LOCAL HERO Hiroji Akatsuka of Morristown in his yard, where he and his family practice swordplay. Mr. Akatsuka was cleared of wrongdoing when Bungee County Sheriffs determined he was acting in self defense.

(Morristown, MISSISSIPPI) Bungee County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a 911 message that said simply, “I have just defended my home and my family from an intruder. I believe that the intruder is dead.”

Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find Morristown resident Hiroji Akatsuka in his yard with his family. Mr. Akatsuka handed the deputies a bloodied sword as they approached.

“He said, ‘You’re probably going to need this as evidence,’” said Deputy Tom Goodall, a 20-year veteran with the BCSD.

The scene inside the home was something Goodall was unprepared for. On the living room floor was a dead man, headless, in a pool of blood. The man’s head, still with a ski mask on it, was lying in the hallway.

Mr. Akatsuka was held for questioning and released after a crime-scene investigation revealed that the deceased was in fact intruding and had stolen property on his person. The deceased was identified as Roland “Lucky” Patterson, 29, a drifter with a criminal record.

“It’s self defense,” said Sheriff Bernie Johnson, “Mr. Akatsuka has a right, just as anyone else, to defend his residence against attack. The fact that he chose to defend himself with a sword is different, of course, but we’ve had these cases before. Usually the intruder gets shot though.”

Mr. Akatsuka is an anti-gun control advocate. He said he purchased his samurai sword at the Kingdom Realm Shoppe in the Morristown Mall. He also owns several rifles and other side arms.

“I’m Second Amendment all the way,” said Akatsuka, “But I can read the writing on the wall. It won’t be long before the government is taking away all the firearms in the interest of reducing crime or controlling terrorism. That’s a crock and everyone knows it. Look at Switzerland. In that country everyone is required to own a gun and the crime there is so low they don’t even record it!”

“But really,” says Akatsuka, “The gun was a cowardly invention. It took the skill out of fighting. In the old days, be it Japan or France or England or the Middle East, a warrior used a sword. If they take away all the guns, I will still have a sword. I guess.”

The Akatsuka family regularly practices swordplay in their yard on this rural road. Mr. Akatsuka gets together with other local sword enthusiasts on a regular basis, many of whom act in regional Renaissance pageants. Hiroji says he has been preparing for this time and believes that someday his legally registered guns will be confiscated.

“Every great society in history eventually becomes imperialistic. Then they become totalitarian. The key to totalitarianism is a disarmed population. The Constitutional Framers understood this inherently and provided the Second Amendment. Switzerland understood this and they were not attacked in either World War I or II. Hitler was afraid of those people, every single one of them with a gun.”

Akatsuka laughs as he explains that it’s just history unfolding. He knows there is little to do to stop the tide of technology and aggression, but remains committed to the old ways.

“The evolution of warfare has progressed to the point that a ship can sit 400 miles away and lob precision munitions into specified targets. Where is the honor in that? I want to see my opponent, and you should’ve seen the look in this guy’s eyes when I went for his neck with my sword.”