In no country has the sword been made an object of such honor as in Japan. It is at once a divine symbol, a knightly weapon, and a certificate of noble birth. “The girded sword is the soul of the samurai.” It is “the precious possession of lord and vassal from times older than the divine period.” Japan is “the land of many blades.” The gods wore and wielded two-edged swords. From the tail of the dragon was born the sword which the Sun-goddess gave to the first emperor of Japan. By the sword of the clustering clouds of heaven Yamato-Dake subdued the East. By the sword the mortal heroes of Japan won their fame.
Theres naught twixt heaven and earth that man need fear, who carries at his belt this single blade.” “Ones fate is in the hands of Heaven, but a skillful fighter does not meet with death.” “In the last days, ones sword becomes the wealth of ones posterity.” These are the mottoes graven on Japanese swords.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
