Before you pack your Ebay ninja suit and grab your ninja sword, throwing stars, and caltrops, there is a kicker. Yes the job is real, but, they don't need katana wielding ninja for assassinations, they need them for entertainment. Still, if you can live with getting paid to be a Disney World style ninja, the job is real, and it pays spendable money. You'll be a real Japanese ninja. That in itself is one hell of a pickup line.

HBO gave us a taste of what they could do this year with Westworld setting a couple of episodes in Shogunworld, but all they really did was open the door to what's possible. HBO has the budget, they need fresh exciting content, and feudal Japan has it. Mongol invasions, the Warring States period, the battle to become shogun. There is enough content historically you could use history books to take scripts from. Oda Nobunaga, Musashi, the 47 Ronin. These are all real people who could provide seasons worth of stories. 

Is there a market for it? Well, I sell a lot of samurai swords. A lot of them. I think the market for a high budget samurai epic is probably as big if not bigger than Game of Thrones. Feudal Japan was filled with backstabbing lords who demanded failure be met with death, and had no problem employing entire clans of ninja to burn down cities if they wind was blowing favorably. 

So HBO, you say you are looking for content. There you go. You're welcome!

A picture is worth a thousand samurai swords!

If you have one of the AT&T unlimited plans you can get HBO for free, so add it to your Roku and watch some samurai sword swinging action. 

Katana started out way back in the early 80's, and has been an off and on again character for DC every since. While she is not packing superhuman powers like Superman, she does have some Batman style martial arts training, and is packing a mystical blade that harvest souls. Not too shabby. 

In the movie, Katana is played by Karen Fukuhara. On TV, she is played by Rila Fukushima. Which one is going to do a better job? Who cares! The more hot Japanese women with samurai swords the better!

Okay, so let's get to the meat of what this blog is about; swords!

From the screen shots, Katana is sporting, you guessed it, a katana. Soultaker, forged by the historical Muramasa, is a mystical blade that harvests the souls of those who's lives are taken by it. In the comic books, this bestows additional powers on the user, and from the screen shots, it appears the movie is going to go down that path as well. Looks like quite a few ghostly souls hovering over the blade in this picture.

My guess from the pictures, is that this is a 27-28 inch no hi (groove) blade, with a 10 inch tsuka (grip). The tsuba (guard) and habaki look pretty simple, although it's not possible to see the design from these pictures.

Here's a look at the Katana from the Arrow TV show, which has a much more detailed tsuba.

Unlike most samurai, Katana does not have a wakizashi with her. Instead it looks like she has an o-tanto, which is a very large and effective knife. Historically, samurai would not have used these for fighting, as the wakisashi was their go to weapon for close quarters combat. But, this is the modern world, and I personally have no problem with mix and match styles. On top of that, I would argue Katana is more of a ronin (masterless samurai), and less of a samurai to begin with. Does she look like she has a master?

A few more pictures. 

No word yet on if anyone is going to offer a licensed version of the Suicide Squad katana for sale.

The last blog post that I wrote for Ronin Katana was a book review of The Book of Five Rings, the penultimate work of master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. I had read The Book of Five Rings more than once, and continue to re-read it each year as part of my "rotation" (like many voracious readers, I have favourites that I can't help but revisit on a regular basis). In reading it, I felt that I had gained insight into Musashi's life, swordsmanship, and philosophy. At the time of writing the previous blog post I didn't really have any intentions of revisiting the historical figure in writing anytime soon.

This was before I picked up a copy of Yoshikawa Eiji's classic novel Musashi, which arrived on my desk quite by surprise earlier this spring. I had heard of the novel, but was unaware of its full scope and place in modern Japanese culture. After some encouragement I picked it up and began reading, and was completely engaged in only a few minutes. My lunch breaks for the next few weeks were filled as I engrossed myself in the book. Partway through reading I realized that I was not finished writing about Musashi after all, and I began making notes for this blog post.

Some background: Yoshikawa Eiji lived from 1892 - 1962, and was a well-known historical novelist, winning many awards during his prolific writing career. His novel based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi is one of his best-known works, particularly outside Japan. The novel was serialized in Japan's largest newspaper between the years of 1935 and 1945, and became one of the definitive interpretations of the popular historical figure. The novel itself has been the basis for a large number of film and tv adaptations as well as countless stage productions.

Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi in The Samurai Trilogy

A side note before continuing - if you choose to pick up this novel, try to find the version that has the forward written by Edwin Reischauer. Reischauer was a Harvard professor and American ambassador to Japan from 1961-1966, and his insights into the cultural and historical context are not only useful but necessary to fully appreciate the breadth and depth of the novel. He (quite rightly in my view) identifies it as a "Japanese 'Gone with the Wind,'" and contrasts it sharply with James Clavall's Shogun. Both novels occur during the same time period, which was a time of political upheaval and change for Japan. However, in Reischauer's opinion Shogun shows the use of more artistic license, while Musashi is more historically accurate - while still being written as a thrilling adventure story.

The story begins with Musashi (called Takezō at that point in his life) on a battlefield, but it is a battlefield on which he was not a victor. He awakens, wounded and confused, after being on the losing side of a fairly decisive battle between two ruling lords or Daimyo of Japan. Incidentally, this is the battle that is about to take place at the end of Clavall's Shogun.

Unlike the writer of The Book of Five Rings the young Takezō we meet at first is little more than a thug. Brash and headstrong, he stumbles through the first several encounters of the book with more luck than skill, and more selfishness than manners. Returning to his village after recovering from his wounds he winds up on the run from the winning side of the war, and before long is hopelessly embroiled in a fight for his life that he can't hope to win.

Another image of Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi

Enter the side characters, who as the book progresses grow into fully three-dimensional personas with their own complex lives and stories. The priest Takuan, Musashi's friend Matahachi, Matahachi's fiancee Otsu, even Musashi’s rival Sasaki Kojirō all play various roles in the story as their own journeys weave them in and out of Takezō’s. Takezō is eventually captured and, as punishment, is imprisoned in a single room in a castle with nothing but books for company. For three long years he studies texts about war, philosophy, and swordsmanship (including Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which is liberally quoted throughout the novel). Upon his release Takezō is a changed man, and takes the name "Miyamoto Musashi" as he embarks on his journey to perfect the Way of the Sword.

Miyamoto Musashi’s self portrait

The story goes on, and details twelve years of Musashi's life and travels. The story may be familiar to you already, but the tale of this wandering swordsman is expertly expanded upon by Yoshikawa. He uses some truly incredible descriptive prose in his writing - one early example that stuck for me was as he described a village, saying, "[the town&91; harbored a bevy of women of the night, who, throats powdered white as was the fashion, hovered before their business establishments like white bats under the eaves." The translation work was expertly done, with none of the "clunkiness" that sometimes occurs when reading older texts originally written in vastly different languages. I found the book to be both accessible and enjoyable.

Miyamoto Musashi duels Sasaki Kojirō

I will not write a full synopsis of the novel here, partly due to space (it is a historical epic, after all) and partly because l don't like to spoil endings - even well known ones. But I will say this - if you like tales of swashbuckling adventure, if you like dramatic rescues and daring escapes, if you like romance and intrigue and moments of comedy throughout - you will almost certainly like this book. Fans of the films of Akira Kurosawa, or even anime and manga, will recognize many familiar "tropes" in this novel.

I urge anyone who has an interest or, like myself, a love for the Japanese culture to pick this novel up and experience it for yourself - because just as Musashi himself discovered, some knowledge can only be gained by experience.

About the author:

Daniel Dacombe is a freelance writer, reviewer, and collector of swords and sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia. He has been a sword collector since 2006, a student of martial arts and history since 1998, and a geek since birth. His collection includes swords, countless books, lightsabers, and even a sonic screwdriver. While far from an expert, Daniel works to make his reviews, interviews, and articles informative and accessible to a wide variety of fan groups and collectors.

The first one -

Hanbon - nan da yang, Jian Chi Rd, Long Quan, China, 323700

This address is for a general area, and not a specific building. The area it's located in has retail shops, but no factories or assembly areas. 

The second one - 

Huawei (Jacky Chen)

Chen Jin Kai
100 JianChi RD
LongQuan,ZheJian Prov
323700
China
18605782350

This one is an address, and was visited. Here are the pictures.

It's a candy store. No sword factories, sword assembly shops, or retail sword shops close by. 

Sinosword - The address provided to ebayers is a restaurant with apartments above it. Odds are high that the dealers live in the apartment above. No factory.

Mystery solved...

Historically, real Japanese assassins trained in ninjutsu used shorter blades in longer sheaths to get the draw on their opponents. That extra half second had them already moving to strike before their opponent to get his sword out. Speed and stealth are the hallmarks of a real assassin. If you get caught, you die. If you get into a protracted fight, you die. 

Today, swords are only carried into battle in movies and comic books. Deadpool is probably as close as it comes to a modern Ninja in pop-culture. Deadpool famously wears two Bujinkan inspired swords on his back, and he uses them with deadly efficiency. However Deadpool doesn't have to worry about the physics involved in getting his swords out of the sheath. That's where shorter blades come in. 24-26 inches is the sweet spot for back worn blades. Anything longer, and good luck getting it drawn from a back mounted position. Back mounted carry for longer swords is a fantastic idea, but you need time to get it drawn, unless you have a shorter blade.

When I designed my version of the ninja sword, I wanted a long handle for leverage, and a shorter blade for tight tactical situations. Try swinging a full size katana inside, and you'll quickly find you've cut a hole in your ceiling, or cut down your ceiling fan. A tactical sword come into play when you need don't want be in grapple range, but you are confined to tight space. Shorter is faster. Shorter is maneuverable. So we should all rush out and buy $1,000 military grade cutters right? Let's face it, the Apocalypse is probably not right around the corner. So while it's great to be prepared, it's more fun to actually have fun. Enter the Ninja... Well, Hanzo Steel Ninja sword that is. 26 inch titanium coated blade. 15.5 inch handle. Leather wrapped back  worn sheath.

Hanzo Steel Ninja Sword

Movies, and the movie business are not my area of expertise however, swords are. And like Blade, Deadpool is an anti-hero with an arsenal of guns and samurai swords. The katana as a weapon of choice for a fast moving hero looking to reap a nice harvest of bad guy limbs is actually a good one, as the primary weapon of the samurai was intended for one cut one kill scenarios. If you are an action hero looking to lop off a head in one shot, the katana if your go to sword. 

In the comic books, Deadpool sports a pair of katana, which, because they are comic books, he can sheathe and unsheathe from his back with no problems at all. In fact, a long katana blade worn on the back is almost impossible to draw, as the typical human arm length is far to short. If Michonne had to get here katana out of the back sheath she uses in a hurry, she would long since have joined the zombie ranks. It's just not going to happen.

That's where the ko katana comes in. Ko katana are not historical swords, as some speculate; they are modern katana with a tactical influence. What people tend to think of as a historical ko katana, are in fact wakizashi. A ko katana is composed of a short blade, and a long handle. It gives you the advantage of a wakizashi, which was used in very close quarters, and the two handed leverage of a samurai sword. Quick and nimble, they can be exceedingly deadly in the hands of someone with training and heightened reflexes like Deadpool.

So is Deadpool using ko katana in the movie? I have no clue. From the angle, my guess is that's a 24-25 inch blade in the picture below, which would be a ko katana.

But this one makes it look he has a 28-30 inch katana blade.

The movie version of Deadpool's swords also look like they have unwrapped wooden handles. This differs from the comic books, where Deadpool sports a more traditional looking diamond wrap, or hybrid leather wrap. Take a look:

Regardless of what Deadpool is actually using in the movie - a katana or ko katana, you can reassured there is only one way he is going to be using it; violently. Like Wolverine, Deadpool is a melee fighter that likes to get up close and personal. When the bullets run out, the swords come out. With an R rating, this is going to be a real samurai style blood bath. 

While it's unlikely Disney is every going to license a Deadpool samurai sword for sale, there are plenty of fan made kits on the web to take inspiration from. Just remember, for running around and looking cool, a back worn katana is pretty nice, but make sure you can actually get the sword out of the sheath before you take on a zombie horde.

"The wars were so long ago nobody even remembers. Darkness and fear ruled until the time of the barons, seven men and women who forged order out of chaos. People flocked to them for protection. That protection became servitude. They banished guns and trained armies of lethal fighters they called Clippers. This world is built on blood. Nobody is innocent here. Welcome to the Badlands."

When a show starts off with a intro like that, you know it's just a matter of time before the weapons come out and things get bloody! In this case, the weapons of choice seem to to be kung fu, jian, and katana. Although I suspect we'll see more sword styles as the show progresses.

Into the Badlands is a mashup of feudal Europe, samurai films, westerns, and cartel style drug lords all fighting it out in a race to see who can generate the largest pile of corpses. Since this is a blog dedicated to swords, I'll just toss out some pictures courtesy and copyright of AMC, and let them do the talking. 

So far it doesn't appear that AMC has licensed the swords to anyone, and the Chinese factories are either asleep at the wheel, or waiting for the show to take off before they start flooding the market with swords for sale from the show. We here at Ronin are digging the show so far, and looking forward to seeing the characters get fleshed out. Tossing in an accomplished actor like Henry Thomas (Legends of the Fall, Gangs of New York, and E.T.) who has extensive training in medieval weapons would be a major plus. The more people they have on screen who actually know what they are doing, the better the show is going to look.