The Sword

The Sword is the distillation of the philosophies regarding swordsmanship and discipline written by Kakita, the founder of the Kakita style of iaijutsu. This treatise also served as the foundation for dueling in Rokugan and included Kakita's thoughts on the theory and technique of kenjutsu.

The essence of Kakita's technique is that an enemy could be defeated with a single strike - that it takes only that single strike to end any conflict. They key to the technique is that of perfection - the strike must be of perfect form, with perfect speed, and perfect accuracy.

Kakita's philosophy contrasted with that of the Mirumoto style of kenjutsu, and particularly the philosophy of niten, which seeks to overwhelm opponents with many lightning-quick strikes that overwhelm and devestate the enemy. Because of this, there exists a friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) rivalry between the Kakita school and the Mirumoto schools.