Broken Thoughts

One of the most annoying thing people can do around me, other than driving like an idiot, is to use the phrase “samurai sword”.  Here is why using that term is incorrect, disrespectful, and completely idiotic.

1. If you see a western-style sword, you don’t call it a “knight sword.”  If you do, please don’t.

2. The real name is katana.  Use it.  Other perfectly acceptable terms include shinken (live blade), or Japanese sword.

3. The katana changed over hundreds of years.  It started out as a straight edge (like most western style or chinese swords) until it earned it’s curved edge.

4. The katana is to be reguarded with the utmost respect.  It is part of Japanese culture.  By calling it a samurai sword you are not giving the kanata the respect it deserves, and are disrespectful to those who train in Japanese sword arts.

5. Samurai actually carried two swords - the wakizashi and the katana.

6. Other classes were allowed to carry a single sword, the katana, up until the classes were seperated and all swords were taken from anyone who was not a samurai.  Samurai were the only class allowed to carry 2 swords.

7. It’s all about respect.  Call the katana by a propper name and I won’t call you an idiot (or beat you senseless with a bokken).

During class, my sensei will often ask whoever is closest to the wall “Ima nanji desu ka” which means “what time is it.”  My time telling skills on the fly are rather sub-par, so I decided to write up a tutorial on telling time in Japanese to help not only myself, but anyone else who wants to learn.

To tell time, we must first begin with numbers.  Counting in Japanese is a little confusing for beginners, because if you are counting people you use different (but similar) words than if you are counting objects.  In the dojo we use numbers different from regular counting as well.  So, I will teach using the counting system we use in class.

1. ichi 一
2. ni 二
3. san 三
4. shi (or yon) 四 shi also means death, which is why the Japanese prefer to use Yon. This is also directly related to the superstition that 4 is an unlucky number.
5. go 五
6. roku 六
7. shichi (or nana) 七
8. hachi 八
9. kyuu 九
10. juu 拾
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In the times of feudal Japan, a samurai would travel through Japan in Musha Shugyo.  These wandering Samurai are not to be confused with Ronin, or “Masterless Samurai.”  Ronin are samurai who have been expelled by their master, or their master has been killed in battle.  A shugyosha is a samurai who has left his family and school to travel from town to town, taking challenges and learning at various schools to hone their skills.  This time is also used to seek a daimyo to serve.   The shugyosha would carry only a few supplies, their swords (or weapon of choice), and would hire themselves out for food or money.  During this time, the shugyosha would not be protected by his family or school.  The most famous shugyosha was Miyamoto Musashi.

Being an IT consultant is much like the life of a Shugyosha. Being a consultant and being a samurai require a lot of training and skill. There are good consultants and bad consultants, just like there are skilled samurai and unskilled samurai.
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So, you want to learn to write your name in Japanese? Well, unlucky for you there are different ways to do so. The first is to use the Katakana syllabary. This is done for foreign names and objects. Your name would most likely be written in Katakana. This syllabary is very angular.

The second way to write a name is using Hiragana. This syllabary is the standard for “spelling” out words, as long as they are not foreign, or as additional characters added on to Kanji that give a different meaning to the Kanji. Hiragana has the same sounds as Katakana, but is more of a rounded, fluid-looking syllabary.

The third way, and the way most native Japanese write their name, is by using the meaning of your name to select the Kanji. This is the most difficult means of writing a name, as it requires knowledge of the Kanji to accurately select the correct characters. Since a Kanji can have more than one meaning, and most words have more than one Kanji, parents often select Kanji with a good second meaning when selecting the name for their child. If you would like to try this, I recommend using your favorite search engine to find the meaning of your name. Then, go to Nihongo Resources and search for the Kanji.

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Almost 3 years ago, my wife (then fiancee), and I decided we would like to learn Japanese sword.  This desire stemmed from our frequent renting of anime from the local video store.  We became enamored with the stories of feudal Japan, the brave Samurai who fought for honor and their daimyo, and the cool sword moves that are often shown in the movies, such as Kill Bill.  We realized that movies and anime tend to over exaggerate sword technique, but nonetheless we were still interested in learning.  We were feeling that we needed something active to do together, and I, being a former student of Tae Kwon Do, thought martial arts would be the best way to go.  Not only would we be exercising, but we would be learning something new, and learning it together.

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