This is the ancient Chinese symbol for "heart". Today, in Japan, the character is now "心" (kokoro) also meaning "heart". However, in the day of the samurai, while the modern character was being taught to students in the classroom, the ancient character was still being taught in dojos of the sword...
The strokes go from left to right:
The first stroke of the sword is the biggest of the three. Starting from a standstill, when an opponent is in what is known as "chudon" stance (mid-stance) you begin by circling the tip of your sword around theirs while slowly gaining forward momentum.
Once you've found their center, a quick snap up throws the opponent's sword tip flying off guard, exposing their head. This is the second stroke (the mid-sized stroke in the middle). In practice, one wants to explode forward in perfect synchronization of this stroke.
The third and final stroke is the killing blow and the smallest and most powerful of the three strokes. The final stroke on the far right is a quick, accurate, killing strike to the head. One must be charging at full speed by the time the stroke is executed to obtain full power to kill your opponent.
The symbol also looks like a heart.
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