It’s a chilly evening in Emeryville, where half-a-dozen martial arts students at a community center are practicing with katana. They kneel, jump and slash, then slowly mimic wiping blood off their ...

NEW HAVEN >> Mention “samurai” and swords come to mind, or possibly the epic miniseries “Shogun” with Richard Chamberlain, or perhaps John Belushi’s classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Samurai ...

chronicles the history of the samurai sword, which dates back to before the 10 th century. outlines the several-stage manufacturing process of making the katana, Japan's legendary samurai sword.

In Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 movie Kill Bill: Volume 1, vengeful assassin The Bride (Uma Thurman) seeks a sword from the legendary swordsmith Hattori Hanzō (Sonny Chiba). “I need Japanese steel,” she ...