This is a picture of Kusa-nagi
The Japanese Imperial Sword.


For awhile there, Allen Seyberth had an offer of a Debt of Honor card to whoever could provide the proper name for this sword. Ron Foster , the honorable scholar that he is, found the name in Book 19 of the Kojiki ("Record of Ancient Matters'), and he provided the Japanese writing (kangi?), as well as most of the factual information on this page. Thanks again, Ron.

The sword's name translates to mean Grass-mower or Grass-pacifier, and was used by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu to cleanse Japan of demons.

Kusanagi is owned by the Japanese Emperor and is part of his imperial regalia, part of his 'Crown Jewels' as it were, and is presented to him upon his ascension to the throne.

The L5R equivalent of Kusanagi, is the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei. Note the fact that the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei is not a weapon, its power lies in it's prestige as an Imperial artifact, much like Kusanagi itself.

The sword has also been known as Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, "Gathering-clouds-of-heaven sword." This is apparently the older of its two titles, and to Kitsu Sei's mind, more poetic.

Last updated by Neil Laughlin on August 5, 1998.