The Bokken, literally meaning wooden sword was not only a training tool for samurai, but it was also a way to spar without damaging precious katanas. Bokken are used today by practitioners of Kendo, Kenjutsu, Akido and Aikijujutsu martial arts. It was not unheard of in Japan for samurai to defeat opponents using only bokken many slept with one nearby, so that they could subdue an intruder without spilling blood within their home. Celebrated swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi, most famously used a bokken to defeat swordmaster Sasaki Kojiro in a duel. Musashi fashioned his bokken from a long oar for a two-fold purpose; the first was to offend Kojiros honor by coming to duel with a stick and the second was to make a weapon with a longer reach than Kokiros katana. When Kojiro tried to make his fatal, trademark swallow blade strike, he was surprised by the long reach of Musashis oar-sword and was hit first with enough force to break a rib and pierce his lungs. Kojiro was defeated and it was Musashis last fatal duel. This sturdy, black wooden bokken comes with a nylon tsuka-ito grip. It features three calligraphic characters on one side. It comes disassembled with a slide-on tsuba and rubber habaki to hold it into place.
