Temple turned 50 on Wednesday with a revelation about what's in the parcel that the swordsman carries around with him. Although many readers believed it to be metaphor, this is actually from the Hagakure - which is one of the books that I bought with x-mas money, and translates to "In the Shadow of Leaves." It's a series of 300 quotes from a 1700s retired samurai who became a Buddhist monk. It helped me better understand what a samurai is and how they think, and this is one of their perceptions - that their swords are their souls.

Check out the pages, and enjoy!

Chapter 4.10