Chapter 31

Sword Work

While we eat breakfast on Monday Chie details the arrangements for our trip on the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train. It’s then I find out there are a number of Shinkansen, and we have to ride on two to reach our destination in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyūshū. We start at Tokyo Station with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka Station where we change to catch the Sanyō Shinkansen to Hakata Station in Fukuoka where we switch to local transport for our visit to the Komiya family. My swords were made by a Komiya family member, a master sword maker of a family of master sword makers. On the Shinkansen we’ll travel just over 1,069 kilometres in under seven hours, including stops and changes. The local travel will take another hour, thus we’ll spend eight hours travelling down with eight hours travelling back, plus the time down there for our business visit. It’s a good thing we’re following the advice of allowing a day to go down with a day down there plus a day to return, since it’s clear we’ll need that amount of time to do everything.

We pack light for the trip with everything going into a few medium sized backpacks carried by Chie, Haruko, Hideko, Kazuma, Makha, Mayu, and Nadia. Kira, Tora, Setsuko, Carl, Barry, and I will be security who need to be unencumbered by luggage. Part of our travel clothes are special rain capes I got made in the corporate deep blue colour. Those with bags will have them over the bags to make the bags hard for thieves to get to. The rest of us will have the capes hanging properly where they fall to just above our ankles. Setsuko is borrowing the cape of another US guard that’s about her height and build who’s staying in Tokyo.

These capes are made from woven Kevlar and carbon fibre, making them good light armour additions with extra protection for the parts not covered with our normal body armour. They also hide our weapons from casual observation. Tora, Setsuko, Kira, and I are also wearing a special harness that can be incorporated into the capes of the security staff. The harness allows us to carry our swords upside-down on our backs covered by the capes, but on hand with only a small clip to be flicked off to draw the sword. Carl and Barry aren’t competent enough with the swords to be carrying them. Kira, Tora, and Setsuko carry their katanas while I carry my daisho. We also have our knives and hand guns which we all carry, except Setsuko, because she doesn’t have a Japanese pistol licence.

We’ve no trouble getting to Tokyo Station and to the platform on time. When we take our seats on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen the girls with the packs take them off to set them on the floor near the window. When the train accelerates out of the station I realise the security capes will need a modification. They’ve padding to help disguise the outline of the swords, and to provide some comfort while sitting with the cape and sword on. However, the padding isn’t enough for comfort when under fast acceleration. I give Tora, Setsuko, and Kira a wry grin of apology for not having them better padded. They just nod at me while we sit there accepting the discomfort until the train reaches its set travel speed. When it’s safe to do so we stand up to remove the cape and swords to sit down with them beside our legs on the side nearest the window. That way people moving along the train won’t notice them.

There’s plenty of time to change at Shin-Osaka Station, so we wait until everyone else has left our area before we put on the swords and capes, then we exit the train to transfer to the Sanyō Shinkansen. We board, then we remove the packs and swords to set up as we did before.

At Hakata Station we go through the same procedure as we did at Shin-Osaka Station. Outside Hakata Station we meet up with the driver of the minibus we’ve hired for our local transport. He guides us to where his bus is parked, and we climb aboard. As requested he takes us for a short tour of some of the more worthwhile cultural and historic places in the city before going to the hotel we’ll be staying at. It’s around halfway between Hakata Station and where tomorrow’s meeting is.

Business Discussions

The next morning we go to visit the Komiya patriarch to order some work to be done. He greets us in a beautiful garden, and says, “Good morning, Mister Adams. I usually don’t accept commissioned work from anyone who isn’t Japanese. Yet Nagumi-san’s assistant was most insistent I let you visit to talk to me about your commission. I’m not inclined to change my mind about this. But I’ll listen, as a favour to Nagumi-san.”

I smile while saying, “Thank you, Master Komiya, do you remember accepting a commission from Sensei Michio for a special student of his a few years ago? The student’s mother wished a set for her son: tanto, wakizashi, katana, and tsurugi. All with a special engraving on the blade to show they are a special set of blades.”

He smiles, “Yes, that is the set I did for my old friend Sensei Michio for his student Torao. Why do you ask about that?”

“I am Torao. The set was presented to me in a very lovely engraved cherry-wood case. It’s the only expensive gift my mother gave me, and the last gift she gave me before she was killed in a vehicle incident. They are the most perfect swords. Better than the Muramasa katana I donated to the Japanese people after earning it in combat by killing the dog who previously owned it with my Komiya wakizashi. I would now like two more tanto the same as the one I have, and seven sets of daisho with tanto for some special students of mine. I don’t mind if you have the seven sets made by other members of your family, as long as each set is done by the one master swordsmith, and they include the engraved symbols I want on them to show they’re sets.”

“If I had known, at the time, the final recipient was a westerner I may not have accepted that commission. I assume you are the same Torao that’s been in the news of late?” I nod acknowledgement of this. “In that case I will accept this commission for my family and myself. Please, come have tea with me while we discuss the details.” He leads us further into the gardens to where there’s a setting for chakai. A woman in her mid-thirties prepares the tea while a young woman leads the others away to have some refreshments while they relax elsewhere. He feels it’s not right to have servants just hanging around while we drink and eat.

When the time is right he asks, “Why do you wish for two more tanto the same as the one you have?”

“Unlike any other tanto I’ve handled this one’s perfect for throwing as well. And in some fights it can be advantageous to throw a knife at your opponent. But I don’t wish to leave myself without a tanto, because it’s a very useful weapon in its own right. One of my students, Tora, recently used my tanto to defeat and kill a person attacking her with a katana. The large tsuba allowed her to block the swing, and when they drew back for another strike the short blade allowed her to quickly slice his throat open. A very handy weapon to have in a fight. So I wish to have two more the same so I can use them as throwing knives, if I need to.”

“I felt a moroha tanto would be a better weapon for a real fighter, because Sensei Michio said you were a true samurai who will use them for real. You do not find the slightly larger tsuba an issue?”

“No, not at all. The other tanto I’ve handled have had very small tsuba which I find to be too small to provide any protection at all. While the tsuba on this is slightly larger it’s still small and offers only the minimal protection I feel is needed to the hand when used in proper combat. Not too large to get in the way when thrown, and not too small to not stop another blade when it slides down my blade. I think the larger tsuba is what gives the tanto the better balance for throwing, and the double edge is what allows it to make a good flight and entry when thrown. Like all of the blades in the set it’s perfectly balanced, and it feels like an extension of my arm. This is why I want similar weapons for those of my house who help guard my family and myself. But they do not need a tsurugi, I think my mother only included that to have a full set. I find it is not much real use in combat, except in a very open area with large numbers.”

“Yes, I felt the tsurugi would end up as more of a display piece, but Sensei Michio insisted the rest would be combat blades, and it seems he was right. What do you wish engraved on the other blades to show which belongs in which set?”

“They are all to be of big cats: Smilodon, Tiger, Leopard, Lynx, Lion, Panther, Puma. The koshirae of the sets are to be black.”

“You wish these to fit in with the garb of your ninja at night?”

“Yes. These are for my closest ninja guards. I’m training them in the Nitō Ichi, because the use of two swords together is more effective. Even while they learn they can wear both swords to use one as a back up for the other. The one with the Tiger is for Tora Kymao.”

He smiles, “A very appropriate choice. Such sets will take several months to make, and they will cost you ten million yen per set. The two tanto will cost one and a half million yen.”

“The price is acceptable, and I’ll arrange an electronic transfer of the money as soon as I have the proper codes to do so.”

“Good, let us go and include the other masters while we prepare the contract.” Within half an hour the paperwork is done. Hideko uses the laptop in her pack to arrange the payment, making everyone very happy.

I smile, “Now I’ve another matter I wish to raise. I wish to hire some swordsmith trained people to travel to the USA to make some new types of swords for me. Not new in style or shape, but using new materials, modern materials, and not the Tamahagane steel used here. I think a newly appointed master or very senior apprentice with a couple of other apprentices will be suitable for my purposes.”

Kuniharu is very concerned when he asks, “Why do you wish us to export our skills to the USA?”

In a serious tone I reply, “It’s not an export of the exact same skills you use here, because the Tamahagane steel isn’t available in the USA. Although I think it would be wise to export both processes to other countries by sending masters in both trades. If you do that I’d suggest you send them to Australia to work to establish new swordsmith clans using the traditional ways. What I want is people who know how to make a high quality tanto, katana, and wakizashi who also know if they are good or not. I wish them to make the blades in modern materials, not steel. I want quality blades in carbon filament and Kevlar for my security staff to carry around and use.”

“How will these be better than the traditional blades?”

“They won’t be better at all, just almost as good. The first blades will take time to make while the people learn how to use the new materials to make the best swords they can with them. However, once that’s done they can mass produce the blades much quicker so I can arm my staff more easily. I’m prepared to pay for them to move, and to pay proper wages to do the work, as well as to provide living quarters in the USA.”

“This matter will require us to think and talk about before we can give you an answer.”

“Master, I’m happy you’ll consider it. One thing to remember is these materials aren’t as hard to work as steel, they’re more like plastic, and thus you don’t need strong muscles to beat it into shape, the way you do with the steel. What’s needed is the knowledge of the proper shapes and tests for strength etcetera. Women and girls who know what to do would be acceptable to me.”