Tensei Shite High Elf ni Narimashitaga, Slow Life wa 120-nen de Akimashita - Highelf with a Long Life - Vol. 9 Ch. 41

[sotokouya]

In the same way they did for Mushishi

was about to point this out holy shit, likeminded

 

[mbos14]

The story to us. You will cry and you will come back for more.

 

[Deathhappens]

I really like that he lost that fight.

I like it thematically but I really wish they'd actually explain  why he lost. First of all, Aesir's still in his physical prime while Shizuki is, at best, middle aged. Secondly, he claims he lost because Shizuki trained harder, but Aesir literally spent... a decade, I think? Doing nothing but studying martial arts under a hermit in Not!China. All they had to do is clarify that the bout is strictly using Yosogi-ryu techniques and it would make much more sense.

 

[Deathhappens]

Glorious nippon steel.

Made from the shittiest iron sand, since they didn't have access to surface-level iron ore deposits.

Folded 1000 times, since they couldn't figure out the Bessemer process to add carbon content, literally brute forcing charcoal dust.

I'm sure if they could make wootz steel they would have used broadswords instead.

The end result might be that, but your chain of thinking is wrong.

Japan DID have swords other than katana (like the chokuto mentioned in this chapter). Their poor quality iron deposits and peculiar forging techniques to salvage what they can work the same way regardless of what kind of blade they're making with it. If they had access to better iron deposits or forging techniques to make better quality steel, they would use them to make actual armor, which would THEN mean that the katana (a relatively light single-edged blade primarily meant for slashing) might be replaced with thicker blades with stronger spines and points for thrusting through gaps in armor.