There are three Jikishinkage-ryū densho available for study in the ke05 1032 collection. The first two are attributed to 写自筆 and are dated as being from 1768. The first (0001) (opens in a new tab) is an example with small red annotation script. The second (0002) (opens in a new tab) is a shorter example without annotation.
Their citations (“Jikishinkage-ryū mokuroku (直心影流目録), Meiwa 5 (1768)” 1768; “Jikishinkage-ryū mokuroku (直心影流兵法目録添状), Meiwa 5 (1768)” 1768) are:
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吉田 克禮. 「直心影流兵法目録次第」. 写自筆, 1768年. http://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ke05/ke05_01032/ke05_01032_0001/.
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吉田 克禮. 「直心影流兵法目録添状」. 写自筆, 1768年. http://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ke05/ke05_01032/ke05_01032_0002/.
The third (0003) (opens in a new tab) is an example signed by 小川彌 dated at 1800 with cursive continuous script, with citation (“Jikishinkage-ryū Hōjō (直心影流法定) — Naganuma Tadasato; copied by Ogawa Yashichi” 1800):
- 長沼 庄兵衛. 「[直心影流兵法]法定」. 小川彌七写, 1800年. http://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ke05/ke05_01032/ke05_01032_0003/.
This last densho has been one I had not previously been able to read as thoroughly as I would have liked. I also had not been able to parse the small red annotations to the 1768 example.
In this note we examine and compare them both, including recoverable fragments from the red annotations. To do so, I manually applied the National Diet Library (NDL) image recognition models that have better performance on Japanese cursive calligraphy than other models such as Tesseract Japanese vertical model, which is trained on block type. I then used a larger model (Opus 4.8) to look at fragments and refine content the NDL model was uncertain about.
This both complements material presented my 2025 book:
Inner Dharma, 2025 — paperback (opens in a new tab) · about the book (opens in a new tab)
The results provide additional context into these works, even if still at times there is uncertainty in the reading of some characters (to the point of some phrases being unrecoverable). Below, when I write ‘red script’ or ‘red characters’ I mean the small commentary to ke05_0132_001 from 1768 and when I write ‘black script’ I mean the cursive example from 1800.
Please consult the works of Karukome (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013; Karukome Katsutaka 2020) for exhaustive academic treatment.
Opening
目録之次第。右二首、長沼国郷ノ〔悟?〕ノ歌ナリ。
The order of the mokuroku. The two [waka] above are Naganuma Kunisato’s poems of realization (satori no uta 悟ノ歌).
Dating/lineage anchor: the roll opens by attributing two verses to Naganuma Kunisato (長沼国郷) — 8th generation — placing this recension in the Kunisato line.
I. Kata (形)
八相 (hassō); 発・破 (happa)
「四本ハ天地ノ形、四季ヲ表スルナリ。八相ハ八ツノ形也。物ハ八分目ト申ハ、十分ニ勝〔たず〕、八分目ノトコロガ、心ノ一ツ、一杯ニノリ、アト二分、重畳ノ心也。初ノ形ハ相和ノ形也。発破ハ、和ナル処ヲ打破テ行ク気味。又ハ剱九重ノ伝一ツ加ヘ、突トモ云也。」
“The four [basic] are the form of heaven-and-earth, expressing the four seasons. Hassō is eight forms. ‘Things at eight-tenths’ means: not winning fully — the eight-tenths point is where the mind rides fully on one thing while keeping the remaining two-tenths in reserve (chōjō 重畳). The opening form is the harmonious (相和) form; happa (発破) is the feel of breaking through the harmonious place — or, adding one ‘ninefold-sword transmission’ (剱九重ノ伝), it is also ‘thrust.’”
一刀両断 (ittō ryōdan)
「二ツナシ、一心ニ頭ヲ破ル心ナリ。只一刀ニテスマスこゝろ也。」
“Not two; the mind of breaking the head with a single mind — finishing with just one stroke.”
右転左転 (uten saten)1
「〔…〕夏ヨリ冬迄〔…〕、秋ニナリ候ヘバ、時召出ル星ノ思ヒヲ『旋』ト云。最初ヨリ〔シャカラ…?〕。」(heavily flagged)
“〔…〕 from summer to winter 〔…〕; when autumn comes, the image (思ヒ) of the stars called forth in season is called ‘rotation’ (sen 旋). 〔…〕” — relates the kata’s turning to celestial rotation through the seasons.
長短一味 (chōtan ichimi)
「〔一補?〕気持ゟ、弐人ニ、長短ニよらず、初メノ八相ノ心アレバ、長短ノ差別ニ不及。是迄木刀四本ノ形也。」
“Between two people, not depending on long-or-short [weapon]: if one has the initial hassō mind, the distinction of long and short does not arise. Up to here, four bokutō forms.”
龍尾 (ryūbi); 左・右
「最初二本、当リヲ龍尾ト言。蛇ナドハ、頭ヲ押ヘ、尾ヲ押ヘテモ、中ヲ押ヘテモ、自由ナル〔もの〕。龍尾かへしト言。是ゟシナイノ形。」
“In the first two, the contact (当リ) is called ryūbi (dragon-tail). A snake — whether you pin its head, tail, or middle — remains free; hence ‘dragon-tail reversal’ (龍尾返し). From here, the shinai forms.”
面影 (menkage); 左2
「柳生公ニテハ、日ニ影カウツルこゝろ持ハよし。此方、影無ヲ自分ニ付、打込ムト也。水ニ月ノ移ル心也。ちらりト言フ所ヲ打ツ心なり。」
“In the Yagyū tradition (柳生公にては), the mind-set of the reflection appearing in the sunlight is good; on our side, attaching ‘no-reflection’ (kage-nashi 影無) to oneself, one strikes in. It is the mind of the moon reflecting in water (水に月の移る心). One strikes at the instant of a glint (ちらり).”
鉄破 (teppa); 進・退
「四本ノ形。敵ヲ見テ、此間、体ニ〔貫ツレテ?〕打込ムヲ鉄破ト言。二本、向腕ヲ打払フ処ノ〔挂刀?〕ヲ拂フ也。佛書ニハ『泥手鉄山破』ノ言語有り。」
“Four forms. Seeing the enemy, striking in [body committed] in the interval is called teppa (iron-break). Two of them sweep away the 〔挂刀?〕 at the point of striking aside the facing arm. In Buddhist writing there is the phrase ‘deishu/deigyū tetsuzan wo yaburu’ (泥〔手/牛?〕鉄山破).”
It is not clear whether the second character is 手 or 牛 — the latter is likely, and if the graph is 手 it may be a copyist’s error.
In Buddhist canon we often see the construction:
泥牛 + [motion verb] + 破/碎 + [object]
with the verb slot taking a variety of actions.
For example, in X72n1444 we find 泥牛昨夜狂心起，觸碎須彌跳出欄 — “last night the clay ox’s mad mind arose — it butts Mount Sumeru to pieces and leaps the fence” — and in J39nB460 we find 木馬踏碎須彌，泥牛耕破海底 — “the wooden horse treads Sumeru to pieces; the clay ox ploughs open the sea-bottom.”
The annotation 泥手/泥牛鉄山破 is neither a quotation nor a garbling. There is no fixed phrase to have garbled. It is a well-formed generation from a productive canonical formula, with 鉄山 occupying a slot the canon fills with 須彌, 鐵崑崙, 蒼龍窟, 虗空. The term 言語 is “expression / manner of speaking,” not “quotation” — the assertion is there is such an idiom in Buddhist writing, and there demonstrably is.
The school is speaking the idiom competently, not misciting. The canonical formula is SVO: 泥牛 (S) + 觸碎 (V) + 須彌 (O). The densho is 泥牛鉄山破 — object before verb, and no motion verb at all (no 觸/踏/耕/吼). The romanization above reads it as SOV with を. So the phrase doesn’t instantiate the Chinese formula’s syntax; it’s a Japanese-order condensation of it.
Regarding meaning, the sense is not “soft defeats hard.” A deigyū (泥牛; clay ox) isn’t “soft” — a clay ox is impossible, paired throughout with 木馬, 石虎, 石女, 鐵蛇. The formula says the inconceivable accomplishes the inconceivable. For 鉄破 as 体ニ貫ツレテ打込ム, the sense is closer to: what cannot be done is done.
松風 (matsukaze)
「エンクハイ〔円飛/燕飛〕ト云ハ、古ハ『猿飛』ト相記スよし。小笠原源信斎〔…〕。通リノ木刀ニ当ル風ト違ヒ、松ニ当ルノ、サツサツト滞ナク当ル。少シモ滞ナク当ルこゝろヲ言フ。」
”‘Enkuhai / Enpi’ (円飛/燕飛) was formerly written ‘Sarutobi’ (猿飛), it is said. Ogasawara Genshinsai (小笠原源信斎) 〔…〕. Unlike wind striking an ordinary bokutō, it is like wind striking a pine — hitting satsu-satsu without stagnation; the mind of striking without the slightest stagnation.” — corroborates the 燕飛/圓飛/猿飛 renaming and the 真新陰流 (Genshinsai) transmission.
甲船 (hayafune); 左・右
「〔車?〕ノ形。〔敵〕ハ舟ノ〔艪〕ヲ押ス気味也。此方ゟハ、舟ニ乗ル心持也。〔…〕是迄十ノ形也。」
“The 〔cart?〕 form. The enemy has the feel of pushing a boat’s oar; on our side, the mind of riding the boat. 〔…〕 Up to here, ten forms.”
This may be the end of the earlier jutachi arrangement (ten forms) seen in the Naganuma-ha Jikishinkage-ryū of the time.
曲降 (kyokushaku)
「曲リ、長短、マツスグニ打込ムこゝろ也。滞ナク、何処モ曲ラズ打込ムこゝろ也。」
“Bending — regardless of long-or-short — the mind of striking straight in; without stagnation, bending nowhere.”
円連 (enren)
With the annotation 刀連 (tōren) 体連 (tairen):
「円連ハ、心・体トモニ〔…〕連レヲ少シモ滞ラス。刀ニ連ルヲ刀連、体ニ連ルヲ体連ト云。右三ツ、心滞ナク打ツ意味也。右同伝。」
“Enren: mind and body together, the linking without the slightest stagnation. The sword’s linking is tōren (刀連), the body’s linking is tairen (体連). These three — the meaning of striking with an unstagnating mind. Same transmission as at right.”
Waza (業)
The entries 陰之構・陽之構・相構・相心・相尺・目付・仕懸・手の内・横一文字・竪一文字・留三段・体当・太刀当・切落・吟味 are transcribed and commented on.
陰之構之事 (in no kamae no koto)
In no kamae is the yin (陰; yīn) posture:
強々、上段ニ取ル形。体ヨリ上ニ持ツハ陰ノ構。右一致スレバ丈夫〔ナル?〕也。
“Firmly, the form taken in upper stance (jōdan 上段); holding above the body is the yin stance. When these accord, it is robust.”
陽之構之事 (yō no kamae no koto)
Yō no kamae is the yang (陽; yáng) posture:
弱〔柔〕ハ下段ニ取ル形。〔柔ラカ〕ニ体ヨリ下ニ持ツハ陽ノ構。最初同様也。
“Softly, the form taken in lower stance (gedan 下段); holding softly below the body is the yang stance. Same [in principle] as the first.”
Note. The mapping is 陰 → 上段/firm and 陽 → 下段/soft — inverting the usual height convention (陽上陰下) but coherent with the Shinkage setsunintō/katsuninken (殺人刀・活人剣) logic in the Tsuki no Shō, where the lower stance (下段) is the life-giving sword (活人剣; yang/life) and the held upper stance the killing sword (殺人刀; yin/death). The mapping is by life/death, not by height.
相構之事 (aigamae no koto)
Aigamae no koto describes both opponents in combative posture (mutual stance):
互ニ構ヘ、打込ムこゝろ、外ニナシ。
“Both take a stance; there is nothing beyond the intent to strike in.”
相心之事 (aishin no koto)
Aishin no koto is the matter of the mutual mind:
互ニ一気ニ合タル所ヲ言フ心也。
“The mind that refers to the point where both are matched as one ki (ikki 一気; yī qì).”
相尺之事 (sōjaku no koto; 相尺)
Sōjaku no koto deals with matching measure (pinyin xiāngchǐ):
たとへバ、向ニテモ弐尺、此方ニテモ弐尺、一致シテ打ツ心也。
“For example, two shaku on the opponent’s side and two shaku on one’s own — matching them, the mind of striking.” — a direct definition of sōjaku as the matched two-shaku measure.
目付之事 (metsuke no koto)
Metsuke no koto addresses the gaze:
目付ハ敵ヲ見ル。〔気配?〕ノ動キトハ、敵ノ眼中。此上ニモ、得ト〔しかと〕敵ノ〔心棒?〕見ル心也。
“Metsuke is watching the enemy. As for the movement of [his] 〔ki-presence 気配?〕 — the enemy’s eyes (眼中); and beyond that, the mind that firmly watches the enemy’s 〔central axis 心棒?〕.”
仕懸之事 (shikake no koto)
Shikake no koto deals with initiating:
究理ノ巻ニモアル通リ、猪牛ノ〔…〕ノこゝろニテ、参リ〔申?〕ト云事也。
“As is also in the Kyūri no maki (窮理之巻; qiónglǐ; ‘investigating principle’; the densho writes 究理), it is advancing with the mind of a charging boar-and-ox (chogyū 猪牛; zhūniú).” — cross-references the JSKR’s own Heihō kyūri no maki (兵法窮理之巻).
手の内之事 (te no uchi no koto)
Tenouchi no koto is the matter of the grip:
茶巾絞リ、心片寄ラズ、シナイ〔竹刀〕ヲ握ル迄。
“The tea-cloth-wringing grip (chakin-shibori 茶巾絞り); without the mind leaning to one side, all the way to gripping the shinai (竹刀).”
一文字之事 (ichimonji no koto)
The straight line is described as yoko (横; horizontal) or tate (竪; vertical).
向ヨリ竪ニ太刀打込ムハ、此方ヨリハ横ヨリ打込ム事也。
“When the opponent strikes down vertically (tate 竪), from one’s own side one strikes across horizontally (yoko 横).”
Tate ichimonji is the reverse of the above — cutting vertically against a horizontal strike.
留三段之事 (tome-sandan no koto)
たとへバ、人ト〔段場?〕ニ及ブ節ハ咽喉〔インド〕也。又ハ親ノ敵ヲ打ツ節ハ、耳ノ脇ヘ留ム。既ニ曽我兄弟、工藤ヲ討ツ節、右耳ノ脇ヘ差ス。〔…〕退治ノ節ハ外ヘ留メ候ヘバ見苦シク候。是ハ土踏マズヘ差ス也。口伝。
“For example, when it comes to [a duel], it is the throat (nodo 咽 喉). When striking a parent’s enemy, one pins beside the ear — as when the Soga brothers (曽我兄弟) killed Kudō (工藤), thrusting beside the right ear. 〔…〕 In general subjugation, pinning to the outside looks unseemly; here one thrusts to the arch of the foot (tsuchifumazu 土踏まず). Oral transmission.” — i.e. three pinning-targets (throat / beside-ear / foot-arch), with the Soga vendetta as exemplar.
This refers to the three manners of delivering the finishing thrust (todome 留め) after a duel, based on the type of conflict one has engaged in: dueling, vendetta, subjugation.
Other commentary speak to tome-sandan no koto in terms of three levels or distances:
見ル 敵ノ拍子 御意ニカナフ 三段
Observing the enemy’s rhythm, it accords with your will, three steps
This is the gloss I provide in TOCS (2025). So here we see different marginal notes for the same formal entry diverge over time.
体当之事 (tai-ate no koto)
自分ノ体、丈夫堅ク出来候上ニテ打込ムベシ。八方八角、車ノ様ナル、何処ニモ十分〔…〕、体ヨリ当ル心也。
“Once one’s own body is made robust and firm, strike in. Eight directions, eight corners, like a wheel, fully everywhere — the mind of striking with the body.”
太刀当之事 (tachi-ate no koto)
右同様ノこゝろ也。太刀ト一所ニ連レテ打ツ心也。
“Same as at right; the mind of striking with [body and] sword linked as one.”
切落之事 (kiri-otoshi no koto)
「平生ノ切落ノ事。悪敷所ハ、幾度モ切捨候而、心ノマヽ〔ニ〕候処、邪心ヲ〔去ル〕心也。」
“The everyday kiri-otoshi. Where it is bad, cut it away however many times until it is as the mind wills — the mind of [removing] evil-mind (jashin 邪心).”
吟味之事 (ginmi no koto)
The ginmi no koto (吟味之事) has the annotation 「相互ニ吟味イタル事也。」 denoting it “the matter of mutual examination.”
Gokui (極意)
Karukome details a comparison of the kata, waza (koto 事; matters), and gokui of this document with the Heihō Zakki of Yamada Mitsunori (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013). The example has commentary on six gokui (氣當・權體勇・西江水・惣體卜・口上極意・不立之勝).
The paired gokui listed with the a-un (阿吽; a-un) bonji read Kōmyōken (功妙剣) and Shinmyōken (心妙剣; heart-subtle sword) — not 切妙剣 (kiri-myōken). Confirmed against a densho copy; this supersedes the earlier “kiri-myōken” reading. Note the three-way distinction to keep in romaji:
- Shinmyōken (神妙剣; 神 = divine/spirit)
- Shinmyōken (心妙剣; 心 = heart)
- Kōmyōken (功妙剣; 功 = merit/efficacy)
Takuan’s Fudōchi Shinmyōroku (p. 129) has: 神ぞ心ぞと申すわけ… 或は性或は心とて、その別ち少しづゝかはり有りといへども、源一つにて候 — relevant to whether the mokuroku’s 心妙剣 against the parent tradition’s 神妙剣 is a meaningful variant or a distinction the milieu already held as porous. Takuan’s own title carries 神妙. A Takuan bridge into Jikishinkage-ryū is suggested by the 不動智/動カサル, 惣身/總身, and 抜目/缺ける correspondences, which are set out and analyzed in the separate essay on seikōsui.
The Fudōchi Shinmyōroku was addressed to Munenori, and Jikishinkage-ryū was influenced by Yamada Heizaemon’s (Ippūsai’s) study of Munenori’s line of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
不動ノ剣 (fudō no ken)
「不動ノ剣ト言。〔処正断?〕。〔…〕信州ト切者成候ヘバ、釼ニテ〔…〕。」
“Called the Immovable Sword (fudō no ken 不動ノ剣; Fudō/Acala 不動). 〔…〕” — the Fudō-Myōō (mikkyō) register, matching the bonji / a-un stratum in the gokui list.
功妙剣 (kōmyōken) 口伝
The NDL model renders the first as 切妙剣; per visual densho check it is 功妙剣, so NDL’s 切 here documents the 功/切 ambiguity. This may vary between documents.
是〔ハ〕梵字ノ別傳ナシ、人ニ〔ユヱ/ユルシ〕習ヒナリ。梵字ハ不動ノ梵字ニテ、〔カン…〕ント唱ヘ、是二字ヲ〔…〕ト云テ、下ノ二句ヲ生ズ。〔…〕功至テ妙ニ〔至ル?〕意也。〔…〕妙剣アリテ、甚〔だ〕至テ妙トナル意ナリ。
“This concerns the bonji (梵字; Sanskrit bīja) — no separate transmission; it is a teaching given person-to-person. The bonji is the Fudō (不動; Acala) bīja, chanted as 〔kān…〕; these two graphs … generate the following two lines. … The sense is ‘efficacy (功) reaching subtlety (妙)’ → kōmyō; … there is the 〔…〕myōken, and it means becoming utterly subtle.”
Ties 功妙剣 to the a-un (阿吽; a / hūṃ) / Fudō-Myōō mikkyō stratum already visible in the gokui list — same register as the Tsuki no Shō 五字/五大 material.
心妙剣 (shinmyōken) 口伝
「心妙剣心持也。口伝。動カサル気味、何レモ惣身〔ニ〕マシ〔?〕、抜目〔なく〕聞キ〔利き〕所也。〔…〕。」
Shinmyōken (心妙剣) — it is a matter of kokoromochi (心持; mental bearing/disposition). Kuden (口伝; orally transmitted). An unmoving quality (動カサル気味): in every case, 〔suffusing?〕 the whole body (惣身); it is the point at which 〔one perceives / it tells〕 without a blind spot. 〔…〕
Clause by clause:
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心持也 — 心持 (kokoromochi) is “frame of mind / mental bearing,” and the nari makes the whole entry predicative: shinmyōken is a mental disposition, not a physical form. The gesture is to file the item under mind rather than technique.
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口伝 — the standard marker that the substance is withheld for oral transmission. Everything after it is a mnemonic gloss, not the teaching.
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動カサル気味 — read 動かざる (ugokazaru; unmoving, classical negative attributive) + 気味 (kimi; a quality, feel, tinge). “An unmoving feel.” Not “motionless body” — 気味 is a felt quality, so this is about the character of the state, not immobility of the limbs.
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何レモ惣身〔ニ〕マシ〔?〕 — 何れも (izure mo; in every case / whichever [technique]), 惣身 = 総身 (sōmi; the whole body). The マシ is the weak point. Candidates: 増し (mashi; increased, amplified); a “mingle/pervade” verb (交じ/混じ, though one would expect マジ); or 廻し (mawashi; circulated) if a kana is lost. I wouldn’t force it — but note the sense is stable across all three: the unmoving quality is to be distributed through the whole body rather than localized. That’s the load-bearing content, and it survives the uncertainty.
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抜目〔なく〕聞キ〔利き〕所也 — 抜け目なく (nukeme naku; with no gap, no blind spot). The 利き gloss gives 利き所 (kikidokoro; the point where it takes effect / where it tells) — the martial reading. Taking it as 聞き所 instead gives “the point to be perceived/attended to.” The two aren’t far apart in a densho: both make this the locus where the state becomes operative without lapse.
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心妙剣 vs 神妙剣. We see 神妙 in 0003’s 長短一味. 神妙剣 (shinmyōken) is an inherited Shinkage-ryū term, so a JSKR mokuroku writing 心 where the parent tradition writes 神 is either a meaningful variant or a scribal one. Whether the house deliberately re-grounded a shin-as-divine term in shin-as-mind is a real question.
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動カサル (unmoving) + the instruction to spread the mind through 惣身 rather than fix it anywhere is very close to the Fudōchi Shinmyōroku (不動智神妙録) teaching: don’t set the mind in one place; set it nowhere and it pervades the body. Note that text carries 神妙 in its own title, and 不動 in the deity’s name.
氣當 (ki-ate; 気当; ki-striking / ki-contact)
執行ノ中ニ而モ、〔とこと…?〕ニ空ナル所アリ。兎角、気分モ体モ〔ク〕渡レハ、一ツ添ヘ〔一つに?〕ニ出来ル事ナリ。
“Even in the midst of execution there is a place that is empty (kū 空); in any case, when both the ki-feeling (kibun 気分) and the body pass through, it comes about as one.”
權體勇 (ken-tai-yū) or 権体勇 (ken-tai-yū)
ケンハ秤ノ重ミ、体ノ勇也。不行・不〔踊／帰?〕・不〔留／止?〕、万事一ツ添ヘニ成タルこゝろ也。
“Ken (権; quán) is the counterpoise-weight of a steelyard (hakari 秤); [it is] the vigor of the body (tai no yū 体の勇). ‘Not going, not 〔returning?〕, not stopping,’ a mind in which all things become one.”
Confirms the balance-weight metaphor inferred from the red ink commentary of the 1805 example. Variant on the non-fixation formula: the red commentary has 不行不帰不止 compared to here 不行・不〔踊/帰〕・不〔留/止〕.
Reading support: 権 (ken/gon; quán) literally denotes the sliding counterpoise-weight of a steelyard balance, so the “scale/equilibrium” metaphor for 権体勇 is internally apt. The sidenote 不行不帰不止 matches the Karukome-table annotation on this gokui (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013).
西江水 (seikōsui; xī jiāng shuǐ; West River water)
The 1768 densho carries both a black-ink gloss and a red-ink shusho (朱書) interlinear commentary on 西江水. Their transcription and analysis — together with the attestation history of the phrase and its likely route into Jikishinkage-ryū — is of significant length so are given in the separate essay on seikōsui.
惣體卜 (sōtai-boku)
惣体ノ〔卜／分?〕。惣クゝり〔総括り〕ノ心也。人ノ動キモ何モ見ユルガ肝要也。
“The whole body (sōtai 惣体): a mind of gathering-all-together (sō-kukuri 総括り); the essential is that all the opponent’s movements are seen.”
Here, it seems as though one is commenting on perception. The later red ink commentary is difficult to read. It may say:
〔キカ…〕流ノ義。初メ形、両〔手?〕ヲヒロケ、三所〔…〕、〔細?〕帳ニ風ノ含ム如〔ク〕、一パイニ満テ〔…〕下ニ〔…〕アリ。此ノモ〔…〕。
“〔…〕-ryū’s sense. First the form: both 〔hands?〕 opened, three places 〔…〕, as wind fills a 〔curtain/sail?〕, filled to the brim 〔…〕 below 〔…〕. This too 〔…〕.” — i.e. the whole-body (sōtai 惣体) expansion/integration.
This seems to instead refer to the body being integrated and expanded so that it is fully connected. In internal martial arts, this is a type of cultivated force or energy called jin (勁; jìn; trained force).
口上極意 (kōjō gokui; the oral-statement innermost teaching)
自分ノ呑込〔飲み込め〕ぬ義ナド不申、先ノ残レタルモノニハ負ル事有。其処ヲ心ヲ相考フヘキ也。
“Do not speak of matters you have not grasped; there are times you lose to what remains ahead. That place one should consider well.” — i.e. kōjō is here the discretion of oral transmission: what to state and what to withhold.
不立之勝 (furyū no katsu; the victory of not-establishing)
執行場ニ至リ候而、立合トモ候ヤ、此人ニ勝タントヤ、〔…〕此方ヨケレハ不立、先ニ見込ミ勝〔ツ…〕
“Coming to the practice ground and facing off — ‘[shall I] win against this person?’ — 〔…〕 if your side is ready, do not establish [a stance] (fu-ritsu 不立); win by anticipating (先ニ見込ミ).” — the mukamae (無構; no-stance) logic.
十悪 (jūaku; the ten evils)
These are written traditionally in katakana. Below is a best-effort at kanji:
- カマン = gaman (我慢; self-conceit; Skt. asmimāna)
- カシン = 〔kashin 過信, overconfidence / or gashin 我心, egoism — ambiguous〕
- トンヨク = don’yoku (貪欲; greed; Skt. lobha)
- イカリ = ikari (怒り; anger; Skt. dveṣa)
- オソレ = osore (恐れ; fear)
- アヤフミ = ayabumi (危ふみ; apprehension)
- ウタカヒ = utagai (疑ひ; doubt; Skt. vicikitsā)
- マヨイ = mayoi (迷ひ; delusion; Skt. moha)
- アナツリ = anadori (侮り; contempt / scorn)
- マンシン = manshin (慢心; conceit; Skt. māna)
These are “diseases of the mind”; they overlap the four classic sicknesses (shibyō 四病: 驚・懼・疑・惑 — startle, fear, doubt, confusion) and map onto the Tsuki no Shō’s byōki (病気) gokui, the mental fixations to be removed.
「此十悪ハいづれも〔…〕、〔新気ヲ〕スラレバ出来ル。此内一ツ有テモ出来不申事。」
“These ten evils, every one 〔…〕; if one 〔…〕 〔the fresh ki 新気?〕, it can be accomplished. If even one of these is present, it cannot be done.”
Transmission colophon (ending passage)
Reconciled reading and translation of the closing licensing colophon. Script is clear gyōsho (行書). Method: NDL古典籍OCR-Lite (which recovered most of the kanbun) × human read × collation with Karukome’s transcription of the corresponding passage (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013). NDL models succeeded on the clear script:
右條之極意者、有口傳。以理爲誠、以誠爲理也。愈々工夫鍛錬、二六時中、無怠慢、〔御〕勉、可爲肝要者也。
元目録之旨趣爲奧儀、今旁下數年、深實信仰、而二六時中、依被勵懇精之、不殘一塵授之、〔暇加愚意説?〕、彌抽丹誠。此道有切磋琢磨工夫、可被鍛錬。而猶〔心〕妙不測之所、免状之時、可顯之者也。
“The gokui items above carry oral transmission (kuden 口傳). Take principle (ri 理; lǐ) as sincerity, and sincerity (makoto 誠; chéng) as principle. Ever more contrive and forge (kufū tanren 工夫鍛錬), throughout the twelve hours (nirokujichū 二六時中; èr liù shízhōng — day and night), without slackening, applying oneself — this must be held essential.
The purport of the original mokuroku (moto-mokuroku 元目録) is [held to be] the innermost teaching (ōgi 奧儀). Now, over several years, with deep and true faith, being urged day and night to earnest exertion, it was conferred without a single mote (ichijin 一塵) held back, 〔adding my humble explanation?〕, drawing out ever greater devotion (tansei 丹誠).
This Way holds mutual polishing and contrivance (sessa-takuma kufū 切磋琢磨工夫; qiēcuō-zhuómó); it must be forged. And still, the place of the subtlety beyond measure (myō fusoku 妙不測) is revealed only at the time of licensing (menjō 免状).”
“What is called ‘winning’ lies in the fore-of-the-fore (sensensen 先々先); the later victory (go no kachi 後の勝) too lies in the fore-of-fore — as fore-and-after, fore-and-after, right and left, back and front all brought into accord: heaven, earth, and the myriad things are of one root, one emptiness (tenchi banbutsu dōkon ikkū 天地万物同根一空; tiāndì wànwù tóng gēn yī kōng). Set down in writing, conveyed by mouth — these words (kotonoha 言の葉); to hold them in the everyday mind is forging (tanren 鍛練).”
Provenance line
In the passage below several readings are flagged (権/勉精, 旁下, 免状〔態〕):
右者従先師神谷氏伝信大居士目録之、雖為奧儀、今旁下数年有深実信仰、而二六時中被励〔権/勉〕精之、不残一塵授之。暇加愚意説、抽弥丹誠。此道有切磋琢磨工夫、可被鍛練。而猶心妙不測之所、免状〔態〕之時可顕之者也。
“The above follows the mokuroku of the late master Kamiya (先師神谷氏), 〔posthumous name〕 Denshin Daikoji (伝信大居士). Though it is the innermost teaching (ōgi 奥儀), now — over several years, holding deep and true faith, urged day and night to exert full effort — it was conferred without a single mote held back. In my spare time I have added my own humble explanations, drawing out ever greater devotion. This Way holds mutual polishing (sessa-takuma 切磋琢磨; qiēcuō-zhuómó) and contrivance (kufū 工夫); it must be forged. Even so, the place of the mind’s subtlety beyond measure (〔shin〕myō fusoku 〔心〕妙不測) is to be revealed only at the time of licensing (menjō 免状).”
Recension variant (for collation)
This densho:
元目録之旨趣爲奧儀
the purport of the original mokuroku is the innermost teaching
Karukome’s transcription of the corresponding passage (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013):
従先師神谷氏伝信大居士目録之雖爲奧儀
[it] follows the mokuroku of the late master Kamiya 〔神谷氏〕, [posthumous name] Denshin Daikoji 伝信大居士, though it be the innermost teaching”). So the two copies differ in whether the licensing clause names its source (Kamiya) or refers generically to the “original mokuroku.
Kamiya Denshinsai (神谷伝心斎) was, per Karukome (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013), the founder of Jikishin-ryū (直心流) and the lineage predecessor of Naganuma Kunisato (長沼国郷). If the named recension is authoritative, this colophon derives the transmission from Kamiya Denshinsai’s mokuroku — a concrete placement of the ke05_01032 copy in the JSKR line, and a dating anchor for its gokui content (including 西江水).
Key Findings
- 面影 (menkage or omokage) explicitly contrasts the Yagyū approach with the JSKR one and invokes the water-moon (水に月の移る心) — a JSKR-internal reference to both 柳生 and the suigetsu figure. This is direct densho evidence of the JSKR↔Yagyū comparison traced in the seikōsui essay, in the school’s own words.
- 松風 corroborates Karukome (Karukome Yoshitaka 2013) independently: 円飛/燕飛 formerly 猿飛, with 小笠原源信斎 (真新陰流) — the same 燕飛/圓飛/猿飛 renaming Karukome argues, here attested in the densho itself.
- Opening verses attributed to Naganuma Kunisato — dates/places this recension in the Kunisato line (consistent with the 相尺・留三段・切落・吟味 additions present in the waza list).
- 泥〔手/牛?〕鉄山破 (teppa) — not a fixed canonical quotation but a well-formed, Japanese-order condensation of a productive Buddhist formula (see the 鉄破 entry).
- 不動ノ剣 / 功妙剣 / a-un bonji — a consistent Fudō-Myōō (mikkyō) stratum across the gokui.
- The document confirms the full gokui set (incl. 西江水) and the 功妙剣 reading (NDL’s 切 documents the 功/切 ambiguity).
References
primary
secondary
End Notes
