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[Pax Empyrean]

I am not the world's greatest expert on Japanese mythology, but I know a little bit and I'm seeing some parallels that might be interesting for other people to read about.

Religion in Japan is basically a mix of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs, with Shinto being native to Japan. Shinto has a particularly animistic worldview, where everything (including objects like swords) is inhabited by kami, often translated as gods or spirits. The idea that a sword has a spirit would have just been taken for granted in medieval Japan, and the nature of these spirits shows up a little bit in some Japanese mythology. A good example would be the swords made by Masamune and Muramasa.

Muramasa made blades that were considered evil and bloodthirsty swords that cut anything, while Masamune's swords did not cut anything that did not need to be cut, and were viewed as both holy and superior to Muramasa's swords. Kandachime draws heavily from these themes. We've got swords with spirits that are good or evil, blades that cut or don't cut, the whole nine yards. It even ties this up with character development, with Mumyou learning not to cut. The timing of Mumyou figuring this out matches up closely with Takuma's resolve to end a fight without bloodshed, but whether that's just a coincidence or if the sword is actually taking on the nature of its wielder isn't really confirmed yet. The early explanation of Jatou indicates that what a sword was used for could change its nature, which is where Jatou come from in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar mechanic at work with Mumyou.

The comment that "a Kandachime is a soul that resides within a blade; it's not something that humans can create with their hands" seems to refer to this animism. I don't think it means that humans can't make the swords, but rather that the spirit of the sword is not made by human craftsmanship. Ichi's early explanation of what Kandachime are makes this distinction as well, when she says that Kandachime are spirits that inhabit a "true sword," whatever that means. I think the major difference between the different types of swords is the intent with which they were forged and the uses to which they are put, which influences the spirit of the sword that inhabits it. To make a computing analogy, the hardware is the same but they're running different software. It's the nature of the spirit inhabiting the sword that determines its capabilities.

We're not quite sure what Mumyou is. To be honest, it might not actually be something that is set in stone. At the start of the series, Mumyou was cutting everything she touched. She hid in the back of a taxi and cut her way out of it, and had no idea that this could be a problem. Her growth hasn't just been learning how to not cut something on accident, but also to not cut everything on purpose. She's had a few berserker rages where her eyes go black and she's as bloodthirsty as any character in the series. She's been afraid of what she might be, but in the latest chapters (40-41) it came to a head, and she decided that it didn't matter if she was really a Kandachime or not; she was just Mumyou--Takuma's sword--and that was enough for her. It's entirely possible that all Kandachime started out like Mumyou, and only became real Kandachime when they have committed themselves the way that Mumyou just did. I guess we'll see.

[Amakawa Yuuto]

I agree (by now) that "a Kandachime is a soul that resides within a blade; it's not something that humans can create with their hands" does not mean that humans can't create the swords that hold kandachime, but I don't think kandachime really "run on the same hardware" as Jatou.

 

As I see it/what I think the author means is that a Jatou is a "normal" blade that became evil through its use. Any blade can become a Jatou, and subsequently a Kurogane Shiki.

 

A the sword of a Kandachime is an exceptional sword, one that can hold the spirit of a Kandachime. After all, from what we've seen, a Kandachime becomes one right the moment it was made, while a Jatou has to slowly turn into a Jatou. I imagine a Kandachime's sword is created from scratch, with the Kandachime's spirit forming to "fill out" the sword.

 

Jatou are - or at least start as - regular blades that get filled with malice over time, which is what makes them evil. They can get stronger with time by feeding on even more malice (killing more people), and even a regular, mass-produced knife can become one, while a Kandachime has to be created by a smith giving his all.

 

The Ashuraga, at last, are already spirits - they're Jatou, re-forged into a new shape, but with their spirits bond into their new swords.

 

 

Mumyou has traits of both Ashuraga and Kandachime. She appears to be a Kandachime at first, but it has been said again and again that she's unusual - not only being able to possess her wielder, but also in the latest chapter her creator being afraid she'd kill him if he tried to destroy her, which is apparently something a Kandachime would never do.

 

I imagine her being a mixture of all these types of swords:

She is a Kandachime, and as such has a free will, because that's what her sword-body is. At the same time, she was probably forged out of a Jatou (or possibly a [Kuro/Shiro]gane Shiki), making her an Ashuraga, too, which gives her the ability to possess her wielder and possibly the blood-lust of a Jatou.

 

 

At last, the part about her not being able to touch anything without cutting it? The other Kandachime actually mentioned that they were like that too, in the beginning, and that she just had to learn.

[WeebInTheCloset]

am I the only one that read autism by accident?