By Risuke Ōtake
Translated by Daniel Lee
(Editorial Supervision by Alexander Bennett)

Size: 188×127㎜
Paperback
270 pages

A narrative on the extensive martial curriculum and wisdom of the Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-ryu, one of the source traditions of Japanese swordsmanship, from its incumbent master teacher.

Encompasses an introduction to the history, technical curriculum including kenjutsu (swordsmanship), iaijutsu (sword drawing), naginatajutsu (halberd), and shurikenjutsu (throwing spikes), and esoteric / strategic curriculum including hōijutsu (directional divination) and chikujōjutsu (fortifications) of the Katori Shintō-ryū, based on references to its scrolls. Additionally includes the author’s reflections on nearly seventy years of austere training, and illuminates the “art of peace”, the philosophical foundation required of all practitioners.

Contents

Foreword
Preface
Prologue The History of Katori Jingū

Chapter 1 Our History
Section 1 Tenshinshō-den KatoriShintō-ryū —The tradition directly transmitted from Futsunushi-no-Kami

Chapter 2 Apprenticeship
Section 1 Initiation into the tradition
Section 2 My apprenticeship under Hayashi-sensei
Section 3 Katori Shintō-ryū’s first foreign student
Section 4 600th Anniversary of the birth of Iizasa Chōisai

Chapter 3 Technical Curriculum
Section 1 Kenjutsu
Section 2 Iaijutsu
Section 3 Bōjutsu, Naginata-jutsu, Sōjutsu, and Shuriken-jutsu
Section 4 Jūjutsu
Section 5 Ninjutsu

Chapter 4 Strategic Curriculum
Section 1 Tonkōjutsu
Section 2 Swords and Mikkyō

Chapter 5 Philosophy—A message to all martial arts practitioners
Section 1 Considerations for practitioners to take to heart
Section 2 The art of war is the art of peace—noble teachings toward achieving peace

Afterword
Appendix I Sutra on One’s Debts to One’s Mother and Father
Appendix II Poems on One’s Debts to One’s Mother and Father
Profile