I studied several approaches to classical Japanese swordsmanship before moving to Seattle in 2016. Chief among them was an unofficial line of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū maintained at the Hōbyōkan following the teachings of Namiki Yasushi and Itō Masayuki.
Since that time I have continued traditional katageiko, conducted analyses of kata in a process called kuzushi and performed combative pressure testing called tameshi-ai. In doing this, my practice has become increasingly influenced by my continued study of internal martial arts. Time spent making pilgrimage to sacred sites in Japan has refined my thinking, to the point where I feel strongly my approach is something unique.
Visiting sacred places has been an important component of my
martial arts training over the years.
In 2005, while visiting the Gassan Dai Jinja (
Almost twenty years later, I spent time visiting Kyoto and Nara, including the seat of Honzan-ha Shugendō, not far from the Kyoto Budōkan (the site of the Meiji-era Butokukan), the shrines and temples at Kuramadera associated to historical figures such as Yoshitsune and Kiichi Hogen and the Todaiji in Nara. Doing so, I thought deeply about my continued martial practice — should it continue independently or should I try to rectify my Japanese swordsmanship with an existing tradition.
I considered my continued endeavors and came to the realization I needed to focus on continuing to develop my skill at traditional internal martial arts instead of attempting to rectify my Japanese swordsmanship (which had evolved since the pandemic to become increasingly influenced by the former) with existing official lines of practice.
Mindset
The defining aspect of my kenpō is the integration of internal martial arts principles into my practice and also that I was not willing to give up on that path.
I still practice the kata of Jikishinkage-ryū but I want to draw a clear distinction between my own continued practice
and the efforts of others who hold formal lineages of these and related arts.
I maintain a personal practice and not a new line
of transmission — I practice kenpō (
In my training, I emphasize Taoist aspects of the art, including complementarity (yin and yang) and five element theory and draw inspiration from esoteric Buddhism and Shugendō when I view my practice as a form of shugyō:
I have evolved my practice to constrain my expression of kiai to be more akin to the vocalizations found in internal martial arts: flowing from, or aligned with, a movement, rather than driving a movement.
I no longer forcefully coordinate breathing with each movement, but instead keep my breathing relaxed and steady and utilize sophisticated reverse breathing methods from Tàijíquán instead of the ibuki style of breathing often used during traditional aun kokyu. Emphasis is placed on developing a connected body that integrates force with each action in an optimal manner while remaining relaxed and able to adapt suddenly when needed.
Curriculum
I begin with formal katageiko (form practice) that includes methods of walking, cutting,
breathing and foundational methods called Hōjō [
- Hassō Happa (
八相発破 ) - Ittō Ryōdan (
一刀両断 ) - Uten Satten (
右転左転 ) - Chōtan Ichimi (
長短一味 )
Once proficiency is developed with foundations,
an austere set of tactical forms called Tō-no-kata (
- Ryūbi (
龍尾 ) - Menkage (
面影 ) - Teppa (
鉄刃 ) - Matsukaze (
松風 ) - Hayafune (
早舟 ) - Kokushaku (
曲尺 ) - Enren (
圓連 )
Hōjō is practiced in a continuous fashion, modeled after the four seasons, using a heavy Japanese white oak bokken. Enren used to be the fifth kata in Hōjō, making one kata for each Taoist element (Wood, Fire, Metal, Water, and Earth), but was moved to the end of Tō-no-kata by the mid 18th century. Hōjō was likely arranged in its current form by Yamada Ippūsai, who also practiced in the Edo line of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
Tō-no-kata is said to have been developed by Ogasawara Genshinsai after his time spent teaching and training in Ming Dynasty China at the beginning of the Edo period — however, it has evolved since that time due to the efforts of Ippūsai and others.
Hōjō is directly related to the Shinkage-ryū practice called Sangakuen [
We then conduct pressure testing called tameshi-ai.
The use of the small sword called kodachi is then introduced and serves as a point of departure for armored grappling methods called kogusoku.
- Fusei (
風勢 ) - Suisei (
水勢 ) - Kissaki Gaeshi (
切先返 ) - Tsuba Tori (
鍔取 ) - Toppi Oppi (
突非押非 ) - Enkai (
圓快 )
Older versions of the foundational practice are later examined with steel swords called habiki-to.
As I have been fortunate to study other lines of Shinkage-ryū, I am able to preserve variants of core teachings mentioned by Ogasawara in my continued training. I use examples drawn from them as points of departure, as described above, for futher analysis in my exploration of kenjutsu. The precise nature of these explorations are private to my school and are another reason why my kenpō is independent and unique. Over time, the focus of practice increasingly becomes on cultivating a state of mindful austerity called shugyō rather than collecting additional techniques.
While I think I still attempt to cultivate the spirit of
Shinkage-ryū in my kenpō,
I do so independent of official lines of transmission.
In cultivating a more withdrawn approach to my study,
I am reminded that the final level of practice of
Jikishinkage-ryū, called marobashi or marubashi (
The phrase hyakuren jitoku (
End Notes
- My students continue formal Jikishinkage-ryū katageiko in the manner I taught them, which is representative of the practice maintained at the Hōbyōkan in the line of Namiki Yasushi and Itō Masayuki.
- A collected set of works on Shinkage-ryū heihō is available as a book: The Truth of the Calm Spirit: The practice of Shinkage-ryū Heihō as Taoist Internal Alchemy, 2025.
