I watched the Nicholas Cage film “Windtalkers” the other night. In the film, a US soldier gets decapitated by a Japanese officer who snuck up behind him, and chopped off his head with one swing of his “samurai”-type sword. Is this realistic?
The US soldier was standing still when it happened, if it makes a difference
What exactly do you find unrealistic? The japanese soldier sneaking up on the US soldier? Or the actual decapitation?
Any decent cutting sword can decapitate someone. It’s not all that easy to do however, specially with one swift cut. So it’s certainly possible, what I would find harder to believe is that you average japanese soldier received the necessary schooling and practice with a sword to be able to this consistently. It takes skill to cut properly. Maybe he got lucky.
Thanks for your reply. To answer your question re: realism, this was in the header.
I have to admit to a modicum of scepticism about the following:
My father in law was in Japan at the end of WWII (Royal Navy) and was on a wooden dock.
Present also were a Japanese soldier and a dock worker.
The soldier (an officer) took exception to something the dock worker said or did, drew his sword and cut the worker in two at the waist, one half of the body falling on the dock and the other half into the sea.
One single stroke.
My father in law always despised the Japanese, more for this atrocity than anything else (he’d been torpedoed twice by them) and could not be swayed in his opinion.
I am inclined to beleive him as he was never less than truthful but also, having an interest in Japanese swords - which did nothing to endear me to him and was the reason for him telling me this story, the ‘Noble’ blades were tested in the Samurai days by seeing how many prisoners it could cut through in this manner before losing it’s edge.
There is probably as much technique as power and sharpness of edge in completing such an act sucessfully but I presume an officer would probably have the background for it.
What he was doing armed after the capitulation I don’t know though.
Once in Japan I witnessed a sword (made by a master sword maker) cut through steel like a knife through butter. I have no problem believing that a samurai sword could cleanly decapitate somebody with one stroke.
I remember hearing that this guy did behead someone in a sneak attack at a grocery store (depsite the second link saying he almost beheaded someone).
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/06/30/supermarket.killings.ap/
http://www.amiannoying.com/(ofezz055ycejo245d0plq245)/view.aspx?id=9849&collection=4496
You can try to google up more for his name. I’m not coming up with much.
Well that depends…was it Hitori Hanzo steel? 
If it helps any, I believe the swords that were distributed to Japanese officers c. WWII were cheap, mass-produced versions of the classic katana.
So this is less likely than it might be for a classically-trained and armed samurai. But not impossible. Maybe, as Kinthalis says, he got lucky and the edge hit between vertebrae.
Regards,
Shodan
I recall an incident about 15 or 20 years ago in which a teen at a party grabbed a sword (one of those decorator types that you buy off of QVC or some such, not a real sword designed for the job) and decapitated another teen. If a 17 year old drunk kid can decapitate someone with no training and a fake sword, then I’d say its possible for a real soldier with a real sword to do the same thing.