Chapter 583 - Katana Appraisal (1/2)
Until the last day, Zhang Heng still failed to decide which katana to bring back to the real world. After thinking for a long time, he decided it would be better to consult a professional. So, he brought his Kiku-ichimonji, Juzumaru, and the unknown katana given by Akane Koyama to Kyoto’s most famous sword house. He had been here to admire their katana before, and he also told the shopkeeper to reserve all the famous katana for him, so the manager and shopkeeper knew who he was.
When they saw him entering the shop, smiles instantly appeared on their faces. “Abe-sama, we don’t have any new katana today. What brings you here?”
Zhang Heng handily gave the little monk five cents to open the door, causing the latter to grin almost to the back of his head.
“Ah, I am not here to buy katana today. I want to look for someone to appraise a few katana.”
The shop manager and the shopkeeper looked at each other and laughed.
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Heng asked. “It’s a coincidence that you are here today. The boss is usually not in the store, and I don’t know why he came here early today, but this is an excellent opportunity! He knows all kinds of swords in the world. From the works of famous swordsmiths to the weapons made by ordinary blacksmiths, he can identify their origin with a glance!” “Is he that good?” Zhang Heng was a little surprised.
“If you have any questions about a katana or sword, just ask him. Of course, you have to make sure that your blade is good enough to capture his attention.”
“Don’t worry about that. Please lead me to him.”
“Come with me.” The store manager took Zhang Heng to a tea room behind the katana house.
A thin old man could be seen making tea there.
“This guest here hopes you can appraise his katana for him.” The shop manager bowed at the thin man.
“Thank you,” he replied, nodding in thanks. The shop manager then exited the house. The old man pointed to the tatami on the ground. When Zhang Heng saw it, he bowed and sat down. During the Tokyo Drift quest, he had spent some time in j.a.pan. At that time, etiquette was not as important, and he could sit as he pleased.
Since Zhang Heng was in a different era, he realized that he had to learn the traditional j.a.panese sitting style. The toe joints were stretched as far as possible, the instep and calves were placed on a flat surface, where the heel and toes were used as support. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and it was said that this sitting posture resembled corporal punishment in China.
However, according to the history of China, it seemed like no one sat like that anymore.
The boss did not talk about helping Zhang Heng to appraise his katana. Fortunately, Zhang Heng was not in a hurry. Since there was still half a day left before the quest came to an end, he just sat there and watched the old man make tea.
The j.a.panese tea ceremony was divided along two main lines-matcha and sencha. In fact, both originated from China, where matcha was from the Tang Dynasty, and sencha was from the Ming and Qing dynasties. When they were pa.s.sed down to j.a.pan, they were furthered developed and improved. It was said that the earliest tea seeds were brought back to j.a.pan by those who studied in China during the Nara era.
Sen-no-Rikyū was a master, and his Wakei Seijaku had a great influence on the later generations.
The boss had obviously studied the quintessence of Wakei Seijaku. He lit the charcoal and boiled the water in one go. Then, he warmed the bowl, poured the hand-ground tea powder into the bowl, added some hot water, and stirred the tea with a chasen until bubbles started to form. Intricate and graceful, it was not unlike an art performance. Finally, the tea was poured into two bowls. This was matcha.
Zhang Heng took one of the boss’s bowls and pointed at its pattern to show his grat.i.tude.
He then took a sip but couldn’t taste the difference.
“You are very patient,” the boss showed a smile on his skinny face as if he could see right through Zhang Heng’s mind. He then shook his head, “Let’s talk about the katana.”