Chances are you've probably seen it before. There as a clash between two characters. One (typically the "bad guy") has a gun, the other (usually the hero) has a sword. Logically you'd think you know who would really win this fight, but as any anime fan will tell you, in anime the guy with the sword always wins. In fact, it's almost an inside joke with anime fans. Some shrug this off as one of those silly quirks of anime, but if you know a bit about Japanese history, it tends to make a bit more sense.

Looking throughout the history of Japan we have to go to the Sengoku Period. Sengoku translates to "country at war". During this time Japan was in it's most volatile state it had probably ever seen. Many different clans clashed in a struggle to name one of their own as Shogun: the supreme military dictator of Japan. During this time the mainstay of the Japanese army was the samurai. Samurai were a class, and were expected to follow family traditions in warfare. A samurai was taught from early childhood the way of Bushido - the way of the warrior. A samurai was expected to dedicate his life to honing his abilities so that he could serve his master dutifully and without question fight until the very end, and die if need be. Realistically this wasn't always the case, as even samurai are human, but training a lifetime gave the samurai nerves of steel and intense dedication. Samurai came in many different forms, and wielding many different weapons. There were those who used the 'Yari' or spear, some who were archers, and even those who rode on horseback. The true weapon of a samurai however, was the sword - the katana. Samurai prized their katana above all else, often treating the swords themselves superstitiously, and occasionally naming them. The katana themselves were weapons of superior quality compared to that of weapons anywhere else in the world. The technology involved in making these swords was quite advanced, making the blades light, and unmatched in their durability. In fact this is why the Japanese tended not to use shields like their counterparts in Europe. The sword was so strong that it was more effective to parry, than block with a cumbersome shield of sorts, and it was rather rare for a katana to break.

This began to change however around the year 1543 when the Portuguese landed in Japan. The Portuguese brought 2 things with them. The first was Christianity. Immediately the Portuguese set out building churches, and sending out missionaries to spread the word of God. This had the unfortunate side effect of dividing Japan religiously to some extent, giving rise to disputes over religion, and adding yet another reason for clans to fight against one another. The second thing the Portuguese brought with them were guns. The Japanese were to some extent familiar with gunpowder - the Chinese had invented it after all, and they were right across the water, but until this time guns did not play a big part in Japanese warfare.

The main difference in the gun was that it was practical, and extremely easy to use. Training in archery required dedication, and years of training. Even if the arrow were true to this mark, at longer distances there is a fair chance the arrow will be deflected if the foe is armored. In contrast a gun is easy to train with. More or less, you simply load it, point it at the appropriate trajectory and shoot it. It wasn't so much that it was easy to train someone with a gun, its more that you could pretty much train ANYONE to use them. The most effective people to train were of course the peasants. Peasants had always played a part in Japanese warfare, they were usually poorly equipped, poorly trained, and had a knack for running away when the battle didn't look so good - all of which attributed to them being looked down upon. But training peasants to fire guns is fairly easy, and much more cost effective to whoever funded the army. The weapons themselves were very inaccurate, and took up to 30 seconds to reload. When you probably can't hit anything over 100 meters, 30 seconds can be a long time during a charge. The way this was overcome was to fire large volleys of bullets at the enemy. When large number of bullets fly at the enemy, chances are someone is going to get hit. Eventually the Japanese figured out the strategy of firing in sets, where some men fire, while others reload - thus cutting down on the large gap between reloads. Still, should fighting come to close quarters, the gun became useless. An army of samurai in close quarters with an army of peasants with guns will tear the peasants to shreds easily.

The Japanese have, and always will hold the samurai in high esteem. Samurai are the knights of old who hold honor above all else, and firmly believe in what they do. Opposing this view the image of just anyone with a gun isn't quite as glamorous in its imagery. Yet as the gun evolved, the sword simply could not compete, and eventually fell out of use entirely in combat. Yet even during World War II, only officers were allowed the honor of carrying a sword, as they were expected to be leaders and of higher caliber than the troops they commanded. In sentimentality, the katana is the embodiment of the samurai. The samurai who compete in a contest to the death, where the training, skill, speed, and cunning will decide who is the better man, and who will live, and who will die. In contrast the gun is a rather honorless weapon, where it is more often who shoots first who wins the fight, and eventually evolving into a weapon where you may not even see the face of the man you shoot. Anime is of course going to take the more romantic route, where the fighter who spent his life in dedication will surely win over someone who just happens to wield a gun. Realistic? Probably not. But of course it makes it more exciting and appealing to think that a man (or woman) can be so skilled with a sword as to best someone with a gun. And that is why the blade will always beat the bullet.