One of the weapons Ghost of Yotei protagonist Atsu wields is the ōdachi, a traditional Japanese sword known for having a much longer blade (ranging from 90cm to 150cm) than a regular katana. Sheathing and unsheathing such a long sword is an art of its own, but in Sucker Punch Studio’s new samurai game, Atsu performs these motions from a very challenging position – carrying the sword on her back. Other-worldly and risky as it may seem, the feat is actually possible in real life (if you happen to be a pro martial artist).
As sword enthusiasts from Japan and around the world have noticed, Atsu carries her ōdachi on her back, and she draws the sword from its scabbard directly from this position, rather than switching it to her hand first. Due to the ōdachi’s length, this requires first pulling the sword up by its handle and then catching it by the back of the blade to pull it all the way out of the scabbard (as seen in the above clip).
Amidst discussion about whether this is simply a clever animation solution or in fact, a feasible technique, Dofu Takizawa, an instructor of the Tenshinryuu martial arts school recently uploaded a video recreating the movement. Takizawa, who is 157cm tall, uses an ōdachi with a 90cm-long blade, weighing 1.5 kilograms. With deceptive ease, he performs the back unsheathing technique, catching the sword by its blade like Atsu. He explains that when he grabs the blade mid-air, he is making contact with the ridge (shinogi) and back (mune), which is why he doesn’t get cut, although the risk of accidentally touching the sharp edge is certainly there.
Due to popular demand, Takizawa also attempted to recreate Yotei’s back sheathing motion, but this part of the game proved to be a bit more idealistic than reality. Impressively, he does get the enormous ōdachi sheathed, but certainly not while standing up straight like Atsu.
If you’re interested in giant video game swords, you might also want to check out this Japanese kendo master’s analysis of the real-life practicality of Sephiroth’s Masamune.
Ghost of Yotei is out now on PS5.
