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  • Black Belt Magazine

    The Sword Behind the Smile

    Nov 26, 2019 3 minutes
    BY DAVE LOWRY

    THINKING ABOUT THESE figures of speech, I remembered one that I heard as a child: umi no uchi no katana, “the sword behind the smile.” This is a curious saying. How should one interpret it? A smile behind the sword would seem obvious in meaning. You are ready, even eager to use the weapon and happy to do so. But the other way around? We associate smiles with politeness and friendliness. The sword hiding behind that seems incompatible.

    Much has been written about the politeness of the Japanese people in general

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