Context:

Tsujigiri (辻斬り or 辻斬, literally "crossroads killing") is a Japanese term for a practice when a samurai, after receiving a new katana or developing a new fighting style or weapon, tests its effectiveness by attacking a human opponent, usually a random defenseless passer-by, in many cases during night time. The practitioners themselves are also referred to as tsujigiri.

The act of tsujigiri against defenceless civilians was widely and socially condemned as immoral, cowardly, and associated with rogue samurais and bandits, and was not considered common or respectable samurai practice. It was made a capital offence by law in 1602 by the Edo government.