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Traditional beheading in old Japan.
In the movie "The Last Samurai", Katsumoto helps his unfortunate friend General Hasegawa commit seppuku by chopping his head off. The head is shown - from a respectable distance, thank God - rolling away from the body.
A friend of mine who has spent some time training in Japan - in another martial art - insists that this scene is inaccurate. He says that the tradition was that the neck was cut only half way so that the body could later be buried in one piece.
Now, I know that nowadays, a film director will do careful and extensive research before presenting a movie about a foreign culture.
So what is the definitive answer to this question?
I would also like to clarify something else. When presenting a katana or a bokken to someone - Sensei, sempai, kohai, whoever - with both hands, it just seems to me that the right way is to make sure that the sharp edge of the blade is facing me, and away from the recipient. I asked Sensei, and he is not sure about that. So is this detail important, and if yes, what is the correct way to present a sword?
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