刀 FUTŌ “axe katana”
79 落花狼藉 RAKKA RŌZEKI “Effrontery of the Falling Flower”