Legendary Kenjutsu School

Requirements

Basic Building Statistics

Description

The legendary kenjutsu school allows the recruitment of hero units. It also greatly improves the quality of all sword-armed units recruited here. An experienced unit of katana samurai will always be present to defend their school. Finally, the first clan to construct this legendary school will gain a useful close combat bonus for their units. The correct use of the sword is one of the traditional marks of the samurai warrior class; the other is skill with the bow. A kenjutsu school of this quality is therefore a mark of great honour for a clan, as well as a practical benefit.

Many martial arts, including kenjutsu, the art of swordplay, are based on a set of kata, or codified forms, meaning both moves and stances. These actions help the martial artist learn and perfect his skills in combat, to the point where he no longer has to think about his next move or response to an opponent. A particular school of martial arts can often be distinguished by the kata that it expounds, as well as by its underlying spiritual philosophy.

Iaijutsu, the “art of immediate reaction”, relies almost entirely on kata because its fast-draw sword techniques are usually practiced alone. Apart from anything else, it would be supremely dangerous to practice iaijutsu with a partner unless both participants were supremely skilled. Even then, death or dismemberment would come all too easily.