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Shikomizue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Shikomizue (仕込み杖 Japanese prepared cane) is a Japanese concealed sword disguised as a cane or walking stick. It was sometimes used by government officials in Japan in the Meiji period.
The name Shikomi-zue is actually the name of a type of mounting, the sword blade was placed in a cane-like mounting (tsue), to conceal the fact that it was a sword. This mounting was used almost exclusively during the Meiji period, when the carrying of swords was banned. The blades used in these mountings were usually of poor quality. These mountings are not to be confused with the Shirasaya mountings, which were just plain wooden mountings with no decoration.
This type of arrangement was most often used by period samurai who opposed the ban on openly carrying their swords but knew that open violation of the law often led to imprisonment and death.
It has appeared a few times in the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin. It has also the weapon used by the fictional character Zatoichi, a blind bonesetter who is also an extremely talented warrior.
In another anime series, Bleach, Kisuke Urahara's zanpakutou is a shikomizue, when sealed. A similar sword is also used by Ukyo Tachibana from the video game series Samurai Shodown and Hibiki Takane from the The Last Blade.
The main character of Gun Frontier Tochiro Oyama, also makes use of this weapon. Both the characters of O-Ren Ishii and Johnny Mo from the film Kill Bill wield swords like a shikomizue, with O-Ren's housed in a contemporary sheath and Johnny Mo's is actually twin swords with wooden hilts.
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