1:56:43
Taking advantage of the wind
was brilliant,
1:56:46
but a blade can do more than cut.
1:56:49
It can also stab,
or even snap another blade in two.
1:56:53
Swordsmanship untested in battle
1:56:56
is like the art of swimming
mastered on dry land.
1:57:20
On the other hand,
1:57:23
I had not seen battle either
1:57:25
since the siege of Osaka Castle
16 years ago.
1:57:31
Taking his head
would have been difficult enough,
1:57:33
but taking only his topknot
proved more difficult still.
1:57:43
Whatever the differences in skill,
1:57:45
for a samurai to have
his topknot taken
1:57:49
is the same
as having his head stricken off.
1:57:52
It is an ineptitude, a disgrace,
1:57:54
that can scarcely be atoned for
even by death.
1:57:58
Yet these men claim illness
and shirk their duties