Chiburi
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| Chiburi | |||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||
| Kanji: | 血振 | ||||||
| Hiragana: | ちぶり | ||||||
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Chiburi (血振?) is translated literally from Japanese as chi (blood) buri (flick). It is the process by which one removes blood from their katana. In the Japanese martial art of iaidō, this is done before placing the blade back into the scabbard (known as noto). If blood was permitted to remain on the blade, it would cause it to stain and rust. The movements of chiburi range from the remarkably large and complex (seiza variant) to the simple yoko chiburi (tatehiza variant).
The traditional chiburi position is holding the katana with the right hand, hilt close to the hip, with the tip of the blade pointing downwards and to the left. Most likely in samurai movies and samurai anime you have seen it done as a slash at the empty air, where the blood flies off in a perfect arc. The iaido version is completely ceremonial.
The chiburi- the act of blade cleaning [1], is part of the re-sheathing ritual known as "nōtō" practiced by the Japanese. The idea is that the dripping blood need to be cleaned from the blade before it is returned to the scabbard (saya). This act is in principle symbolic because a tap on the handle or sweeping the blade in an arc would not remove all the blood. Maintaining zanshin through the process of noto and chiburi is fundamental to the movement in order to complete this symbolic act.
In an actual fight, it would be much more practical to wipe the blade as clean as possible on your (or your opponent's) clothes, and then carefully clean it if you had more time. Wet blood makes steel rust, so nobody would risk leaving any on a valuable blade before sheathing it.
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[edit] Chiburi vs. Chinugui
Of the two methods of cleaning blood from the blade, chiburi is the more often portrayed in film and literature, perhaps because it is more visually impressive. The word buri in chiburi is pronounced as furi from the verb fureru'; to shake, oscillate, swing, or lean to. The other method, chinugui, has a completely different connotation. In chinugui, nugeru or nuguu refers to; to come off, slip off, wipe off, mop, etc., and is the use of a cloth and solvent to remove the blood.
[edit] The Imagery of Chiburi
Chiburi is distinctively marked by the casting of a neat, central line of blood spatter. Perhaps the best known modern imagery of chiburi's results can be found in the art work of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill series.
[edit] Further Reading
[1] Craig, Darrel M. Iai -- The Art of Drawing the Sword. Tuttle Publishing, 1981. Rutland, VT. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: 83-193519, ISBN-10: 0-8048-7023-3, ISBN-13: 978-0-8048-7023-8 page 255
