Favorite Weapon?

this isnt something thats ever really been put together. weve talked about individual weapons and some techniques but weve never actually discussed what your favorite weapons are from Rurouni Kenshin. so here we go. im going to put up some background on all the weapons used in RK

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!







Sakabatou and Sakabatou Shinuchi
Wielder: Himura Kenshin, Myojin Yahiko, Himura Kenji
Weight: Aprox. 4 pounds
Length: 27 inch blade 37 inches overall.
Koshirae: Uchigatana
Menuki: unknown assumed something similar to dragons
Tsuba: plain oval tsuba with no design

History: The Sakabatou was originally forged by Arai Shakkuu, a master smith who worked for the Ishin Shishi during the Bakumatsu. He forged the Sakabatou with the intention of making a weapon that wouldnt be used to kill. His death poem was inscribed on the nakago (tang) of the Sakabatou Shinuchi and reads: "I forged swords that killed for countless years
For the world of my grandson, a child who bears no one any ill-will". this poem represented his soul and perhaps the reason he forged the Sakabtou. When Himura Kenshin left the Ishin after the battle for Toba Fushimi he gave him the Sakabatou telling him to try living with it at his side. throughout the next ten years Kenshin wandered with it living as best he could and striving to protect the people that he had wielded his bloody sword to free from Tokugawa rule. Soon after meeting Kamiya Kaoru, Myojin Yahiko and Sagara Sanosuke, the world was upset by the rising of a man named Shishio Makoto who threatened the new Meiji Era. During a fierce battle against one of Shishio's men he found his Sakabatou sheared in half. He then journeyed Kyoto in search of Shakkuu, upon arrival there he learned that Shakkuu had passed on years before and his son refused to make weapons. There he learned that Shakkuu's final work rested at a shrine. There Kenshin faced another of Shishio's men and finally ended up with the Sakabatou Shinuchi, the holy blade. With it he went on to defeat Shishio and then fight his younger Brother in Law Yukishiro Enishi. After almost 5 years, Kenshin finally was able to settle down, he gave the Sakabatou Shinuchi to Myojin Yahiko. Almost 10 years past after Yahiko recieved the Sakabatou Shinuchi and Kenshin and Kaoru were both dying of a disease. Yahiko went to find Kenji so that he could be with his mother before she died. Kenji at first refused and Yahiko fought him. after the first Yahiko gave the Sakabatou Shinuchi to Kenji telling him that it was a present for Gempuku or the coming of age rights of the Samurai. Finally the Sakabatou had a permenant master, Himura Kenji.

Bokken
Wielder: Kamiya Kaoru, Myojin Yahiko, Himura Kenshin, Himura Kenji,
Weight: 1 pound
Length: unknown, bokken are made in many lengths to suit different wielders.
Koshirae: n/a
Menuki: n/a
tsuba: n/a

History
Bokken have been used to train for swordsmenship since the early parts of the mellenium, the first recorded time being before 1000 A.D. a simple wooden sword made to look and feel like a katana. Musashi Miyamoto was renowned for using bokken in many duels and be extremely efficient with them. Kaoru uses them as her primary weapon when dueling and training. Shes hasnt been known to ever use a Shinken (live sword).


Zanbatou
Wielder: Sagara Sanosuke
Weight: aprox 60 pounds
length: a 4 foot pole with a 7 foot blade.

History
a fictional weapon that was probably based upon the O-dachi field sword. The Zanbatou is a massive sword easily 10 feet in length and upwards of 60 or 70 pounds. meant to be used to behead horses during battles it is a massive weapon. Sano can wield it simply because of his extreme strength. however because of its size it can only be swung in a vertical over head cut or a horizontal cut making it extremely easy to predict. During their first fight Kenshin easily sliced it in half rendering it a worthless sword.


many more weapons to come, but for now this is what i have.

 

In Russian translation of Rurouni Kenshin manga there was a note saying that because of its extreme length and weight Zanbatou was used in the battles to kill the horseman and his horse with one stroke. So, i guess its very useful, but only in the battlefield, not when duelling with Kenshin.

 

yes that was its purpose. however it is a fictional sword which was based on the O-dachi which was a extremely long sword wielded by foot soldiers. The blade on such swords usually were about 6 feet in length with a 3 foot handle and were carried over the shoulder. they are considered to be closer to polearms because of their length. the temper quality on these swords was usually poor and mostly used only for a scare tactic, although there are some with battle marks.

 

i dont care if its a fictional weapon, im going for the sakabatou. the whole idea behind is what draws me to it. a sword that cannot kill unless its flipped on its edge. a sword that protects rather than kills people.

 

Well, its truthfully the wielder who saves life. Even tho its not sharp, the Sakabatou can very very easily kill. Truthfully, The power put into the swing of a sword is an amazing amount of force, and even tho it cannot cut, it can still inflict fatal wounds.

 

Ill take the Sakabatou any day. I just dont like any other weapons in the series for some reason. The design on this one was perfect, which is only one of my reasons to picking this sword.

-K

 

Unfortunately, the sakabatou is a useless weapon because of its design, my second choice by the way is a regualar katana. i just wish there was a way to make the spine stronger so you could actually use the sakabatou.

 

daitou, and bokken. just depends on whether i feel like beating or cutting at the moment. and out of 2 equally skilled people, using a sakabatou and a bokken, the bokken-user would win, unless the sakabatou-user decided to use the blade, in which case he would be far better off with a regular nihontou. the bokken is simply balanced better and is about half the weight of a sakabatou. plus it's a lot easier to replace when it chips or breaks. and it wont completely degrade if you dont oil it... theres no koshirae to maintain.. theyre easier to find... bujutsu techniques of the time translate better to a bokken's weight and balance, you can use the whole length of the weapon to manipulate your opponent, and it's inexpensive enough to train with daily.
still, someone of the same skill with a daitou is likely to just demolish them both.

 

ok you're now my hero! lemme grab my bokken and we can conquer the world!!

 

ive found that many people prefer a bokken to a shinken.

The bokken is simply a single piece of wood and its strong, capable of breaking skulls.

With a Shinken your dealing with a blade thats inserted into a handle and fastened with two pins, and while this is very strong and a good method of afixing koshirae, the blade itself tends to torque in a fight. When you swing the sword down hard and then reverse and draw the sword upwards, the blade will torque ever so slightly in the handle. now this doesnt seem like a problem but over time it will wear at the wooden core and begin to torque more and that can result in an unclean cut as well as breakage of the handle which can lead to a very dangerous situation, but if properlly maintained the handle will stay just fine.

Many people prefer bokken cause they're cheap, effective and will work as a very lethal weapon when properly used.

as Taka pointed out, Bokken are very easy to maintain and are fairly safe in comparison to a shinken

 

saitou's sword

Saitou's sword, more or less because of the move he does with it, the Gatotsu Zeroshiki, this is the best

 

Saitou's favorite sword was Settsu Juu Ikeda Kishinmaru Kunishige. Ni Shaku San sun Ichi bu (2 shaku 3 sun 1 bu approx. 2 feet 4 inches) his actually technique was nameless, spanwed from Hijikata's Hirazuki. though it was said to be one of the strongest techniques in the Shinsengumi possibly seconds only to Okita Soushi's Three Step Pierce.

 

The three step pierce. Thats the head and the two shoulders if my memory servesme correctly. A very nice and lethal moved if used correctly I believe.

 

Anyone know the pattern? sounds pretty deceptive... almost like an overextended stutter-stab.

 

hrm ive heard it was the two shoulders and the neck.... and no matter what the pattern was, he was considered the most powerful swordsmen in the Shinsengumi and that was his most effective attack so.... there has to be something to it. regardless the stabbing techniques were extremely effective as a lot of fighting took place indoors where any other techniques would have been useless because of the ceilings and walls.