https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-As...s/2-Have-it-Stop-/2-Have-it-Stop--236131.html
Iwata: You mean the sword is something you use to swing to defeat enemies, but now youre able to hold it still mid-air, and use it for other things. Whose idea was it that you could be able to hold the sword still?
[...]
Fujibayashi: I remember it clearly. All of a sudden, in the middle of the night, Miyamoto-san called us in and said
After he suggested stopping the sword, he said... At first, I think that the two ideas were separate in Miyamoto-sans head, but I could tell as I listened that when he suggested stopping the sword, then he hit on the sword beam, and the two joined together at that moment
[...]
Iwata: Skyward because you hold it up toward the sky, but I hear that there is a deeper meaning to it as well
Thats very interesting. Using Wii MotionPlus, a device that can detect rapid movements to use it for fast-moving gameplay is one thing. I thought the person who thought of stopping the sword as a form of play was incredible, and it was Miyamoto-san who suggested it.
Fujibayashi: Yes
Iwata: Thats a bit galling, I suppose. (laughs)
Fujibayashi, Kobayashi, and Tanaka: Oh, yes.
Aonuma: Argh... I wish I had thought of it!
Everyone: (laughs)