The Sword of Kaigen

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-16

Chapters 17-21

Chapters 22-26

Chapters 27-31

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Swords

Swords are a significant symbol in the novel, appearing both as literal swords and as metaphors via strategic descriptions and dialogue. Each major character owns a sword; Mamoru has the sword Mamoriken, Takeru has Moonspire, Kazu has Riptide, and most significantly, Misaki has Siradenyaa. The prose repeatedly lingers over descriptions of these swords, detailing their forging, their aesthetic beauty, and their strength.

These swords symbolize each character’s purpose and willpower, and the narrative makes this connection explicit in several ways. For example, the Matsuda bloodline technique, the Whispering Blade, appears in the form of a sword, and all Matsudas believe this technique to be a perfect representation of the warrior’s “soul, his focus, his conviction” (180). Also, in Chapter 11, Takashi compares the Matsuda men to swords who have been “left in a sheath to rust” (215). He also laments the fact that peacetime has afforded him no opportunities to use his fighting skills, unleash his warrior spirit, or sharpen his killer instinct, and he hopes that Mamoru will not have to face the same fate. This sentiment neatly echoes the tagline on the cover of the novel, which states, “Better to die sharp in war than rust through a time of peace.”

While the tagline on the cover initially seems to stand as a moral of the story, the narrative itself calls this statement into question. Takashi believes that because he is a metaphorical sword, his only purpose is to fight and die in battle. If he is right, then his heroic death in Chapter 15 is a perfectly fitting way to fulfill his purpose. Ironically, Misaki’s friend Koli makes a similar argument, saying that she is “more sword than anything else” (285). Therefore, it is both her function and purpose to fight. However, after Mamoru’s death, Misaki begins to doubt that this is their only purpose, and she begins to search for other ways of living.

Names

The motif of names appears repeatedly, particularly whenever the narrative highlights the importance of earning and living up to one’s name. For instance, each warrior’s sword possesses a name that has been earned through the merits of the fighter. The katanas of Takashi, Takeru, and Yukino all have names that encapsulate the blades’ aesthetic qualities and their respective owners’ personalities and feats. Takeru’s sword is called Moonspire, which fits the sword’s minimalistic beauty and Takeru’s distant personality. At the beginning of the novel, Mamoru’s sword does not yet have a name because he has done nothing to earn it, but after his death, Katashi names the sword Mamoriken, a combination of Mamoru’s name (meaning “protector”) and the suffix “ken,” meaning “sword.” Thus, his sword is The Protector because Mamoru has fulfilled the purpose of his name by dying to protect the village.

Each character’s name is also important, for author chooses each character’s name with care, aligning the name with a specific aspect of that character’s personality or role in the narrative. For example, the men of the Matsuda family feel an intense obligation to uphold the honor of the family’s reputation as the most powerful and loyal warrior house in Shirojima. Additionally, many characters’ given names reveal their potential or purpose. For example, the name Takashi means “filial piety,” a fitting name for a head of the family who demands that everyone else show respect and obedience to his authority. Likewise, Takeru’s name, which means “fierce warrior,” “noble,” and “mountain,” thus indicates Takeru’s role as a warrior while also referencing his ability to connect with the mountain in order to escape the pain of his emotions.

Water and Ice

Water and ice are also abundant motifs in the novel, stemming from the belief among the jijakalu that they are direct descendants of the ocean gods, Nagi and Nami, and gain their powers to control water and ice from that lineage. The warrior houses of Shirojima—including Matsuda, Tsusano, and Yukino—control water to forge weapons and other tools, though each family uses their ability in slightly different ways. The Matsudas are masters of turning water into ice, and they use this ice with meticulous control. The Tusanos are famous for their wild and stormy natures, just like the ocean. Additionally, they can control both water and substances that contain water, like blood. Misaki and Takeru use these different skills to disparage each other, such as when Takeru blames Mamoru’s volatile temper on her impure Tsusano blood, and Misaki resents the coldness of Takeru’s frigid touch.

Misaki also references ice to signify the similarities between her husband and her children. She remarks that each of her sons was born cold and became colder still as they grew, marking them as Matsudas like their father, and not truly hers. Ice also represents the power of the Matsuda family in general and Takeru’s rigid self-control and precision in particular. By contrast, Misaki’s former sword master compares her to water, fluid and changeable, for she is able to mold herself into any shape and fill any role. However, Misaki acknowledges that she is also cold like her husband, which is why she prefers someone like Robin, whose fiery nature can counteract her own metaphorical ice.