Blood oath

We knew the blood oath is coming from the start. 

It is to tie that bound Ronin together for a purpose, sign their names and pressing a bleeding fingertip to a document. 

What we didn't know was how important or significant this scene will be by script. It has changed sometime, so we could start make the outside (scroll style) but not inside ... is it supposed to be signed by each individuals or Oishi just made it before hand for everyone only to pressing their fingers?

Either way I had to figure out how it looks like.

Here's one example. Title on the very right hand side, and explaining what this document about, date, people's name underneath. And to who from whom

Above is an another example with more names on left. Because they had similar names often (the ending of names sounds quite same) it looks  as if they've got some sort of marks under their names.

All the documents were written in very confident and fluent hand writings. Considering there wasn't any other method to write, I assume everyone get used to how to handle brushes. Still I can admire them as the art works although they were just the some official papers.

Back then if you were born in a proper family you are destined to go to the private classes like above to learn many things. Ronins were ex-samurai, they supposed to have done some decent educations. Oishi was particularly a big shot in the house. His writing you can see still as records are very confident and serene in a way.

The actors were all trained for sword fighting and horse riding from the start but they decided to do some calligraphy training, too for thirty minutes while their lunch break. Shooting schedule for Blood Oath signing was set in Budapest so a class took place there in March 2011.

All of us, Japanese do experience some brush Japanese calligraphy in a first school. It is a must, and I think its good to keep it that way. We all have to know the feelings even we don't like it in the end. Because of these experiences, I did not need to explain too much about tools or how it works for Japanese actors. Kai had no clue. And we've got 30 min.