At a university symposium on budō some years ago, I was sitting beside Meik Skoss during a lecture on the subject of the 13th century scroll, the “Burning of the Sanjo Palace,” given by an Asian Art professor who knew a great deal about Asian art, but nothing whatsoever about historical Japanese martial arts or the culture of the bushi. The professor pointed out a detail of the luridly illustrated scroll, a warrior who was, she noted, “clutching a couple of the heads of his victims.” Quietly Meik said to me, “They’re not ‘victims.’ They’re enemies.”
