Articles and Essays
Essays and notes on some of the philosophical and technical topics related to the practice of Shinkage Heihō.
31 July 2026: Yamada Ippūsai Mitsunori (山田一風斎光徳) studied Jikishin Seitō-ryū and then began a study of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū heihō in a faction of the Edo line of that art. Later in life he returned to his first training, and eventually inherited that line of practice.
14 July 2026: Summarizing Karukome's analysis of the content of two Edo period Jikishinkage-ryū transmission documents.
14 July 2026: Using NDL cursive OCR models Waseda University Jikishinkage-ryū densho holdings allows us to better gloss commentaries in cursive script as well as small block character notes.
2 June 2026: Sōjaku-no-koto (相尺之事; mutual distance or measure) is one of the formal matters listed in historical mokuroku of Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu. We examine its relationship to Sino-Japanese philosophical concepts.
1 June 2026: Detail of Hassō Happa from the 1800 Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū Hōjō densho of Naganuma Tadasato, copied by Ogawa Yashichi, its place in Hōjō swordsmanship, and how the eight phases may relate to the eight extremes of Daoist Huainanzi geography.
30 May 2026: Discussion of kodachi and habiki practice in Jikishinkage-ryū Seito-ha as informed by an examination of Saitō Akinobu (1901) Gokui Kyōju Zukai, explaining brief oral teachings.
26 May 2026: A brief discussion of the seasonal mappings of kata in Jikishinkage-ryū kenjutsu and how those relate to Daoist complementarity, five phase theory, and partially to Mikkyō concepts.
23 April 2026: Reflections on researching and writing about inner principles of Japanese swordsmanship and relating those back to philosophical topics.
15 December 2024: Text on Jikishinkage-ryū Hōjō (foundational) swordsmanship, provided for reference based on Jikishinkage-ryū Sōhonbu and Hōbyōkan material. This is typically chanted or recited before performance of the Hōjō kata of Jikishinkage-ryū.
