Thursday, October 11, 2012

Katana, the Samurai Sword

Samurai with tachi
Published and shared on: Carpe Diem, seize the day. A daily haiku meme.

Today samurai is the prompt for Carpe Diem. Samurai were ancient Japanese warriors. The Samurai code was a secret code and the Samurai was trained real hard. They went to battle and were known for their Samurai Swords and the use of it during battle.

Katana
The rise in popularity of katana by samurai is believed to have been due to the changing nature of close-combat warfare. The quicker draw of the sword was well suited to combat where victory depended heavily on fast response times. The katana further facilitated this by being worn thrust through a belt-like sash (obi) with the sharpened edge facing up. Ideally, samurai could draw the sword and strike the enemy in a single motion. Previously, the curved tachi had been worn with the edge of the blade facing down and suspended from a belt.
The katana was often paired with a similar smaller companion sword, such as a wakizashi or it could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped sword. The pairing of a katana with a smaller sword is called the daishō. The daisho could only be worn by samurai and it represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai. (Source: wikipedia) 

ancient warriors
shedding blood on the battlefield
katana colors red

katana colors red
blood washed away in the heavy rain
virgin sword

virgin sword
crafted with water and fire
strength of nature

strength of nature
served the Samurai in battle
ancient warriors



Well ... see you tomorrow ... for another Carpe Diem special prompt #2

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