Tom Cruise talks about “The Last Samurai”

Japanese sword ‘Katana’ etiquette

One of the things that have many unique etiquettes and traditions is dealing with the Japanese sword or “Katana.”

When wearing the sword, many of the traditions have to be followed. The blade edge is always facing upwards when held in the summarize belt or “Obi”. The sword is always worn on the left side of the body. This way you can reach with the right and fully draw across the body with one single stroke as the left-hand pull the scabbard or “Saya” back and out of the way.

A few things that most people do not realize about sword etiquette. Japan to this day still follows many of the same traditions in their everyday life. They drive on the left side of the road. Why? Imagine samurai with their swords on the left side. They are now walking down a narrow hallway in a castle. They come towards each other and are walking to the right.

Should they need to draw their sword, the wall to the right would impede their draw across the body. If they were walking on the left side, they would be able to make a full cut across towards their enemy. They have also this etiquette to this day when driving or passing one another. You pass people going in opposite directions while walking to the left. Just as you drive on the left side of the road. In more modern times, Japan also took their driving from the British. Britain helped Japan after the Meiji restoration to develop its railway and automobile system. The British way of driving to the left fit very well in with the Japanese samurai ideals.

Wondering how our favorite movie star and award-winning actor, Tom Cruise, was dealing with his handedness in the movie “Last Samurai.”

Could the talented actor be good with his left just as he with his right, or is he strictly left-handed? Sometimes, we ignore these details even as movie fans. However, it is essential to know this to gauge how Tom Cruise has been pulling those stunts in his movies.

Yes. Tom Cruise is left-handed, but he is also ambidextrous. While he acts most of his movies with his right hand, the star has revealed that he is left-handed, and he discovered this as a child. Keep reading to learn more about Tom’s life as a southpaw in Hollywood and beyond.

Just like most southpaws, Tom did not get off easily for being left-handed. Born in a time when it was considered abnormal to be left-handed, the 57-year-old movie star faced some challenges in school. He has stated that his teachers did not cut him any slack. He was always forced to write with his right hand even though he would rather write with his left. He could not differentiate his left hand from his right hand, and this made things difficult for him.

Apart from being naturally left-handed, Tom could hardly concentrate in school. He battled with undiagnosed dyslexia until age 7. As a result, he struggled with getting good grades and had to take remedial lessons to meet up. In his own words, “I had to focus if I wanted to graduate,… I really had to listen to what the teachers were saying.”

Being left-handed has helped Tom in his career. Tom had to master a challenging blade work, the two-handed daisho blade work, for the movie, The Last Samurai. His ability to use his left hand made it less challenging. It was still demanding as he had to spend 8 months learning the blade work to portray the character correctly. He obviously nailed this role as can be seen in the movie.

He looked back at the movie and said “the character was really challenging. I needed every bit of the months before shooting and every bit of the months during shooting to get to the character and work on it. Definitely, the physical aspects of it were…In the beginning, I just thought, “How am I going to do this?” I didn’t tell anybody that (laughing). I told Ed Zwick, the director, “Oh, I can do that. Don’t worry about it. I can do that.” But I just knew I had to be very, very disciplined about preparing for it. But also, the physical transition and the character development at the same time, I just kept diaries while I was doing that. I knew that things were going to change and I was constantly looking for the character.”

The Surprising Reason Why Samurai All Had to be Right Handed

Being part of the unique 10% of the world’s population that is left-handed also comes with some benefits. For an actor, it helps win over left-handed fans across the globe. Some of his supporters have shared their excitement about the fact that Tom is a member of the southpaw gang on Twitter. It is always lovely to see that you share something in common with a celebrity you adore.

Being left-handed has not hindered Tom Cruise from getting to the peak of his career. If anything, it has helped him in his career. We would like to believe that it takes some left arm strength to pull some of the stunts he does flawlessly in his movies. Thus, being left-handed is a strong point and not a weak point for the actor.

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