抑此居合ト申者日本奥州林之従大明神夢想に〆奉傳之
To begin with, this which is called iai has been reverently transmitted as revealed in a divine dream from the Great Deity of Hayashi in the Ōshū region of Japan.
夫兵術者上古中古雖有数多之違佗流大人小人無力剛力不嫌合兵用云々
As for martial arts, although in ancient and mediaeval times there have been many other different schools, there are methods that can be employed in battle equally by people of large or small stature, by those without strength or those with great strength, and so on and so forth.
末代爲相應之太刀尓云手近勝一命有無之極
In these latter days, it is said about sword arts most suitable for the current age: victory at close quarters is the ultimate line between life and death.
此居合恐者粟散邊土於堺不審之儀不可有之唯依㚑夢處也
Even in the remote provinces there can surely be no doubt regarding this iai, for it stems solely from divine revelation.
此始尋奥州林崎神助重信ト云者因有兵術望之林之明神一百有日令参籠其満暁夢中老翁重信告曰
It began with a man called Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu of Ōshū. Aspiring to mastery of the martial arts, he undertook a retreat of over one hundred days of seclusion and prayer to the Hayashi Myōjin. At the dawn of its fulfilment, an old man appeared to him in a dream and declared thus:
汝以此太刀常胸中憶持者得勝怨敵云々
“If you hold this sword art always in your heart, you shall gain victory over your hated enemy.”
則如㚑夢有得大利以腰刀三尺三寸勝九寸五分事
And so, just as in the revelation, he gained great benefit: with a sword of three shaku and three sun at his waist, he was able to defeat one of nine sun and five bu.
柄口六寸勝之妙不思義之極意一國一人之相傳也
The marvel of victory by six sun of the hilt-opening is an ultimate secret beyond comprehension to be transmitted only to a single person in a single land.
腰刀三尺三寸三毒則三部尓但脇差九寸五分九曜五古之内證也
The waist sword of three shaku three sun represents the Three Poisons, which are the Three Divisions. However, the side sword of nine sun five bu represents the Nine Luminaries and the Five-pronged Vajra – these are internal teachings.
敵味方成㕝是亦前生之業感也生死一體戰場浄土也
Whether someone becomes an enemy or an ally is also the result of karma from previous lives. Life and death are one; the battlefield is the Pure Land.
如此観則現世蒙大聖摩利支尊天加護来世成佛成縁之㕝豈有疑哉
With this view, one will receive the divine protection of the Great Sage Marishiten in this life, and be able to attain Buddhahood in the next life – how could there be any doubt?
此居合雖積千金不眞實之人者堅不可授之恐天罰唯授一人傳之云々
Even if someone were to offer a thousand pieces of gold, this iai must under no circumstances be taught to an insincere person. For fear of divine punishment, it must be passed on to only one person.
古語曰
其進疾者其退速云々
此意以貴賎尊卑無隔不謂前後輩達其所作者許目録印可等無相違
An old saying goes: “He who advances swiftly, also retreats swiftly.” In this spirit, there shall be no distinction between noble and base, high and low rank; without regard for seniority or juniority, licenses and techniques shall be bestowed without prejudice.
又古語曰
夫百錬之搆在則苐茨荘鄙與兵利心懸者夜白思之神明佛陀祈者則忽得利方是依心潜身事燦然
Another old saying goes: “Even in a humble thatched-roof hut in a rural village, one tempered by a hundred trials who devotes himself to refinement in the martial arts, who contemplates their principles deep into the night and prays to the gods and the Buddhas, will immediately grasp the advantageous way.” By relying on one’s heart and living a quiet life, one’s whole being will radiate with excellence.
天眞正
林明神
Tenshinshō
Hayashi Myōjin
林崎神助重信
田宮平兵衛尉業正
長野無樂入道樵露齋
百々軍兵衛尉光重
蟻川正左衛門尉宗範
万野團右衛門尉信員
長谷川主税助英信
荒井勢哲清信
林 六太夫守政
林 安太夫政誠
大黒元右衛門清勝
松吉貞助久盛
山川久蔵幸雅
Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu
Tamiya Heibei no jō Shigemasa
Nagano Muraku Nyūdō Kinrosai
Todo Gunbei no jō Mitsushige
Arikawa Seizaemon no jō Munetsugu
Banno Dan’emon no jō Nobusada
Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Hidenobu
Arai Seitetsu Kiyonobu
Hayashi Rokudayū Morimasa
Hayashi Yasudayū Masakusu
Ōguro Gen’emon Kiyokatsu
Matsuyoshi Sadasuke Hisamori
Yamakawa Kyūzō Yukimasa
貴殿多年御深望ニ付令相傳候猶向後御修行依其切極意印可等可授者也厚御心懸肝要之事ニ候仍而奥書如件
Since you have for many years shown deep aspiration, I hereby transmit this to you. Furthermore, henceforth in your training, you are authorised to confer inner teachings, licences, and the like, in accordance with the essential principles. It is of vital importance that you earnestly devote yourself to this. Accordingly, the colophon is as set forth above.
慶應三丙寅
十二月吉日
On an auspicious day of the twelfth month of Keiō 3 (Year of the Tiger)
嶋村善馬殿
To Shimamura Zenma-dono
下村茂市 ㊞
Shimomura Shigeichi [seal]
The Tetsugi no maki (手次之巻)1 is a version of the scroll written by Sakai Shichiemon of Hayashizaki Tamiya-ryū in 1706 and conferred as a menkyo kaiden to Sakai Jūbei Nagateru. The scroll contains added commentary, most likely by Nagateru, in the spaces between the lines. I have numbered these notes and will be referring to them below at the place where they appear in the scroll. In a few places, the character is illegible or could otherwise not be transcribed, and has been replaced with the glyph ☐.
The name 居合根元之巻 (iai kongen no maki) means “the scroll of the origins of iai”. It is more commonly known as simply kongen no maki (the scroll of the origin), and is the oldest scroll of transmission in all the descendant schools, where it is copied and given as a menkyo kaiden (免許皆伝, licence of total transmission) to certify full mastery of the school’s teachings.
抑此居合ト申者日本奥州林之従大明神夢想に〆奉傳之
“The Great Deity of Hayashi” is rendered from 林之従大明神, which literally means “the great and bright god of Hayashi”. 大明神 (daimyōjin) is listed in my dictionary as “deity with extraordinary spiritual powers”, but 明神 was also used more specifically as an epithet for Shintō gods that were thought also to be aspects of one or more Buddhist deities in Japanese syncretism. This god was the head deity of the Hayashi area, which is synonymous to or surrounds the village of Hayashizaki, located in present-day Murayama, Yamagata. In other texts and current usage, the deity is referred to as Hayashizaki Daimyōjin. Ōshū (奥州) is the old name for the Tōhoku region of northeastern Honshū.
夫兵術者上古中古雖有数多之違佗流大人小人無力剛力不嫌合兵用云々
This paragraph discusses martial arts (兵術 heijutsu; literally military tactics or the art of war) of the past, saying that there have been many “different schools” (違佗流). This word 違佗流 (idaryū) is somewhat mysterious: 違 means “different”, but 佗 is “proud” or “solitary”. The meaning could therefore be something like “different schools, each unique and standing apart”, but the wording is slightly odd. Yamakoshi Masaki-sensei of Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū has a different interpretation2, taking 違佗 to be a variation of 韋陀 (Ida) as in the name of the Buddhist guardian deity Skanda (韋陀天 Idaten). With Idaten being a warrior deity, Yamakoshi-sensei’s rendering of 韋陀流 would refer to schools either dedicated to this god or, alternatively, more generally claiming an origin in divine revelation. In order not to read too much into the word, I decided to translate 違佗流 simply as “different schools”. Either way, the various schools are described as being employed in battle without favouring large nor small people, the strong nor the weak, “and so on” (云々 unnun). Note that this is the only place I have chosen to keep 云々 in the translation, as I felt it disturbed the flow more than it contributed elsewhere in English.
末代爲相應之太刀尓云手近勝一命有無之極
A more literal translation here would be “it is said about the sword (technique) suitable for the latter (read: current) age that victory at close range is the ultimate decider of the existence or nonexistence of life”. The important point is that although there have been many and varying schools for different people and circumstances in the past, iai specialises in defeating an enemy at extremely close quarters, as this is identified as being the essential skill for the new age of swordsmanship.
此居合恐者粟散邊土於堺不審之儀不可有之唯依㚑夢處也
Here, 粟散邊土 (zokusan hendo) literally means “borderlands (like) scattered millet”, referring to remote regions of Japan even at its very borders (於堺). The word is a Chinese translation of a phrase found in old Buddhist texts, where it described the more than two hundred smaller kingdoms of ancient India as like millet scattered on a plate. It carries a connotation of places far from the Dharma, where the teachings of the Buddha may not have fully reached.
Although the exact wording is that there is “likely” (恐) no “matter of doubt” (不審之儀), I chose a slightly stronger wording of “surely no doubt”. The message is that iai is not something created by men, but simply passed on as instructed by the gods, wherefore no one should harbour any doubt about it3.
此始尋奥州林崎神助重信ト云者因有兵術望之林之明神一百有日令参籠其満暁夢中老翁重信告曰
It is interesting to note here that Jinsuke is written here as 神助 rather than the actual name 甚助. Although it could be a simple mistake, it seems likely that the author is trying to reinforce the divine connection by using the kanji for god, 神. “At the dawn of its fulfilment” (満暁) is to be taken literally: at dawn on the final day of Shigenobu’s retreat, an old man appeared to him at his bedside and passed on to him the secrets of iai.
汝以此太刀常胸中憶持者得勝怨敵云々
This quote from the dream ends with 云々, indicating that there was more to the message than this short sentence. As this seems fairly obvious, and it felt somewhat improper to end a quote from a deity with “and so on” in English, I left it out. In any event, this sentence was the final message in the dream, said after the old man had instructed Shigenobu in swordsmanship.
Regarding the phrase 得勝怨敵, literally “gain victory over your hated enemy”, there are two possible, though not mutually exclusive, interpretations. The literal interpretation is that the revelation allowed Shigenobu to avenge his murdered father, and given that preparation for this quest was what led him to seclude himself in prayer and training in the first place, this seems more than plausible. Trenson (2014)1 offers a more figurative interpretation, which fits well into the esoteric theme of the scroll: 怨敵 (onteki) was sometimes used in esoteric Buddhist contexts to refer to the obstacles (“enemies”) to enlightenment; the wordly desires or evil passions called klesha (煩悩 bonnō) or the obstructive demon Māra (魔羅) who tried to stop Siddhartha Gautama from awakening and becoming the Buddha. In Shingon and Tendai Buddhism, in particular, 怨敵 frequently refers to inner obstacles that need to be subdued.
則如㚑夢有得大利[1]以腰刀三尺三寸[2]勝九寸五分[3]事
- 一心悟リナリ、言重信サトリタナリ
五尺二・三寸ツウレイノ人ハ三尺三寸迄ハ実ノ所ヌカルヽ也- 九寸五分ハ九寸五分ノ間合ナケレハヌケ不申トノ事
Shigenobu is stated here to have gained “great benefit” or “great advantage” (大利), and note 1 in the Tetsugi no maki explains that this means Shigenobu awakened (悟り satori; Buddhist enlightenment) to the “One Mind” (一心 isshin): a state of unity with the gods, Buddhas, and the universe.
The rest of this passage is rather straightforward: a “waist sword” three shaku and three sun (~1 m) long defeating [a sword measuring] nine sun and five bu (~28 cm). To an uninitiated reader, this may sound obvious; recall, however, that iai is applied at extremely close range, where the shorter sword would normally have an overwhelming advantage — even more so considering that both swords are sheathed at the onset. In the first place, wearing such a long sword at the waist like an uchigatana would have been highly unorthodox, as it would have been very difficult to draw. Note 2 in the Tetsugi no maki adds that a person of average height (a crossed-out part specifies a height of 5 shaku 2-3 sun; ~160 cm) should be able to draw a sword of 3 shaku 3 sun, with the implication that this is the maximum length that can be drawn from the waist by a person of that height.
Note 3 says that the short sword of 9 sun 5 bu can only be drawn at the range of 9 sun 5 bu. The wording seems to refer to the effective range (間合 ma-ai) of the short sword rather than the exact distance. Rephrasing, then, the short sword can only be drawn at its own effective range.
柄口六寸[4]勝之妙不思義之極意一國一人[5]之相傳也
- ウケ處ヨリ六寸ハナレ柄手出サル処、則九寸五分ニ勝ナリ
- トハ重信ヲ云ナリ
This term 柄口六寸 (tsukaguchi rokusun) literally means “hilt-opening six sun” (~18 cm), but I will henceforth refer to it by its Japanese name. It is clearly the ultimate secret of the school, but the word itself is rather mysterious. Unfortunately, the true meaning of tsukaguchi rokusun appears to have been mostly forgotten within the Tosa line, so unless it has been preserved in Shin-Musō Hayashizaki-ryū, we can only speculate based on scattered references in other extant scrolls (more on this later). The Tetsugi no maki adds in note 4 that the phrase refers to a point six sun away from the “receiving point” or “point of engagement” (ウケ處 ukedokoro; the target of the attack?) before the hand has started to move forwards.
“One person in one land/province” (一國一人) is clarified in note 5 as referring to Shigenobu himself, meaning he was the only recipient of the revelation in all of Japan.
腰刀三尺三寸三毒[6]則三部[7]尓但脇差九寸五分九曜[8]五古[9]之内證也
- ナメクシリ・ヒツキ・ヘミ也、又曰、
ウタカイハマヨウハ酒色ヨクノミツ成、又イロヽヽモウネ念ヲサレト也、三毒ノアラソイニタトヱ、ニクムナナケレトノヲシヘナリ- 佛金蓮ノ事ナリ、キヨキヲ申ナリ、三毒ヲサツテ無形ニ至ナリ
- 星ナリ
- シン☐天タイニ有、ソウレイノ致ニ付、コレヲナラス、死ヲイサキヨクチウフツセヨトナリ、一心ノケツタンノ事ナリ、九寸五分ニ至本也
三部
- 金剛部
フトウ・イタテン・マリシテン、トウシ諸佛ノ事- 佛部
アミタハシメ諸佛ヲノ事- 蓮華部
如来ハシメ諸佛ヲ申、☐ハキヨキナリ三毒
- 貪
ムサホル、ヨクヲモウス- 瞋
イカル、マコトナラサルマコト也- 癡
オロカ、シヤ知ヲ申ナリ
Here, the author explains the symbolism behind the measurements of the two swords. The Tetsugi no maki contains several explanatory notes, as well as a separate section on the Three Poisons and Three Divisions.
The Three Poisons (三毒 sandoku) in Buddhism are the three root kleshas; the character flaws that cause suffering and keep souls trapped in the cycle of rebirth. They are: Attachment (貪; rāga; also Desire or Greed), Aversion (瞋; dveṣa; also Anger or Hatred), and Delusion (癡; moha; also Ignorance). Gloss 6 associates the Three Poisons with slugs, toads, and snakes. It then explains that a wavering mind falls to alcohol, lust, and greed, and that the struggle against the Three Poisons is used as an analogy teaching us not to harbour hatred.
According to note 7, the “Three Divisions” (三部 sanbu) refer to the three Buddha Families associated with the Three Poisons:
There are two more families (tathāgata), namely: the Jewel and Karma families. However, they handle poisons other than the main three, and the three families above have been selected for their association with the Three Poisons.
The gloss continues by saying that by overcoming the Three Poisons, one may reach a state of formlessness (無形 mukei). “Formlessness” here refers to a state of enlightenment where one is not bound by physical or mental form.
Regarding the Nine Luminaries (九曜 kuyō), there is only a short comment (note 8) saying “these are celestial bodies”, but the term refers to the so-called Navagraha of Hindu mythology, as transmitted to Japan through Chinese astrology. They are: the Sun and the Moon, the five classical planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn), and Rahu and Ketu, the ascending and descending nodes of the Moon. In Hindu and Chinese astrology, these nine (or their deific personifications) were thought to be able to influence the lives of humans.
The five-pronged vajra is a ritual tool or weapon, representing the indestructibility of diamond and the power of a thunderbolt, in Buddhism and Hinduism. Here, the word used for the vajra is 五古 (goko), which literally translates to “five ancients”; however, the second character 古 is an ateji and should be 鈷. The vajra is always used together with the bell in Buddhist rituals. Note 94 explains that “it” (the bell/vajra) is rung at funerals, and that the ringing urges the deceased to pass on peacefully into death and ascend to Buddhahood. This ritual is meant to guide the soul through the intermediate state between death and rebirth known as bardo (中有 chūu). The vajra and the bell symbolise the determination to achieve the One Mind.
The final clause states that these symbolic meanings are internal teachings (内證) — secret esoteric interpretations that was taught only to license holders of a certain level.
敵味方成㕝是亦前生之業感也[10]生死一體[11]戰場浄土[12]也
- 無ヨリ出テ無ニカヱテ生死大々一タイナリコヽヲサトリ
- 死スルハ我一人ノケツタンセヨト也、為儀与志死ネト申ナリ
- 生テ人前ニ顔ノムケラレヌヨリハシヽテコクラクト思ヘト也
Note 10 expands upon the idea of karma from past lives determining whether someone becomes an ally of an enemy, saying: this is the realisation that everything comes from emptiness and returns to emptiness, wherefore life and death form one great whole.
In note 11, the commentator says that dying must be only one’s own resolve, and that this means one must (be prepared to) die for honour/justice (儀 gi) or ambition (志 shi). 儀 really means “ceremony” or “matter”, but I surmise it is used here instead of 義, meaning “honour”, “righteousness”, or “justice”. Trenson (2014)1 renders it as “propriety”. 志 is “volition”, “intention”, or “resolve”, so “ambition” seems like an apt translation in this context as contrasted with dying in the service of another.
On the topic of the battlefield being the Pure Land, note 12 explains that rather than living on in dishonour and shame, it is better to die and think of it as paradise. This echoes the Jōdo Buddhism teaching that one can be reborn in Amida’s paradise through a righteous death.
如此観則現世蒙大聖摩利支尊天[13]加護来世成佛成縁之㕝豈有疑哉
- 如此ノ志テコソ神佛モカコアルヘシナリ、生ヲウル事アルヘシトノ事ナリ
Note 13 adds that the gods (probably mainly referring to deified mortals) and Buddhas, too, had the same resolve in the past, and that the passage means that one will be granted life after death.
此居合雖積千金[14]不眞實之人[15]者堅不可授之恐天罰[16]唯授一人[17]傳之云々
- 得タル処千金ニモトメタトイハレテモユルスヘキヨウナキナリ
- 儀を不知、先ノ趣ニ不合ニ、三毒ノ道理ヲワキマヱヌ者ニ免スナトナリ
- 其人悪ヲナセハ我モハチナリ、天ハツト知ヘシ
- 前條ノ趣ヨクソナハリタル人ヲ云
Note 14 says that even if someone were to offer something with the value of a thousand pieces (i.e. a lot) of gold in exchange for the art, it must never be relinquished.
Note 15 explains what is meant by “an insincere person” to whom the art must not be transmitted: someone who does not know decorum, who does not follow what is written here, and who does not understand the principle of the three poisons.
On “divine punishment”, note 16 says that if the person commits acts of evil, the teacher too shall be punished, as Heaven will know they have taught the art to an unworthy recipient.
“Only one person” is explained in note 17 to be a person who is well possessed of the qualities described in previous articles.
古語曰
其進疾者其退速云々
此意以貴賎尊卑無隔不謂前後輩達其所作者許目録印可等無相違
From the context, the message of this old saying appears to be that people who rise quickly in the ranks by being promoted for reasons other than hard work and genuine effort tend not to take their responsibilities seriously and give up easily when faced, as one inevitably eventually is, with hardship and setbacks. The author therefore instructs the reader to promote their students based on merit alone.
This paragraph is not included in the Tetsugi no maki; perhaps it was added later in the Tosa line.
又古語曰
夫百錬之搆在則苐茨荘鄙[18]與兵利心懸者夜白思之神明佛陀祈者則忽得利方是依心潜身事燦然
- 明心ヲウルノトコロニテ筆紙ノヘカタシ
百錬之搆 is difficult to translate well. 搆 is the same kamae as in a fighting stance, but in this case probably means a spiritual readiness or more broadly one’s character. 百錬 means “a hundred temperings”, and is used metaphorically as having overcome hardship many times in life. 百錬之搆 would then be character forged strong through strict discipline.
The phrase 苐茨荘鄙 deserves closer scrutiny: although 荘鄙 means roughly “countryside” in a wider sense, 苐茨 (“number thorn”) is with all certainty intended to be 第茅, where 第 is “residence” and 茅 is a type of grass specifically used for thatching. 第茅荘鄙 is then a home with thatched roof on the countryside. Note 18, while admitting it is difficult to express in writing, says it is a place where one can attain a clear and serene mind.
“Grasping the advantageous way” (得利方), going by previous notes, might mean to attain enlightenment.
是依心潜身事燦然 (“(therefore,) by relying on one’s heart and living a quiet life, one’s whole being will radiate with excellence”) is another somewhat opaque sentence. 依心 means to “entrust [oneself to] one’s heart”, and is used in Classical Chinese in the sense of following one’s heart and innate sense of morality. 潜身 really means “hiding/submerging one’s body”, and this, too, is a phrase from Classical Chinese meaning to go into hiding or living in quiet obscurity away from the eyes of the world. By these means (事), one might shine brilliantly (燦然). 燦然 is “radiant” or “resplendent”, and is often used, as it is here, about virtuous character.
天眞正
林明神
- 不義ヲニクミ悪ヲ恥ル物之我ニ有ヲ天真ト云、是ヲ主人公友云、天真ヲ正スル之林明神ニ而マシマス也
The word tenshinshō (天眞正) cannot be straightforwardly translated. If not for the Tetsugi no maki, I would have translated it as “faithfully and correctly”, as 天眞 (a Buddhist term, also meaning “naïveté”) means “true to Heaven” (as divinely received, without embellishments or alterations), and 正 is “correct”. However, note 19 explains it in more specific terms: “the thing in us that hates unrighteousness and is ashamed of evil is called tenshin; it is called the friend of the hero, and [tenshinshō] is Hayashi Myōjin, who corrects tenshin.” That is to say, Hayashi Myōjin is the god which restores the divine sense of right and wrong in our minds, and tenshinshō should thus be taken as an appellation of the kami. Of course, it is entirely possible that Sakai, writing more than 80 years after the death of Hayashizaki, added his own speculative interpretations in his commentary, so I am still inclined to apply Occam’s Razor and suggest the word simply means what it means in other contexts: that the text and the art have been faithfully and correctly transmitted. The word 天眞 also appears in Chinese Daoist texts with the sense “primordial natural truth” or “heavenly truth”. Nevertheless, I left the word untranslated above so as not to impose my own conclusions.
林崎神助重信
田宮平兵衛尉業正
長野無樂入道樵露齋
百々軍兵衛尉光重
蟻川正左衛門尉宗範
万野團右衛門尉信員
長谷川主税助英信
荒井勢哲清信
林 六太夫守政
林 安太夫政誠
大黒元右衛門清勝
松吉貞助久盛
山川久蔵幸雅
This is a list of the past headmasters of the school. 尉 (jō, “inspector”) is the third highest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryō system, and is thus not a name as such. Similarly, 太夫 (dayū, “lord steward”) was the fifth court rank.
The seventh headmaster Hasegawa Chikaranosuke Hidenobu (Eishin) was known as a swordsman of incredible skill, and the school was renamed Hasegawa Eishin-ryū in recognition of his contribution to the art. Hayashi Rokudayū Morimasa, the ninth headmaster, relocated the school to Tosa (thus creating the Tosa Eishin-ryū lineage), and incorporated Ōmori-ryū into the curriculum.
貴殿多年御深望ニ付令相傳候猶向後御修行依其切極意印可等可授者也厚御心懸肝要之事ニ候仍而奥書如件
This closing statement or colophon (奥書) verifies this document as a menkyo kaiden. The recipient, in recognition of long and dedicated practice, is confirmed to have received the full tradition and is formally authorised to pass it on in its entirety, as well as being instructed to uphold the core principles of the school.
慶應三丙寅
十二月吉日
The twelfth month of the third year of the Keiō era lasted between the end of December 1867 until three weeks into January 1868 in the Gregorian calendar. This places this document right around the Meiji restoration, which was proclaimed on the 3rd of January 1868.
嶋村善馬殿
Shimamura Zenma was born on the 24th of December 1849, making him barely 19 years old when receiving his menkyo kaiden. His father, Shimamura Umanosuke (島村右馬丞) was the fifteenth headmaster. The next year, in 1869, Zenma changed his name to Hosokawa Yoshimasa, and later became the sixteenth headmaster of the school, which he called Musō Shinden Eishin-ryū. He went on to teach Nakayama Hakudō, who called it Musō Shinden Jūshin-ryū and used it as the foundation for his Musō Shinden-ryū.
下村茂市 ㊞
Shimomura Shigeichi was the thirteenth headmaster, and this line of the school is still often referred to as Shimomura-ha Hasegawa Eishin-ryū. His direct successor, the fourteenth headmaster, was Tsubouchi Seisuke Chōjun (坪内清助長順).
Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu was born Asano Tamimaru (浅野民丸) or possibly Tamiharu (民治)5 on the 12th day of the first month of the 11th year of the Tenmon era (1542). When Tamimaru was three years old, his father, Asano Kazuma Shigenari (浅野数馬重成), who had served as a palace guard in Kyōto, was murdered by a man named Sakakawa (or Sakakami) Ichiunsai (坂川（坂上）一雲斎). Shigenari’s widow, a daughter of a Tateoka retainer named Takamori, raised Tamimaru alone in poverty, praying every day at the Hayashizaki shrine with her son for his future success in avenging his dead father.
At the age of 8, Tamimaru began training in Kyō-ryū (京流) kenjutsu under Higashine Jirōdayū (東根二郎太夫). The revelation happened in the fifth month of the 23rd year of the Tenmon era (1554), when Tamimaru was 13 years old. Upon turning 14 the following year, he changed his name to Hayashizaki after his birthplace, and took the adult names of Jinsuke and Shigenobu in honour of his father. Jinsuke was his father’s childhood name, and Shigenari (重成), in which Shigenobu changed the second kanji, the father’s adult name.
Swearing an oath at the shrine to avenge his father, Shigenobu left Hayashizaki and travelled to Kyōto, where he studied under renowned swordsmen of his day and even attracted students of his own. Notable among these were Tamiya Heibei and Nagano Murakusai, the second and third headmasters, respectively, of Shigenobu’s school.
In 1560, when Shigenobu was 19, he finally discovered the whereabouts of his father’s killer, who had gone into hiding in Fushimi under the name of Yagurayama Daizen Toshitaka. Shigenobu promptly petitioned the authorities for permission to carry out a vendetta (仇討ち, katakiuchi), which was granted. On the 17th day of the fifth month that year, he successfully ambushed and slew Sakakawa on the Tanba Road.
The deed made him famous in Kyōto. After holding memorial rites for his enemy, he hurriedly returned home to Hayashizaki, presented the head at his father’s grave, and offered thanks at the Hayashizaki Daimyōjin shrine, where the villagers celebrated the fulfilment of his vow.
The following year, 1561, Shigenobu went to Kashima, where he studied Tenshin Shintō-ryū (Kashima Shintō-ryū) kenjutsu for about three years under the legendary Tsukahara Bokuden. Afterwards, he continued his travels across the provinces, refining and testing his skills. He is recorded to have fought under Takeda Shingen, and accepted an invitation from the Hōjō clan to settle down and teach his sword art. His fame attracted many famous students from all across Japan, and he devoted himself to teaching for years.
In his later years, Shigenobu returned to his native village of Hayashizaki, after which not much is known about him, including the year of his death.
The symbolism of the 3-shaku-3-sun long sword is of cutting through the Three Poisons and transforming them into enlightened wisdom of the Three Buddha Families. We are taught, and reminded by wielding the sword, to live a virtuous life on the path towards enlightenment, shunning hatred, avarice, and ignorance.
The short sword of 9 sun and 5 bu remind us that circumstance is but a product of fate, as decided by karma and the Nine Luminaries: an enemy in this life could be an ally in the next. Moreover, as the bell and the five-pronged vajra guide the soul towards rebirth and symbolise the determination to attain the One Mind, we are instructed to strike down the enemy with the compassionate mindset of guiding their lost soul back onto the right path for the next life.
The central moral teachings that Shigenobu received from the Hayashi Myōjin are known as the kesa no hitotachi (袈裟の一太刀), or loosely “the monk’s single cut” (kesa being a monk’s raiment). It has been passed down in these words:
Even if you are confronted by a great sinner, do not draw your sword, nor let them draw; do not cut, nor let them cut; do not kill, and do not be killed. Speak to them, preach gently and earnestly, and lead them to goodness. If, by some chance, they refuse to submit and there is absolutely no other recourse, then strike them down with kesa and make them attain Buddhahood.
“Strike them down with kesa” (袈裟打ちかけて) could refer to kesagiri, describing the style of cut, or to the intent of the cut being that of a monk disciplining a sinner and leading their soul towards Buddhahood. I personally tend more towards the latter interpretation, given the context. However, the final, decisive cut in Shin-Musō Hayashizaki-ryū is typically a kesagiri, so it is entirely conceivable that it was originally intended as both.
These teachings are absolutely central to iai. A basic pattern in Shin-Musō Hayashizaki-ryū is first to warn or restrain the enemy as they move their hand to draw the short sword; then to strike the wrist to limit their fighting ability as they draw and attack anyway; and finally to cut kesa as they insist on attacking again. The main reason given as for why Ōmori-ryū was incorporated into Tosa Eishin-ryū was because it was viewed as embodying the intent of kesa no hitotachi, and many forms can be understood in those terms: grasp the sword only once the enemy does; begin drawing only once they do, in a manner that allows them the option to back down without violence; when they persist, release the blade before they do and make a warning or non-lethal cut to stop or incapacitate them; finally, when no other recourse remains, kill with a single, decisive cut.
Although tsukaguchi rokusun is never explicitly explained in full, there are several notes and references that allow us to make qualified deductions about what it really is. Including gloss 4 from the Tetsugi no maki above, we have the following:
From these references, we can conclude that tsukaguchi rokusun is most likely an attack to the hand or the wrist of the hand holding the tsuka, aimed at a point six sun in front of the tsukaguchi (the opening at the top of the tsuka into which the tang of the sword is inserted) right before the enemy attacks. In fact, this type of cut is frequently used in Shin-Musō Hayashizaki-ryū: the opponent attempts to cut or thrust with the short sword, and this attack is countered by evading to the side and cutting down on the wrist so that both attacks finish simultaneously. When the counterattack commences, the opponent’s hand has not yet moved into its final position, so the cut has to be aimed in front of the hand’s initial position.
http://yamauchiiai.la.coocan.jp/YamauchiIai/KongenNoMaki0.html ↩
The logical leap of thinking the claim of divine revelation would be less cause for doubt amuses me greatly: “A god told this to me in a dream!” — “Oh, all right then, then it must be legit.” ↩
The first clause of note 9 says that something “is in the celestial bodies” (connecting to the Nine Luminaries), but the last character of the first word is illegible. Trenson (2014) guesses that it should be “humans”, and it could refer to the fate of human lives. ↩
One sometimes also sees Tamijimaru (民治丸). ↩
居合兵法極意巻秘訣 印可部、中夭之大事 ↩
始終不捨書、神妙剣五之習大事 ↩