| The Samurai are possibly the most famous | | | | gentleman. |
| warrior clans in the world. Stately, sombre and | | | | The "stick swords" thus made were of less |
| meditative in manner and lifestyle alike, they | | | | quality than the traditional Katana and Wakizashi - |
| enjoyed a highly superior social status for nearly | | | | the long and short swords, respectively, carried |
| two millennia. | | | | by the samurai in days when they were |
| What could threaten a warrior class as | | | | permitted to carry weapons. However, one man - |
| well-respected and powerful as the Samurai? It | | | | albeit fictional - has grown famous for his ability to |
| may seem astonishing, but the force that took | | | | wield the stick sword, despite his blindness. |
| the Samurai's power away from them was | | | | This man is called Zatoichi. |
| nothing other than the rot eating away at the | | | | Zatoichi is a character from Kan Shimozawa's |
| 21st century mind and society - politics. | | | | novels. Blind and a masseur, he is seen as |
| In 1876, the Meiji government - then in power in | | | | someone perfectly harmless by those who have |
| Japan - issued an edict called the Haitorei edict. | | | | not seen his intricate swordplay. Keep in mind |
| This prohibited the carrying of swords by | | | | here that blind people in Japan were treated as if |
| everyone, except the military and law | | | | they had been cursed by God, which is to say |
| enforcement officials. | | | | they were treated worse than dirt. As a result, |
| Obviously, it did not prove to be easy to | | | | the origins of his dazzling sword skills are doubly |
| separate the samurai from his sword. The | | | | mysterious - as if leaving them unrevealed |
| samurais continued to carry swords, except that | | | | throughout the book was not suspense-inducing |
| they did so in disguise. Rather than disguising | | | | enough! |
| themselves, they merely disguised the sword as | | | | The name "Zatoichi" can be seen in two ways |
| a cane made out of wood or bamboo. The | | | | etymologically. Zatoichi's actual name, though, is |
| imperfections of wood and the regular joints in | | | | "Ichi". "Zato" is the lowest of four official ranks in |
| bamboo enabled the samurai to make joints and | | | | the guide of blind men, the Todoza. In slang, blind |
| add buttons to scabbards made out of these | | | | men would be referred to as "Zato." Therefore, |
| materials, without risking instant discovery by | | | | "Zatoichi" comes out to mean "lonely, proud Ichi. |
| passers-by or law officials. | | | | Other than this, "Za" stands for "master", "to" for |
| These disguised swords were not identical to the | | | | sword, and "chi" for one. From here, Zatoichi's |
| traditional swords the Japanese carried. To fit | | | | name emerges to mean "Master of the First |
| within a bamboo sheath(as most of them were), | | | | Sword". The dichotomy between the blind |
| the blades needed to be straight - a LOT | | | | masseur and skilled swordmaster is explored |
| straighter than a curvy katana arcing its way | | | | beautifully in the film versions of "Zatoichi", so |
| across a holder on the back. From the outside, a | | | | make sure to watch them any day you feel like |
| disguised bamboo-cane sword really did have to | | | | entering the world of Samurai Japan. |
| look like a walking-stick being carried by any | | | | |