The Broken Blade & Mizu’s Femininity
It’s Day 4 of @taimizuweek! For the theme of Blades, I thought I’d share my meta about the broken blade and its incredibly rich symbology.
Mizu has two main struggles throughout the series: grappling with 1) her mixed race heritage and 2) her gender and femininity. Her two swords represent and break due to these struggles. Her space sword was brittle since it was too pure, representing Mizu’s inability to accept the strength of mixed metal, which in turn mirrors her inability to accept her mixed race identity. The broken blade snapped since Mizu’s mind was not at peace during the firing of the blade. She had just been confronted by her burgeoning femininity and the dangers associated with it (Chiaki calling her "soft"), leading her to bind her chest too tightly.
The broken blade is thus not only special because it’s the first sword Mizu ever made but also because Mizu sees its imperfection as being a result of her own impurity as a woman disguised as a man.
“The broken blade fits well in your hand,” is thus symbolically a very touching thing for Mizu to say to Taigen, showing the progression of their relationship. When Ringo remarks that the broken blade is a good fit for Taigen, Mizu is initially annoyed that the blade that has so much personal meaning for her is now being wielded artfully by her former bully, who incidentally doesn’t seem to view the blade as defective at all. While Chiaki uses the blade to almost kill Mizu, Taigen uses it to protect her when Okiyama first finds them and also when the arrows are raining down on them. When Mizu gives the blade to Taigen as a surety for their duel, she leaves him with what is the closest to a love letter that we can imagine Mizu writing at this point in the series. She compliments his skills as a swordsman and promises to meet him again to provide him the duel he deserves.
The broken blade also captures some of their relationship dynamics. Taigen awakens a part of Mizu that she has repressed since her marriage—a more vulnerable, even romantic side to her when she lived as a woman. Taigen is the only character that Mizu is completely unfiltered around. She also subtly shows her attraction to him when she takes his scarf in exchange for the blade and wears it around her neck. My guess is that in future seasons we’ll see Taigen trying to revitalize this softer side to Mizu.
The association between the broken blade and their relationship also makes it especially sad when Taigen throws down the blade after calling Mizu a demon and storms off to Edo. He is throwing away the one gift she has given him, one that has much more symbolism than he realizes. It is also poignant when Mizu places the blade into the fire. While she tossed the other items in easily, she pauses with the broken blade, holding it up with a mournful expression on her face before letting it fall into the flames.
Given all of this symbolism, I’m sad that the broken blade won’t be around in Season 2. I wish Taigen could have learned more about its significance to Mizu. But hopefully we get more richly symbolic Taizu items in subsequent seasons!
