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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 0:43:23 GMT
since i really like sasaki kojiro as a character of japan's history i would like to have a replica of his blade made i tried google-ing but i only found a rough interpretation in wikipedia on the sasaki kojiro subject... here's what i found so far (taken from wikipedia): "The Laundry-Drying Pole" Kojiro's favored weapon during combat was a straight-edged nodachi with a blade-length of over 90 cm. (3 ft) long. As a comparison, the average blade-length of the regular katana are usually 70 cm (2 feet, 3 inches) but rarely longer. It was called the "Monohoshi Zao" (Clothes/Laundry-Drying Pole, often translated into English as "The Drying Pole"). Despite the sword's length and weight, Kojirō's strokes with the weapon were unusually quick and precise. i would like to find more since i need more info about it to have it made the most accurate possible. if someone have some info other than that it will be karma time  by the way i would like huawei to do the blade when i have money. now is only the time for researches (better doing it right don't you think?) |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 1:17:50 GMT
It sounds more like a very long chokuto, rather than a nodachi. Modern reproductions of the nodachi, such as the Odachi by Hanwei, place the blade closer to 4 feet in length and with a drastic curve. If a chokuto 90cm long were made properly, such as with a properly balanced hilt, then it would be as agile as many European longswords, if not more so.
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Dom T.
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Post by Dom T. on Sept 30, 2010 1:47:03 GMT
And maybe some distal taper or something. My ol' Huawei chokuto is friggin' heavy feeling.
Then again, the hilt balance issue probably factors pretty heavily into that. I should totally refit 'er.
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slav
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Post by slav on Sept 30, 2010 2:37:36 GMT
John Lundemo made one. See it here: swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88303&highlight=drying+pole Also, if you are intetrested in the Musashi legend, then perhaps you should pick up the novel "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa and read it. FWIW I don't think Kojiro's sword was completely straight, but rather had very little sori for its length. More like a large Kanbun-Shinto era sword than a chokuto. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 2:46:58 GMT
thanks slav i already saw a picture of this sword some times ago but the thread in itself gives some info about this sword that is not on wiki like the part on the slight sori, on wiki as stated in my first post it says that it is straight.
how much sori do you think it has? 5/16 '' is it what its saying on the thread you linked?
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slav
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Post by slav on Sept 30, 2010 2:51:08 GMT
I'm not sure that anybody knows for sure. You must remember that the Musashi story is 1/2 truth, 1/2 legend. I would suggest reading the novel yourself and going for whatever your mind envisions it to be.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 3:00:45 GMT
well i saw a sword with 0.8cm sori and another with 0.6cm here is the links www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/10150.htmlwww.samuraishokai.jp/sword/10154.htmlbut i don't know even the 0.6cm one seem to have too much sori but it must be fatigue that makes me think that way ;D there's a wak with a blade with a 0.35cm sori but i don't know how it would look on a 35'' blade (thats the shortest i would take other than than it would be 40'' of blade) other than that i would need the width at base of that kind of sword and the width at kissaki... |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 4:11:59 GMT
From the info that I was able to find, Sasaki Kojiro's sword was almost exactly three shaku in nagasa. Also, while some people say the sword was straight, more sources say that the sword had sori, just not as much as would commonly be seen in tachi. It wasn't straight. Just more straight than it could have been.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2010 16:02:05 GMT
thanks kevin these info are very useful. another reason why i wanted to have that sword made is because i find 28 inches nagasa to be too short for my taste maybe it's my arms that are too long but anyway 30'' or above would suit me better i think i just don't know how long i should have it made... i'm in need for specs i think  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2010 4:10:11 GMT
Hi, I have also read that "Monohoshi Zao" was almost straight for the common use, but also that have sori.
Also I am a big fan of that katana and I were trying to find info about it, but it exist almost none. But if it give you an Idea, seeing the movies of Musashi with Toshiro Mifune you could see an Idea of "Monohoshi Zao". Well I think, if the japanesse are ok with the sword in that movie is maybe because they feel its like that.
Also in other modern movies it seems like a large tachi. and in the book of Eiji it is described like a big katana.
I hope this could give a better idea. And sorry if my English its a little bad.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2010 4:34:44 GMT
 A statue of Kojiro in Japan, part of a double (the other one is Musashi) that depicts their duel. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2010 4:38:32 GMT
according to the statue it would be a shobu zukuri blade with a moderate amount of sori  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2010 4:44:21 GMT
Just as a quick note:
Make sure that we take the Samurai Trilogy and the book by Yoshikawa as what they are, which is historical fiction based on Musashi and his life. It's similar to the Samurai X/Kawakami Gensai thing. Even if the artistic license is on a smaller scale than my example, there is still a lot taken; a lot of embellishment.
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