Originally Posted by
Brian Owens
My understanding is that chanbara is a term used to describe sword-play movies, because of the sound -- chan! chan! bara! bara! -- of the clashing swords and swordsmen.
To be precise, the "chan-chan" represents the sounds of metal clashing, while "bara-bara" represents people running around every which way. "Bara-bara" is an onomatopeia representing a scattered, disorganized state.
Josh Reyer
Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet