The Katana Sword in Japanese Legend
The Katana sword is considered the greatest treasure that a samurai can possess, and its history has been crossed with legend. The first sword ever recorded in Japanese historical tales was called the “Cloud Cluster Sword.” This weapon is part of an ancient Japanese creation tale. The tale goes as follows:
This katana sword was forged in the tail of a gigantic, eight-headed serpent who was said to be as large as eight mountains. This large beast, who was obscured by thick black clouds, liked to eat young maidens and was terrorizing the countryside. The hero of the tale, Susano-o, the son of the fire god, took it upon himself to slay the monster and free the country from his terror. The hero tricked the beast into drinking too much sake, and the serpent fell asleep in a drunken stupor. While he slept, Susano-o used his katana sword to cut the monster into bits. However, when he reached the beast’s tale, he struck something hard and his sword broke in two. He reached into the murky cloud and pulled out the Cloud Cluster Sword. According to Japanese lore, this sword was one of the treasures handed down by the gods to the first emperor of Japan, the others being an iron mirror and a jeweled necklace.
This tale was important to the samurai warrior, as it was a sort of proof that their katana sword was heaven sent. Tokugawa Ieyasu, one the greatest warlords that Japan has ever known, called the sword “the soul of the samurai.” During this warlord’s time, only the samurai warrior was allowed to wear two swords, these being the katana, and the shorter, wakazashi, which was used for some fighting, but whose larger purpose was to commit ritual suicide. The katana sword became such a legendary weapon that to this day, most people call it simply a samurai sword. Technically, a weapon by that name doesn’t exist; it is actually a katana sword. However, the two terms are now completely interchangeable.
When a samurai was born, a katana sword was placed in his birthing chamber, so that it was one of the first things that he saw in this world. Likewise, when he was dying, a katana sword was placed on his deathbed, so that he may take it to the next world. In between birth and death, a warrior’s katana sword would go everywhere he went, including to bed. A samurai’s katana was treated with as much respect as the man himself, and if someone did something to disrespect his sword, it was considered an insult to his entire clan.
Clearly, a katana sword is an extremely important part of a samurai, if not the most important part of him. Through years of training, his katana became an extension of him, like a third limb. Perhaps more accurate was that a katana sword was the samurai’s soul, as much as the samurai was the soul of the katana sword.
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