The Samurai Sword Blog

Book Review - Musashi, by Yoshikawa EijiThe 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 p …

Recently I commented on a thread posted on the SBG forum. The topic was "Are most ebayer sellers operating under a parent company." The question later came up, as it usually does, about whether these ebay sword dealers own factories as they claim. The best way to answer that question is to get an address and go visit. A few forum members chimed in with addresses, and my wife, who is currently in China went for a visit. I asked her to take pictures of the buildings, and visit with the owners of t …

This February Marvel Comic's Deadpool will hit theaters. This marks one of the few times a comic book inspired movie will have an R rating. Others have been  the Blade movies, and the Watchmen. Like Blade, and the Watchmen, Deadpool also focuses on an anti-hero instead of a super hero. It's interesting to see FOX take the risk by making Deadpool rated R, and if it does well, it may encourage them to take a risk on a rated R version of Old Man Logan. Movies, and the movie business are n …

The Apocalypse has come and gone, and all that's left now are poppy fields and kung fu fighters! So far, that's the premise of AMC's In the Badlands, which airs on Sunday nights.  "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. …

The Book of Five RingsIf you collect katanas long enough you're eventually going to hear of him. One of the most famous and revered swordsman who ever lived, Miyamoto Musashi has inspired countless martial artists for centuries through his writings and the legends that surround his life. You've probably heard the name before now, whether referenced as a historical figure or as a character in one of the dozens of films, manga, and video games he is featured in. In addition, there are multip …