The name Raikiri comes from a story about famous samurai Tachibana Dōsetsu (立花道雪, 22 April 1513 - 2 November 1585). Tachibana was in possession of a famous sword called Chidori (千鳥, A Thousand Birds). One day, while he was still a young man, he was taking shelter under a tree, as it was raining. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck him. However, Tachibana used his Chidori to cut the Thunder God inside the lightning bolt, allowing him to survive. After this incident, he renamed his Chidori to Raikiri (雷切, Lightning Cutter).