“The swordsmith was no mere artisan, but an inspired artist and his workshop a sanctuary. Daily he commenced his craft with prayer and purification, or, as the phrase was, 'he committed his soul and spirit into the forging and tempering of the steel.' Every swing of the sledge, every plunge into water, every friction on the grindstone, was a religious act of no slight import. Was it the spirit of the master or of his tutelary god that cast a formidable spell over our sword?” - INAZO NITOBE