An amazing example of the power of the Japanese sword is that it's use against foreign visits caused those visits to be brief, and that often only part of the crew left alive. In contrast, although Magellin was killed in the Philipines in the first voyage around good mother earth, the Spanish quickly were back in force, and for four hundred years the Spanish language was supreme; the Catholic faith remains to this day. And in China, by the 1843 British control of Honk Kong and soon Shanghai, the guns of the held immoral sway.



Only in 1854 did Admiral Perry with his new American fleet enter Edo, or Tokyo Bay, and frighten the Shogun (on his way to divinity as Emperor) to trade with the west. But for many decades further foreigners stayed on their ships mostly, not take over a mighty city such as Shanghai and place signs in their parks "No Chinese". Some how white men knew their place; and while Shanghai or Manila might allow that, there were likely enough Samurai, wearing their swords on the look out for any funny looking white men in ships, trying to row ashore with muskets.

Like Japanese Churchill's, Japanese became famed that they would fight them on the beaches, in the streets, they would never surrender. Never. Well, not until they put their honorable swords to very dis honorable use in Manchuria and China and created hell all down through Asia. I know, I have an uncle who survived the take over of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941. Like Bataan later, it was quite a brutal march, but it was effective for the Japanese as it shrunk the number of mouths to feed.

By the end of 1945, an utterly defeated nation was finally required to accept the humiliation of headline newspaper photos showing their tiny Emperor standing next to a massive 6 ft 5 inch General Douglas MacArthur. Japanese documentaries have discussed how the defeated Japanese leaders pleaded that this photo not be shown to the people of Japan, but show it did. And the shock and utter humiliation felt by the people, showing this giant of a man, by whose mercy still merely survived their puny frightened looking emperor.

The Emperor was dressed looking rather hap hazard in western clothes, and his tie was askew. All Japanese began to bow and nod and accept all these new western concepts of voting and democracy. Less Samurai sword, like Germany on the other side of the earth. Make better swords, sell them to the west, cars too, ships, much more. In this case Imperial Japanese Swords are on display. These jewels of swords are on net bargain prices from behind the shop, no retail customers allowed back here.

I have enjoyed learning some Japanese phrases from Japanese guests who visited my hotel, and I recall that to count from one to ten my youngest daughter and I could make it into a story that we had an itchy knee, so went down to the beach, some thing some thing and we were at ten. I know you are always impressed with razer sharp recall, so I will go fall on my own plastic sword, while you are looking at the real elegance of historic Japanese Samurai antiques. Enjoy.

Swords evolved, you know, some very grand for most noble, all have this blood groove down to sword slip more easily out of Black Hat Tojo, if he dares comes around again. Bonzai!