The Tree Monkey katana is one of the newest creations of the smiths at the
Hanwei forge.
We all know the proverb of the 3 wise monkeys : "see no evil, hear no
evil, speak no evil". The names of the monkeys are Mizaru, , the one who
sees no evil and therefore is covering his eyes ; The second one is Kikazaru,
the one who is covering his ears and so hear no evil. And the last one is Iwazaru,
who is covering his mouth and who speaks no evil.
While many believe that it' s a Japanese proverb, it has it's origins in China
and was probably brought into Japan by a Buddhist monk.
That's a bit of the story that is shown in this katana theme. Now, if you are
an Iaido student or you are looking for a light, good balanced sword, this is
definitely a sword you need to consider ! It has a standard tsuka of 28,5cm
and balance at 11,5 cm of the tsuba. In many way's , it does have the same feeling
as the popular Shinto katana.
As all of the other swords from the Hanwei forge, the blade is forged and differentially
tempered. The tsuka is covered with real rayskin and the ito is wrapped very
tight. It took me some time to discover that the saya (scabbard) of this katana
is actually dark brown and not black :D
