Some Jikishinkage-ryū Monuments at Kashima Jingū

16 June 2026

The Jikishinkage-ryū Monuments at Kashima Jingū

Within the precincts of Kashima Jingū (鹿島神宮), by the Mitarashi pond (御手洗池), stand a cluster of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū monuments maintained by the Hyakuren-kai (百錬会). The texts and details below are drawn from the Hyakuren-kai’s own documentation of the site;1 only the founder’s stele carries an inscription transcribed online, so the remaining three are recorded here to the extent presently possible and await on-site transcription.

One point of method worth stating at the outset: the founder’s stele is not a neutral lineage record. It was raised in 1968 in the name of the seventeenth-generation Ōnishi Hidetaka, and its account of the succession runs directly from the fifteenth generation to the seventeenth, omitting the sixteenth — Kawashima Takashi, whom his own Yokoshiba memorial of 1960 names as sixteenth-generation orthodox.2 The monument is therefore best read as a partisan document of the post-Yamada schism rather than as a settled genealogy.

1. The Founder’s Stele (鹿島神傳直心影流流祖碑)

Frontispiece (daigaku, 題額) by Sasai Shintarō (佐々井信太郎), Doctor of Literature;3 text composed by Mizuma Shingo (三潴信吾), Professor of Takasaki City University of Economics;4 calligraphy by Ōmori Sōgen (大森曽玄).5 Dated kōki 2628 / May Shōwa 43 (1968).6

夫レ古来我ガ武道ハ剣道ニ由ツテ立ツ。

Sore korai waga budō wa kendō ni yotte tatsu.

From of old, our martial way has stood upon the way of the sword.

而シテ日本刀ノ真髄ハ實ニ皇国伝来ノ惟神之〔六〕道ヲ百錬自得、世々ニ継受シテ、生成化育創造ノ至妙ヲ發揚シ、以テ無窮ニ彌榮エ、至道一貫、唯天業ニ侍スル大和魂其ノ者ニ他ナラズ。

Shikashite Nihontō no shinzui wa jitsu ni kōkoku denrai no kannagara no 〔roku-?〕dō o hyakuren-jitoku, yoyo ni keiju shite, seisei kaiiku sōzō no shimyō o hatsuyō shi, motte mukyū ni iyasakae, shidō ikkan, tada tengyō ni jisuru Yamato-damashii sono mono ni hokanarazu.

And the true essence of the Japanese sword is nothing other than the Yamato spirit itself — that which, attaining through hundredfold tempering the imperially transmitted divine Way,7 inheriting it generation upon generation, manifests the supreme subtlety of generation, nurture, and creation; flourishes endlessly without limit; runs unbroken through the ultimate Way; and serves the heavenly enterprise alone.

生ク足ルノ〔義〕亦正ニ此ニ在ラン。

Iku taru no 〔gi〕 mata masa ni koko ni aran.

The meaning of a life fully lived, too, lies precisely here.8

剣道ノ本ハ術ニ在ラズ、日本刀ノ質ハ具ニ在ラズ。

Kendō no moto wa jutsu ni arazu, Nihontō no shitsu wa gu ni arazu.

The root of the way of the sword does not lie in technique; the nature of the Japanese sword does not lie in the implement.

其ノ修得ニ志ス者、齊シク心ヲ清メ體ヲ〔持〕シ、専ラ神意ヲ畏ミテ、須臾モ油断アルベカラズ。

Sono shūtoku ni kokorozasu mono, hitoshiku kokoro o kiyome, karada o 〔ji〕shi, moppara shin’i o kashikomite, shuyu mo yudan aru bekarazu.

Those who aspire to master it must alike purify the heart and discipline the body, reverently heed the divine will, and never relax their guard even for a moment.

謹ミテ想フニ、千早振ル神代ノ昔、建御雷之男神、智勇殊ニ勝レ、神命ヲ畏ミテ韴霊剣ヲ佩キ、高天原ヨリ降リテ出雲ニ使シ、大國主命ノ治メ給ヘル豊葦原ヲ獻リテ天孫ヲ迎フルノ神機ヲ成ス。

Tsutsushimite omou ni, chihayaburu kamiyo no mukashi, Takemikazuchi-no-o-no-kami, chiyū koto ni sugure, shinmei o kashikomite Futsu-no-mitama no tsurugi o haki, Takamagahara yori kudarite Izumo ni tsukai shi, Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto no osame-tamaeru Toyoashihara o tatematsurite tenson o mukauru no shinki o nasu.

Reverently I reflect: in the age of the gods of old, Takemikazuchi-no-o-no-kami, surpassing in wisdom and valor, in awe of the divine command girded the Futsu-no-mitama sword, descended from Takamagahara as envoy to Izumo, and brought about the divine turning by which Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto offered up the Toyoashihara land he had ruled and welcomed the heavenly grandchild.

皇國ノ基茲ニ開ク。鹿島神宮創始ノ淵源ニシテ、武運發祥ノ所以也。

Kōkoku no moto koko ni hiraku. Kashima Jingū sōshi no engen ni shite, buun hasshō no yuen nari.

Thus the foundation of the imperial land was opened here — the very wellspring of Kashima Jingū’s founding, and the reason it is the birthplace of martial fortune.

史上、海邊防備ノ防人モ此地ニ武ヲ練リ、海外ニ使スル者亦當神宮ノ神佑ヲ祈リテ出デ立ツヲ習トシ、以テ「鹿島立チ」ノ名起ル。

Shijō, kaihen bōbi no sakimori mo kono chi ni bu o neri, kaigai ni tsukai suru mono mata tō-jingū no shin’yū o inorite idetatsu o narai to shi, motte “Kashima-dachi” no na okoru.

In history the frontier-guards (sakimori) of the coastal defenses honed their martial skill here; and those sent abroad likewise made it their custom to set out after praying for this shrine’s divine protection — whence arose the term “Kashima-dachi,” the setting-out from Kashima.

中葉、兵法者多ク此地ニ参集セル中ニ、當神宮ノ祝部松本備前守尚勝、〔神伝〕ヲ得テ鹿島神流ヲ起シ、門系上泉伊勢守信綱ニ至リテ新陰流ヲ開キ、七代山田平左衛門ニ及ビテ直心影流ノ稱ヲ定ム。

Chūyō, heihōsha ōku kono chi ni sanshū seru naka ni, tō-jingū no hafuri Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami Naokatsu, 〔shinden〕 o ete Kashima Shin-ryū o okoshi, monkei Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna ni itarite Shinkage-ryū o hiraki, nana-dai Yamada Heizaemon ni oyobite Jikishinkage-ryū no shō o sadamu.

In a middle age, among the many martial men who gathered here, the shrine’s priest (hafuri) Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami Naokatsu9 received the divine transmission10 and founded Kashima Shin-ryū; the lineage reached Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna, who opened Shinkage-ryū; and by the seventh generation, Yamada Heizaemon, the name Jikishinkage-ryū was fixed.

一切諸行ハ心ノ影也、氣ハ即チ影ニ應ズ、直キ心コソ大事ナレ、トノ意也。

Issai shogyō wa kokoro no kage nari, ki wa sunawachi kage ni ōzu, naoki kokoro koso daiji nare, to no i nari.

All actions are shadows of the heart; the spirit (ki) answers to that shadow; an upright heart is what truly matters — such is the meaning of the name.

流祖備前守出デテ、茲ニ五百年ヲ迎フ。

Ryūso Bizen-no-kami idete, koko ni gohyaku-nen o mukau.

Five hundred years have now passed since the founder Bizen-no-kami appeared.

此ノ時ニ當リ、且ハ邦家ノ現状ニ鑒ミ、十五代山田次朗吉門弟、十七代大西英隆ノ遺志ヲ継ギ、同志相譲リテ謹ミテ碑ヲ立テ、以テ皇國守護・斯道恢弘ノ微〔衷〕ヲ祈念セント欲ス。

Kono toki ni atari, katsu wa hōka no genjō ni kangami, jūgo-dai Yamada Jirōkichi montei, jūnana-dai Ōnishi Hidetaka no ishi o tsugi, dōshi ai-yuzurite tsutsushimite hi o tate, motte kōkoku shugo, shidō kaikō no bi〔chū〕 o kinen sen to hossu.

At this juncture, mindful too of the present state of the nation, carrying on the will of the seventeenth-generation Ōnishi Hidetaka — a disciple of the fifteenth-generation Yamada Jirōkichi — like-minded persons have together reverently raised this stele, wishing thereby to pray with humble sincerity11 for the protection of the imperial land and the broad propagation of this Way.2

神霊庶幾クハ受ケサセ給ヘ。

Shinrei koinegawakuwa ukesase-tamae.

May the divine spirits, we humbly pray, deign to receive this.

Attribution lines: Respectfully composed by Mizuma Shingo, Professor, Takasaki City University of Economics. Imperial Year 2628 / May Shōwa 43 (1968). Respectfully brushed by Ōmori Sōgen. (高崎經濟大学教授三潴信吾謹撰／皇紀二千六百二十八年 昭和四十三年五月／大森曽玄謹書)

2. The Yamada Jirōkichi Ittokusai Stele (霊剣位 山田次朗吉一徳斎碑)

A separate stele honoring the fifteenth-generation head, Yamada Jirōkichi Ittokusai (山田次朗吉一徳斎), prefaced by the title “Reiken-i” (霊剣位, “spirit-sword rank”).12 No body inscription is reproduced in the online source; the full text awaits on-site transcription.

3. The Ancestral-Spirits Shrine (祖霊社)

A small shrine (sorei-sha) in the precinct cluster; the Hyakuren-kai records that the seventeenth-generation Ōnishi Hidetaka is enshrined (gōshi, 合祀) there. No inscription is given online.

4. The “Hyakuren Jitoku” Stone (百錬自得)

A stone bearing the school’s motto Hyakuren jitoku (百錬自得, “through hundredfold tempering, self-attainment”). The characters were chosen by Katsu Kaishū (勝海舟) and brushed by Yamada Jirōkichi (山田次朗吉).13 No further text is recorded online.

Notes

References

  • 一般社団法人 鹿島神傳直心影流百錬会 (Hyakuren-kai), “鹿島神宮の関連施設” — https://100ren.jimdoweb.com/鹿島神宮の関連施設/. Source of the founder’s-stele inscription transcription and the photographs and identifications of all four monuments. The site asserts copyright over its images; obtain permission or use your own photographs for publication.
  • For the companion Yokoshiba memorial (the 1960 stele naming Kawashima sixteenth-generation orthodox), see the separate document in this series.

  1. Provenance. The founder’s-stele inscription and the identifications of all four monuments are transcribed from the Hyakuren-kai’s page “鹿島神宮の関連施設” (see References), not read from the stones. Clause divisions, several characters, and the rōmaji are therefore provisional; uncertain points are marked 〔…〕 and should be checked against the monuments themselves. ↩

  2. The omitted sixteenth generation. The succession clause runs from the fifteenth-generation Yamada Jirōkichi directly to the seventeenth-generation Ōnishi Hidetaka, described as Yamada’s disciple; there is no sixteenth generation. Kawashima Takashi (川島堯), named “sixteenth-generation orthodox” on his Yokoshiba memorial of 1960 (see the companion document), is absent. As this stele was raised in 1968 in Ōnishi’s name, it is the public monument of the Hyakuren-kai’s “straight from Yamada to Ōnishi” numbering, and it post-dates the Yokoshiba stele — placing the hardening of that numbering between 1960 and 1968. ↩ ↩2

  3. Frontispiece. By Sasai Shintarō (佐々井信太郎), styled Doctor of Literature (文学博士), Junior Seventh Rank, Order of Merit Third Class. Identity beyond the titles given on the stele is not verified here. ↩

  4. Composer. Mizuma Shingo (三潴信吾), Professor at Takasaki City University of Economics — an institution with standing Hyakuren-kai ties (its kendō club appears among the body’s affiliated groups), which underscores the stele’s provenance within the Ōnishi line. ↩

  5. Calligrapher. Ōmori Sōgen (the page writes 大森曽玄; the usual form is 大森曹玄), the Rinzai Zen master and swordsman, whose own Jikishinkage-ryū line is recorded separately from the Hyakuren-kai. His hand on this stele is itself a datum about the networks around the 1968 monument. ↩

  6. Register and dating. The inscription is dated by the imperial era-count (kōki 皇紀 2628 = 1968) and is composed in an explicitly Shinto-nationalist idiom (皇国 “imperial land,” 大和魂 “Yamato spirit,” 天業 “heavenly enterprise,” 皇国守護 “protection of the imperial land”). It is useful to read alongside the comparable period rhetoric of related Jikishinkage-ryū bodies. ↩

  7. 惟神之〔六〕道. 惟神 (kannagara) denotes “the way of the gods.” The web transcription gives the next character as 六 (“six”), which is difficult to construe here and is almost certainly a transcription error for 大 — i.e. 惟神之大道, “the great divine way.” This emendation is corroborated independently by the Issei-kai (一誠会), whose doctrinal preamble uses the same phrase, 惟神の大道（神ながらの道）; see https://www.isseikaiweb.com/ and the companion commentary. The reading should still be confirmed against the stone. ↩

  8. 生ク足ル. Reading and sense uncertain; rendered here as “a life fully lived.” To be verified. ↩

  9. Founder’s name. The stele gives the founder as Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami Naokatsu (松本備前守尚勝). Other accounts give Masamoto (政元), or record a change from Naokatsu to Masamoto; the existence and identity of the founder are themselves debated in the scholarship. ↩

  10. 〔神伝〕. The web transcription reads 神殿 (“shrine hall”), but the sense — “received the —— and founded Kashima Shin-ryū” — points to 神伝 (shinden, “divine transmission”). Flagged. ↩

  11. 微〔衷〕. The web transcription reads 微哀; the expected idiom is 微衷 (bichū, “humble sincere intent”). Flagged. ↩

  12. “Reiken-i.” 霊剣位 (“spirit-sword rank/title”) appears as an honorific heading the Yamada stele; its precise import should be confirmed against the stone. ↩

  13. The Katsu Kaishū connection. That the school’s motto stone pairs Katsu Kaishū’s choice of characters with Yamada Jirōkichi’s brush reflects Katsu’s own grounding in Jikishinkage-ryū (via Shimada Toranosuke, a disciple of the thirteenth-generation Odani Nobutomo) — the same lineage tie that a disciple-author of Kawashima’s circle, Namiki Yasushi, took as the subject of Katsu Kaishū no genten. ↩