Kakita Iaijutsu Master

The Kakita Iaijutsu Masters are the most well-known artisans in Rokugan, perfecting their skills through years of training at the Kakita Dueling Academy. To them dueling is an art, demanding patience, practice and dedication, and treated as one of the greatest artistic talents that can be achieved. The artisans will spend a long time meditating on the blade before even being allowed to draw it, a teaching passed down from Kakita himself. The saying goes; "A hundred days of hand, a thousand days of spear, and tenthousand days of sword." This tells of how the sword is not merely the hardest weapon to master but that the blade requires a state of mental and physical discipline which is difficult to achieve. The work of Kakita, The Sword, is a compilation of his dueling knowledge, and is used to teach at the Academy. The Kakita family follow the ultimate philosophy of the Crane; "You only live once, so make every moment worth living." These were the last recorded words of Doji Konishiko, and were elaborated by her brother Kakita Shimizu; "Perfection requires only one attempt. If you are perfect, your strike will be perfect. Achieve this discipline, master the technique of the sword, and you will never have a reason to regret.". (Crane p. 29)