Quietly sat in the academy's library, Kaoru was reading a borrowed copy of The Sword, diligently taking a few notes here and then on a small piece of paper. Her focus appeared intense, and she was progressing slowly, frequently coming back to already read passages.

Her ears however were as attentive to her environment than her eyes were to the document, and in the quiet of the library she could hear as far as the noise coming from the dojo. The slamming of training swords made for poor background music.

Shosuro Kaoru wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:20 pm

Quietly sat in the academy's library, Kaoru was reading a borrowed copy of The Sword, diligently taking a few notes here and then on a small piece of paper. Her focus appeared intense, and she was progressing slowly, frequently coming back to already read passages.

Her ears however were as attentive to her environment than her eyes were to the document, and in the quiet of the library she could hear as far as the noise coming from the dojo. The slamming of training swords made for poor background music.

The door slid open to reveal a freshly-scrubbed Rin, who often sidled into the library after a match or three. There were things to bone up on for the Tourney after all, like all of that heraldry business. She quickly gathered up the relevant books and plopped down across from the Scorpion with a smile and a short bow the only introduction. She wasn't sure if her fellow competitor would appreciate an interruption.

Kaoru bowed in response:

"Kakita-sama. This one is Shosuro Kaoru. I would like to thank your family for accepting guests within your own library. This is quite the collection of texts and it's an honor to be allowed access to it.

Would you happen to be a student of this very academy by any chance? If so, would you happen to have a few minutes to spare for a couple of questions? There are some points in that text that I am having a hard time getting my head around."

"I am a student of the Academy, Kakita Rin," she said, smiling quietly. "And I would be happy to help, if I can."

"Well, a great deal of The Sword is dedicated to how it's the spirit that decides of the victor before steel is even drawn. How by achieving the right state of mind, banishing doubts, distractions and deceptions, the path to victory reveals itself.

But then there are also several passages that insist on the fact the path to victory can only be achieved by using a single katana as opposed to any other weapon or combination of weapons. A very materialistic statement that seems to contradict the spiritual approach to fighting established in the rest of the book.

What is the key I'm missing for these two statements to work together?"

Rin tilted her head in consideration for a moment before speaking. "I think, possibly, that Shosuro-san might be forgetting the significance of a katana. It is not just material, but metaphor. When one conceives of the katana as "soul" as well as "sword," the passages become more closely aligned."

"Oh, thanks! There are indeed some passages that make a lot more sense if you substitute sword for soul. My mind was stuck on a literal interpretation, but for a poet such as Kakita it makes a lot of sense to substitute one for the other to improve a sentence's flow.

Some passages though... They leave little room to alternative interpretation. For example wielding two swords [...] does not allow strong grip or full motion of the blade can hardly be interpreted in any other way."

Shosuro Kaoru wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 07, 2021 7:03 pm

"Oh, thanks! There are indeed some passages that make a lot more sense if you substitute sword for soul. My mind was stuck on a literal interpretation, but for a poet such as Kakita it makes a lot of sense to substitute one for the other to improve a sentence's flow.

Some passages though... They leave little room to alternative interpretation. For example wielding two swords [...] does not allow strong grip or full motion of the blade can hardly be interpreted in any other way."

"Indeed," Rin smiled. "Sword is also a manual of swordsmanship. I'm not sure it is materialistic to acknowledge that dividing one's attention between two swords can be unwieldy. I think it practical, and I do not believe it necessarily a contradiction in terms that a poet can be so. That Mirumoto Hojatsu was able to find a way to do it does not diminish the truth of the observation on the whole. Most people cannot do it effectively, and the Mirumoto do make sacrifices in order to make use of that style, control being the most important one."

She tilted her head. "Not to disparage the style, of course. It is very effective."

"People aren't born with a sword in hands either. Any style, regardless of the number of swords, requires years of training before reaching any kind of true effectiveness.

And while I do agree with the difficulty of using a katana, whose weight is balanced and handle is sized to reach maximum efficiency when gripped with both hands... It's actually an issue it shares with the Kakita style: When unsheathing one's blade and striking in the same movement, the blade is operated with only one hand."