I was watching an NHK World programme the other day about a legendary sword named 'Oni Kiri Maru' - Demon Cutter something-or-other. So I looked up the meaning of 'maru' and learned it means 'round' and is often a suffix on ship names (Kobayashi Maru if you're a Star Trek nerd like me) etc. This didn't really help my understanding but I did find a tentative explanation that it might be a distortion of an old term of endearment that was 'maro' —-> 'maru'. This has satisfied my curiosity but I was wondering if anyone else has heard an explanation for this suffix. Could I refer to my katana as 'Subayai Kitsune Maru', 'Yūrei Kiri Maru' and my beloved 1547 wakizashi as 'Kogitsune Maru'?
Yes but I know and that's sufficient for me to avoid!
I suppose it's rather like the urban etymology of the oft-used expression '[it] sucks'. I think fewer people would use that expression if they knew where it supposedly came from
Some Japanese sword has Nickname, Oni-MARU, Onikiri-MARU, Juzu-MARU and etc. Those names are Nickname, and you can name your sword whatever you like as Nickname.
But Nickname derive from their feature. Example, Yuki-maru is named white dog or white cat. Because Yuki means Snow, and Snow evokes a white color.
My 1716 wakizashi (Kōgitsune) has various copper fittings which have developed a beautiful patina over the years which is the similar colour to a red fox's fur and of course it is small, so that name seems appropriate!
My 1830 Bizen Osafune katana is unusually long at 2 shaku, 4 sun in blade length which is rare since the average height of a samurai was about 152cm (5 foot) and that would've been too long to draw for such stature. So I named it 'Yūrei kiri' (ghost cutter) imagining it might've been used for Shintō purification rites (pure speculation on my part. The samurai who commissioned might've simply been taller than average or had long arms!
My 1547 wakizashi and a pair of tantō from 1700 are refer to by the swordsmith who forged them (Yukihiro and Yoritoki) as I've run out of ideas for names although Yukihiro has a 'shōbu zakuri' blade shape which means iris leaf so I sometimes give it that name.
In 2016, I had a shinken forged for me by a master swordsmith (Enomoto Sadahito) which has a beautiful and unusual ayasugi hada (wavy) metal grain pattern. I love that sword since it was made to my specifications. I love foxes and campaign for their protection here in England (distressingly, illegal fox hunting with hounds still goes on over here) and I know foxes are said to have magical properties in Japanese and indeed Western folklore, so I named it 'Subayai Kitsune' (swift fox) as a wish that all foxes will easily flee from their hunters and for the incredible speed at which I wield it ().
I have a huge and massive 2016 forged sword at 2 shaku 5 sun and weighty 1.3kg blade which I was thinking of calling 'Hito kiri' because of the overwhelming presence and sense power it elicits in whoever holds it and film of the same title (I was surprised to see Mishima Yukio played a character in that film!) But it sounds like a vicious and unpleasant name (man/person cutter), don't you think? So I tend to refer to it by the smith's name, 'Kanehisa'. Do you think 'Hito kiri' might be an appropriate name or does it seem distasteful? I used to be a neuroscientist and anatomist so was thinking of calling it 'brain biter' but am unsure how to render that in the Japanese language. Can you help with this? (I never bit any brains in the course of my career, incidentally).
Personally, I don't think a vicious or unpleasant about the name 'Hito kiri'. Because sword is a tool of murder intrinsically.
But dose 'Hito kiri' match with your sword? Ummm... I don't think so.
All of swords are tool of murder, and all of swords are 'Hito kiri'. There is not the characteristic of your sword.
For example, an ornamental fish be named 'Swimmer'. Can you imagine what kind of fish from the name 'Swimmer'? Or can you imagine what kind of gun from the name 'Shooter'?
I think your sword need to more proper name that evokes the appearance or history. But if you are satisfied with 'Hito kiri', it's not bad.
For reference, 'Oni kiri' means 'Demon slayer' or 'Dragon slayer' in Japanese. 'Oni' is a symbol of power and 'Oni kiri' can cut down any evil forces. 'Oni kiri' sounds so strong!
Tools of justice When I was buying it from the dealer I asked, "Have you ever thought about the people this sword may have kill?" He replied instantly, "I think about all the lives this sword has saved!"
For reference, 'Oni kiri' means 'Demon slayer' or 'Dragon slayer' in Japanese. 'Oni' is a symbol of power and 'Oni kiri' can cut down any evil forces. 'Oni kiri' sounds so strong!
It's too common a name in manga and anime. So for simplicity, I'm just going to call each one by the name of the swordsmith who made them, Fuyuhiro in this case.
I've seen a number of Japanese names ending in -maru, and I'm wondering what that suffix means. For example, in the series Naruto, there's Konohamaru (named after the village Konoha), Orochimaru (an "orochi"--or is Orochi a proper name?--is a mythical eight-headed serpent), and Shikamaru ("shika" seems to have many meanings!).
WWWJDIC says that maru (丸, or まる) is a noun with the following meanings: (1) circle; (2) full (month); (3) perfection; purity; [and] (4) suffix for ship names." Which of these meanings is intended in these names? I believe it's probably...
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When I was buying it from the dealer I asked, "Have you ever thought about the people this sword may have kill?" He replied instantly, "I think about all the lives this sword has saved!"
Not very glamorous….
