At the start of the Iweko Dynasty, ranged combat was an essential aspect of all samurai training but was still considered largely secondary to the perfection of the art of melee combat (especially with the sword). In the era of the Celestial Empire, however, the balance between the two has largely reversed. Ranged combat is now an absolutely essential component of all forms of warfare, and of course the only means of combat when conducting fleet actions against enemies in space. However, the sacred status of melee combat still exists. Every samurai still carries a katana and wakizashi, the sacrosanct symbols of the samurai caste. The essential techniques used to fight with these weapons remains the same, but the materials and technology used to create them have changed dramatically, resulting in weapons that would seem godlike to the samurai of ancient Rokugan. Even an average samurai now carries a blade of steel encased in an aura of radiant energy, and the wealthiest and highest ranking members of the samurai class wield blades forged from the metals found in the heart of collapsed stars, their incredible mass offset by magical blessings which make them as light as the average sword. 

    As weaponry has advanced with the development of metallurgy and the harnessing of radiant energy, so too has armor been forced to advance in order to maintain its usefulness. Ironically, the armor most widely used during the days of the Celestial Empire is only as successful at stopping melee attacks as it was in millennia past, but the ceremony of utilizing it remains. Most armor is composed of astonishingly thin layers of blended metals and ceramics, and often feels no heavier or more restrictive than a particularly heavy cloth. However, it is also encased in a field of radiant energy, making it more likely to deflect a direct shot or a katana blow. This alone is part of the reason why melee combat is still a part of Rokugani warfare, since ranged weapons are not guaranteed a kill against properly equipped samurai.