Yamato’s blows reigned down on Jack and there it was – Yamato’s mistake. He had stepped too close while winding up for a reverse cut and Jack side-slipped and struck him forcefully across the belly.

‘YAME!’ called the official as Yamato crumpled to the floor, the crowd emitting a loud mix of applause and jeering. ‘Point to Niten Ichi Ryū!’

It was now match point.

The next encounter would decide the Taryu-Jiai. No one dared breathe. The Butokuden became quieter than a temple. Masamoto and Kamakura had both frozen in anticipation, like stone gods upon their thrones.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stretch and Jack and Yamato became locked in an unseen battle, each seeking for the other’s first move in their minds. They moved in slow synchronized steps, mirroring each other’s stances, raising their bokken as one and levelling their kissaki.

‘Hajime!’ announced the official.

Their bokken clashed. Almost as if they were dancing, their feet swept past one another, parries met strikes, strikes met parries, then as one they spun on their heels and brought their weapons round for the kill.

Their arms collided, bokken striking simultaneously at one another’s necks.

‘Draw!’ shouted the official in astonishment.

Their eyes continued the fight. They were still the same boys who had fought on the little bridge at Hiroko’s house in Toba, but neither could deny that they were now equally matched in skill.

Confusion reigned amongst the students. Could there be a draw in a Taryu-Jiai? Of course not! How would the ultimate winner be decided then? The official called for calm.

Jack and Yamato only stood down when the official stepped in between them. The official then hurried over to Masamoto and Kamakura and began to converse in hushed grave tones.

The whole crowd craned their necks, hopeful of catching a word of what was being said.

After several minutes’ intense discussion, the official scurried back to the centre of the dojo.

‘Samurai of the Niten Ichi Ryū! Samurai of the Yagyu-Ryū!’ he announced with great pomp and ceremony. ‘By the power invested in me by the Imperial Court, the Rite of the Jade Sword has been invoked.’

The crowd exploded in an uproar and the official was almost hoarse from shouting by the time he managed to regain control.

‘As deemed by Emperor Kammu, the father of Kyoto, the Rite of the Jade Sword can be invoked upon the occasion of a draw in a Taryu-Jiai. It has been agreed that the samurai who retrieves the Jade Sword from the Sound of Feathers waterfall and presents the sword to the founder of their school will be deemed the champion. We will commence the rite in four sticks of time outside the Buddha Hall.’

The crowd broke up in feverish excitement.

The Rite of the Jade Sword had not been invoked for over a hundred years. There had not been any need. In living memory, no schools had ever drawn.