Originally posted by glad2bhere
Still there seems to be a real effort to represent the sword as having more influence than it did. Strange.
Reverence for the sword goes way back into Japan's prehistory. The sword had ritualistic use as well as combat use, and the sword (in this case the ancient tsurugi) forms part of the Three Sacred Regalia of the Chrysanthemum Throne.
The bow may have been the preferred weapon of the military in pre-Edo times, but the sword was an object of awe and mystery.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---