Setsu Nin To · Heavy Tee

The Killing Sword, the Life-Giving Sword. Unisex heavyweight cut. Original shodo on the front, Hokusai's naginata manga on the back.

Setsu Nin To, Katsu Jin Ken — 殺人刀活人剣 — the killing sword, the life-giving sword. The phrase reaches back through the kenjutsu tradition to a single observation: the sword that ends a fight and the sword that prevents one are the same blade. Skill decides which.

The front carries my original shodo of the phrase. The back carries Hokusai's naginata manga from his sketchbooks published in the early 1800s — naginata being the polearm a woman of a samurai household trained with to defend the home.

It's a quiet shirt. It only speaks to people who know what the kanji says.

Materials
6oz heavy cotton, unisex crew. Discharge printed. Hand finished in Methow, WA.