User talk:AoimeNoKenshi

January 2012 warning, Zatoichi
While articles always need good sharp eyes to help improve them, your edit here requires a citation if you wish to insert a more specific art form than IAiDo. Do not revert this again until you have a citation for this claim. If you revert this again with no citation, you will be in violation of 3RR, and if you change this edit again you may be accused of edit warring. My hope is IF you can find a citation, you can put the precise name of Zato-no-Ichi's art form. I am an expert in this character and even I do not know exactly what that style is called, though I did hear it called by a name in one of the films. Perhaps you can begin there, but not without comment on the talk page. Thank you. Djathink imacowboy  (yell)  15:47, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

January 2012 reply, Zatoichi
Thank you for the warning and for giving me a better idea of how to go about helping to improve the article. I still have much to learn regarding the right / wrong way to do things on this site. I apologize for failing to supply a verifiable citation for my edit to your article. I too am a long-time fan of the Zatoichi films. Your article is a very well written reference to the character and films, and is a pleasure to read. I have no desire to change it, however the term "iaido" is not an entirely accurate one. For what it's worth, I have lived in Japan for nearly 30 years and have practiced Iaido here since 1986. I have a much better than average understanding of not only Japanese swordsmanship, but of the specific terms used in the language as well. My aim was simply to provide a more accurate term for his specific technique, one which is used repeatedly in the Japanese dialog of the films. "Iaijutsu" would be a better choice than "iaido", but even that is misleading in regard to Zatoichi's "iai-giri" (fast-draw) technique, a means of self-defense he learned out of necessity, rather than a style of swordsmanship a professional warrior of that period would have been trained in. Unfortunately there is no redirect for the Japanese term "居合切り" (iai-giri), as a page does not yet exist for it. My first serious contribution to this site will be to create one.

In "Zoku - Zatoichi Monogatari" ('62), at 0:03:56-58 into the film, one of the three men whose leader was cut on the face with his own sword as he tossed Zatoichi out of the boat comments, "Iai-giri no meijin ka nan daka shiranei ga..." (loosely translated: "I'm not sure but he may be an iai-giri expert"). I'm not certain if this qualifies as a citation (perhaps you can give me an example of what kind of citation is required), but it does prove that it is a specific term used in the film in reference to his sword-drawing technique. If I am successful in creating a new redirect page for this term, perhaps you would consider adding it to your article.

In the interest of promoting a better understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture, I would like to assist by providing any interesting and/or pertinent details that will serve that end. I have additional bits of information gleaned from the films regarding Zatoichi's background that might be of interest to you, and I would enjoy discussing them with you sometime at your convenience. Thank you for taking the time to consider it.

Please feel free to visit my still-under-construction user page. I look forward to hearing from you again. --AoimeNoKenshi (talk) 15:06, 17 January 2012 (UTC)