Why Chiburui (Blood Shake) is Meaningless

At the end of a Kata of Iai/Kenjutsu, there’s this motion called the Chiburui which means “blood shake.” However, as many people discuss, these movements are insufficient to remove blood from the blade. Then why do most Ryuha styles have these movements?

1. A form of Zanshin
2. A ritual of Shintoism

By performing the Chiburui, you are bringing the tip of the katana toward the opponent to prepare for another attack. In Japanese Budo martial arts, maintaining awareness even after defeating an opponent is called “Zanshin.” However, some Chiburui do not involve pointing the tip of the sword at the opponent. In such cases, there may be a religious significance. In Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, blood is considered impure. Therefore, Chiburui can also mean purifying the blood-stained katana before sheathing it. However, with over a hundred Ryuha of iai, so not everything fits into these two reasons. What are your thoughts? Please let me know in the comments.

*The content is based on personal studies and experience
There is no intention of denying other theories and cultural aspects

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[TarheelSamurai]

I've read somewhere and like the idea that you're actually absolving yourself from any guilt of harm that you've done. As if the flicking away motion is a form of saying "you brought this upon yourself ( to your opponent), and I am free from any bad karma associated with having to harm you.

[peteengard]

I had read years ago that it was kind of like a salute to the fallen opponent. A kind of respect.

[exander]

In the ryuha I practice, the chiburi is entirely about returning to a defensive posture after downing an opponent, though not only to defend against the downed opponent, but also to defend against other potential opponents. In the full version of our kata, we do actually clean our swords with a paper or rag.

[stankim]

In Katori shinto ryu we do chiburui to shake off hairs, particles of skin, bone, etc, after we slashed the opponent's head with Men strike, for example.

[danielrevelo]

You ALWAYS got the drip! Absolute elegant gentleman 💜

[bigbrowntau]

I find the chiburi from kata #1 great for getting water off kitchen knives! But seriously, I think there's been a multitude of reasons in the past, but now it's just part of the kata.

[sorryitsmoops]

In Karate every Kata I did had zanshin at the end, makes total sense for that being the wide-spread reason.

[michaelmortal]

So glad to see you back making videos Shogo-san! :D Thanks for all your hard work covering fascinating topics about Japanese culture like this! I would love to see a video of your thoughts on Roanoa Zoro's mythical Santoryu Three Sword Style (from One Piece) or any of his moves for that matter! I know it's anime and obviously not realistic but I still think it could make a cool video. XD Similar to how Uncle Roger reviewed Sanji's cooking!

[_salto__]

my thoughts are that your katana is a masterpiece

[civilwildman]

Shogo knows what he’s talking about. I trust his words without a doubt.

[mouthyschannel]

It could even just be a form of transition from one purpose to the other. Like if you’re done with a fight, you might shake yourself off or roll your joints which is a motion that signifies going from an active combat phase to warming down.

[estamnar]

I always thought it looked more like a salute than any kind of practical reason, but I could see it being a "formalization" of a soldier wiping his blade before sheatheing.

[beati_kay]

i heard someone describing it as clearing your conscience

[terjes]

Also to stab the defeated opponent if he moves. As my sensei has corrected me on several times

[jangtheconqueror]

"Unagi, I'm always aware" -Ross Geller

[rpbuck]

In the rather informal tradition I trained in, our Sensei taught that chiburi, a pause before noto for various reasons, was _symbolic_ of the stage of cleaning the blade. The actual motion itself wasn't intended to be practical.

[Tik_Tak]

I forget the names of them, but I think it’s to make sure the bamboo pins holding the grip to the tang are not broken, ensuring the sword can still be used without worry.

[Imdippinout]

It also sets you up for an easier seething motion. Probably not the point but you can't help but notice how convenient it is.

[lawrencewilliams]

From my studies, I’ve concluded its has a spiritual significance. No different than throwing salt before sumo matches.

[rofbad]

And also you can check your enemy if its still breathing or not with that move