Way of the Drawn Blade
居合  /  The Art of the Drawn Blade

One motion. The sword leaves the saya, cuts, and returns before the opponent has finished stepping forward. Everything below is that one second, slowed to 240 frames.

Scroll to draw
01 The Sword — 刀

Drawn.
Line by line.

No photograph, no render — a drawing, set out to the measurements of a real 71-centimetre blade. Scroll, and the ink lays itself down one part at a time.

Nagasa71.0 cmSori2.2 cm Motohaba3.2 cmSakihaba2.2 cm
地鉄 Jigane — The Body The silhouette first. Back above, edge below, and the long curve that makes this a katana and not just a sword.
STROKE 1/7
02 The Draw — 抜刀

One motion.
Not two.

Scroll drives the movement, it does not speed it up. Fling the wheel and the draw compresses instead of skipping.

鞘中 Saya-uchi — Still Sheathed Blade asleep in the scabbard. Nothing has happened yet, and that is the technique.
PHASE 1/7
03 Five Cuts — 技

Five cuts a swordsman owns before anyone calls him dangerous

04 Seven Virtues — 武士道

The code holds the hand that holds the sword

05 The Blade — 刀身

Every part of a katana is named, because every part is a decision

刀  PLATE 01 — SIDE ELEVATION
残心

Draw once.
Cut once.

Zanshin — the remaining mind. The cut is finished; the attention is not. Watch the space where the opponent stood until it is certainly empty.