| Author | Message |
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| Odakira Joined: 9 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 | Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 8:26 pm Name: Amatsu Koji
Age: 23 Height: 6'1'' Weight: 150 Build: Macho Hair: Long, Jet black pulled into pony-tail Eyes: Dark-Brown with silver spackle Weapon: No-Dachi (long two-handed katana measures to 7 ft. long) Clothing: -Full suit of samurai armor, painted black with engravements of many prayers bestowed upon it. -A black silk cape that hangs from his shoulders -No helmet, but a red bandana that is placed crookedly around his head History: Amastu Koji is a Samurai who has trained many years to perfect his form with the No-Dachi blade, and hand-to-hand combat. Due to his prowess, he has became a Samurai, under the Order of Bushido. After his training was completed, he was granted the armor he wears from his master, for being the top of his class. Soon, he used his swiftful talents to channel to a weapon he adored as a child; No-Dachi, The Horsekiller. A sword that was shaped exactly as a katana, though the handle was elongated as well as the blade. The weapon was mainly used for taking down horse-troops from a safe distance, or to cut a horse's leg cleanly, thus the name 'Horsekiller'. Born of a life in poverty, he was quite scurvy for being a thief and pick-pocket. His first sucessful attempt was that of the red bandana he wears. After his hometown of Ichigo had been attacked by a bandit force. He was left to wander the lands of Japan on his own; lending his services to the people of whom may they may be needed by. Thats when he had met his master at Rikuzen, and learned the Way of the Samurai. Personality: Amatsu is a light-hearted character, though his jaded appearance seems to express otherwise. He usually adhears to any favor of any that is acceptable, but when it comes time for battle, he almost completely changes. Becoming serious and silent. |
Digithe Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Posts: 884 | Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:17 pm just a few questions:
personality? also, where'd he get the armor? samurai armor is very expensive; did he steal it from someone/someone's corpse? If you've read the Kenshin manga, is his sword like sanosuke's? if it is, that's called zanbatou i think. if not, can you describe it to me? i've not heard of no-dachi (btw, all katana are two-handed ;) ) |
| DireklianCliff Joined: 2 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 | Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:16 pm Grawr. Okay, Phill-kun here to be the weapons/armor police!
First off: Sanosuke's "zanbatou" was CRAP! >.< Completely historically inaccurate and useless! A zanbatou, or "horse-felling-sword", was more like Cloud's Buster Sword in shape. Half-handle, half-blade, the zanbatou was a MASSIVE one-sided sword that could almost be considered a polearm. Because of the incredible weight and size of the zanbatou, they were often wielded by two samurai, and was specifically used to cut the horses out from underneath mounted samurai. Secondly: The nodachi, or "field sword", is an INCREDIBLY long sword. Often pushing six feet in length, the nodachi was used *I believe* almost exclusively in the Kanto region of Japan because of the wide fields. Their reach was/is unparalleled by any other sword, and the nodachi was a very strong blade; they were capable of cleaving both a samurai and his horse in two with one stroke. If you've ever seen the Seven Samurai, the main samurai wields a nodachi. Oh yeah, Odakira? You're wrong. Nodachi rarely exceeded 6 feet. The Japanese samurai of feudal times when the nodachi was actually USED (before the Tokugawa Shogunate), the average Japanese person was probably about 4.5ft tall... so... yeah... a 7 foot sword is too big. And eh, while samurai armor was expensive, most samurai classes could make or buy their own armor. Japanese armor was NOT as expensive as European armor, so please do not try and draw a parallel between the two... And yes, I've done EXTENSIVE research on the topic of medieval and Japanese armor and weaponry, so if you dare try to argue with me, I'll gut you -.- |
| Odakira Joined: 9 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 | Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:40 pm You sure 7 feet isn't too long? I was at a site not too long ago that had pictures of antique nodachis that were WELL over 7 foot in length (ask Kristin, she even looked at a few). Some of them reached 9 feet to be precise. I'll try to find the webpage and let you see it for yourself. A No Dachi wasn't always built at one size only, they had many styles to them, such as differences in blood grooves, lengths, handles, and what not. In fact, here's the URL here:
http://japantrip.tripod.com/nodachi/norimitsu.html That, my friend, is the longest one they have to show. There are a few more on that webpage that are a little shorter, but still exceed 6 feet. As for my character's weapon size, I'd have to disagree on it's length being incorrect. :) |
| DireklianCliff Joined: 2 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 | Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:04 pm Personally? That picture is FAR too small for me to consider it proof. A bunch of words on a plain background is easy to put. That could just be a tall bamboo staff. And the other pictures look rather... professional... compared to the other picture of the entire sword. I give that a very big meh.
And no weapons, outside of standard military issues, are ever produced at the exact same specifications. Especially not medieval/feudal blacksmiths. So, a nodachi pushing 7 feet might have actually existed. But I've never seen such a blade. And, considering how heavy and hard a sword that long would be to wield, I'm afraid I'd have to remain skeptical about its existance all the way up to the instant that sword is clenched by my hands. |
| Odakira Joined: 9 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 | Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:36 pm Well, the proof is there my friend; take it or leave it. Pictures don't ALWAYS have to be prove, but the dimensions, wieght, and time period are all there. As for proving you wrong, I believe I still stand 'victorious', shall we say? I proved that swords of that size HAVE been made, and could be existant, and used. Adding a foot to an already large weapon isn't much of a 'handicap'. Lest it proves that it is 'wrong' as you put it. Plus, this RPG that we are in, this isn't during the old days in the 14th Centuries and whenever, but it takes place when guns were around. Therefore, I'm sure that the height of average men had gone up. You do know that they did polish the blade? After about 560 years of sitting in a museum/underground/wherever they found it, I'm sure it's going to look a little dusty and brown.
Besides, the picture of the man holding the blade doesn't need to be proof. The professional pictures taken and the info. they have of the swords are proof enough. Other than that, I don't remember saying that the sword my character wields was made by some militaristic issue. As for wanting to see the weapon itself, I believe you didn't even read the information posted, for they tell you where you can see the blade. Have at it. ;P |
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