Thread: Secrets Of the Samurai Sword

This here was on last night on PBS. Unfortunately they don't rebroadcast it online although they do have a preview and some info. For members interested in forging I think it would be well worth seeing. You might want to keep an eye out for it.

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

The Code of the Samurai is as intriguing and beautiful as the samurai itself.

During the 9th & 12th centuries in Japan the warrior class were known as samurai aka Bushi (Bushido). They lived by a code. The code was verbally passed on to each generation of samurai. Over time, 7 chief virtues emerged, they became the written form of Bushido.

Sometimes called the the Seven Virtues of the Samurai, the Bushido Code or The Samurai Code of Chivalry,

Gi - Rectitude
Yu - Courage.
Jin - Benevolence
Rei - Respect
Makoto - Honesty
Meiyo - Honor
Chungi - Loyalty

Credit is generally given that a Chinese man aka Confucius, is the father of these values in China.

Therefore you'll find these variations of moral values in China, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere too.

Originally Posted by Maximilian

The Code of the Samurai is as intriguing and beautiful as the samurai itself.

During the 9th & 12th centuries in Japan the warrior class were known as samurai aka Bushi (Bushido). They lived by a code. The code was verbally passed on to each generation of samurai. Over time, 7 chief virtues emerged, they became the written form of Bushido.

Sometimes called the the Seven Virtues of the Samurai, the Bushido Code or The Samurai Code of Chivalry,

Gi - Rectitude
Yu - Courage.
Jin - Benevolence
Rei - Respect
Makoto - Honesty
Meiyo - Honor
Chungi - Loyalty

Credit is generally given that a Chinese man aka Confucius, is the father of these values in China.

Therefore you'll find these variations of moral values in China, Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere too.

Sadly, those virtues and the bushido code was really an invention of the 1600s to justify the continued existence of samurai. They were a dying breed after the unification under Tokugawa. After Tokugawa united Japan and outlawed firearms, the class system continued to exist, but the purpose of the samurai did not. So they romaticized themselves and started living by the code of bushido to justify their continued existence.

Before unification, samurai were more or less mercenaries. There are many accounts of samurai switching sides during the course of battle and running away when it was clear their side had lost. Of course, there was the traditional beheading of opponents to collect bounties on heads as well. Lots of savage stuff, not what the romatic literature wants us to believe.

Originally Posted by zib

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

Glad to see ya back Rich

I googled it and found you can view it online at Veoh.com. I have never used veoh before, so I don't know if it is totally safe and/or legal. You can watch a 5 minute preview there, but beware, there is other objectional content on the page. You have to download and install some piece of software from them to see the full video. I plan on doing this and then removing the software. I'll let you know how it goes when I'm done (sometime tomorrow evening, probably).

No worries, Veoh is safe and legal, their program is legit too.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I googled it and found you can view it online at Veoh.com. I have never used veoh before, so I don't know if it is totally safe and/or legal. You can watch a 5 minute preview there, but beware, there is other objectional content on the page. You have to download and install some piece of software from them to see the full video. I plan on doing this and then removing the software. I'll let you know how it goes when I'm done (sometime tomorrow evening, probably).

Originally Posted by WongKonPow

No worries, Veoh is safe and legal, their program is legit too.

Well, on installing AntiVir (my antyvirus) detected a low threat trojan in the uninstall file, so I chose to deny access and delete when it popped up. This left me able to use the software and watch the full movie. I then wanted to uninstall, so I got rid of the add-on in Firefox and attempted to do a standard uninstall throught Windows (Vista). Since I did not have the unitstall file, I was not able to do so. I ran the installer again and, after doing some research, chose to ignore the trojan warnings in order to get the uninstall file. More of the same warnings when uninstalling, but it in sow gone. Should odd posts start appearing on my SPR account, you will know why.

As for the video itself, I think it is worth watching. Lots of great information and history. Very engaging, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by zib

JHa.....I'm back.....

glad to see it !!

Originally Posted by zib

Jimmy, I actually have a couple of Katana's, and I believe there's an old Gentleman on the Island of Okinawa still making them on an Anvil outside in a Blacksmith shop. His family has been doing it for over 1000 years. I may try to convince OS to take a trip over there and pick me one up...Ha.....I'm back.....

Here ya go Zib. You could even try some of these guys... if you win lotto.
swordsmith&bladesmith
Licensed swordsmiths in Japan are considered living national treasures & they charge accordingly
I can't even afford an Iwasaki razor let alone a katana