血(chi) literally means blood. 振 (buri or burui) on the other hand can mean shake, wave, wag, swing and even flick depending on the context. In the Japanese sword art of iaido it is the ceremonial method one uses to ‘remove’ blood from the sword. This motion is done towards the end of every kata before nōtō (resheathing the blade back into the saya (scabbard)). In many classic chanbara (Samurai Cinema) it is often graphically illustrated by drawing an artistic blood splatter line on the tatami (floor mat). Recently, Quentin Tarantino in his Kill Bill movies brought this imagery to western audiences.
Chiburi has a variety of forms, O-chiburi with its large circular motion, yoko chiburi with its horizontal movement to the side, and even kaiten chiburi where the sword is spun and the tsuka struck are just a few examples. Regardless of its appearance, chiburi is an integral part of almost all iaido kata. There are physical, economical and spiritual reasons for its existence.
The physical act of performing chiburi will remove the majority of the blood from the blade . In reality chiburi will never completely remove the blood off the blade. Blood is viscous and some will always adhere to the blade. If the ultimate goal is to clean the blade, chinugui should be practiced in addition to chiburi. Chinugui is the act of wiping the blood from the blade with a cloth, paper or even the fingers before nōtō. A small towel or kaishi paper neatly tucked inside the front of one’s kimono could serve this function but in a pinch you could even use your hakama.
If the blood is not removed from the blade it will end up contaminating the saya and eventually rusting the blade. Blood is a highly oxygenated saline electrolyte with a pH of around 7.4 consisting primarily of a pale yellow sticky liquid called plasma. Any residual blood left on the blade will coat the inside of a saya. Once fouled there is no-way to clean it and the contaminated spots will rust the blade adjacent to them. The only solution is to have a new saya custom made, which can be very costly. If blood is not removed from the blade it will deteriorate the hamon in hours and rust the metal within a day. A rusty blade is even more expensive to remedy, estimate are in the range of $100/inch to polish a blade.
Finally, chiburi should be thought of as a purifying action. The time between chiburi and nōtō is a manifestation of zanshin. A state of total awareness and understanding. If the sword is truly the ‘soul of the samurai’ as Tokugawa Ieyasu remarked you surely would want to keep it clean well maintained. The act of performing chiburi has meaning. It begins the final act in a kata’s one act play. It is the final curtain call of your opponents life.
風柳 剣人 (Kent Krumvieda) Kent has been practicing Muso Shinden Ryu and Toyama Ryu Iaido at the Tanshinjuku Boulder Colorado dojo under Steven Shaw Sensei <http://www.iaidotsj.com/> since 2008.
Iaido Tanshinjuku 