Kashima-shinden Jiki Shinkage-ryū (直心影流) is an important line of Shinkage-ryū. My earlier writing on the art, from 2017–2025, is now available as a book:
Inner Dharma, 2025 — paperback (opens in a new tab) · about the book (opens in a new tab)*
It details the technical composition of its kata (drawing on mokuroku held at Waseda University) and some of the inner principles by which it is organized, with attention to the Daoist and esoteric Buddhist currents that run broadly through Shinkage-ryū.
Please consider purchasing a copy to help support the maintenance of this site.
Research Articles
Information on the major factions and lineage of Jikishinkage-ryū can be found at jikishinkageryu.org (opens in a new tab), which also has some links to active training groups I am aware of in the US and Japan.
June 2026
Summarizing Karukome's research into the composition of written densho of Jikishinkage-ryū, especially where Kashima-centric claims enter the art.
June 2026
Text, Translation and Roster of a 1960 memorial stele to honor Kawashima Takashi in his birthplace, Kitashimizu Fudō-in (北清水不動院), Yokoshiba (横芝), Chiba.
June 2026
Text, Translation and Roster of a Jikishinkage-ryū memorial stele erected at Kashima Jingu in 1968. A Telescoped Lineage in Imperial-Shinto Idiom.
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.
June 2026
Detail of Hassō Happa from 1800 Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū densho by Ogawa Yashichi, its place in Hōjō swordsmanship, and how the eight phases may relate to the eight extremes of Daoist Huainanzi geography.
May 2026
Details on choices of romanization of 直心影流 — this project uses Jikishinkage-ryū, but other choices are also valid.
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.
May 2026
Details on the writings and practice of Ogasawara Genshinsai.
May 2026
Details on the China travels of Ogasawara Genshinsai.
May 2026
Details on locations associated to Matsuomoto Bizen no Kami.
May 2026
Summary of 1800 Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū densho by Naganuma Tadasato, copied by Ogawa Yashichi, comparing it against other densho I analyzed in my recent book.
March 2026
These notes collect the documentary side of some of my research into the *gokui* (極意; ultimate principle) of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū.
