Transcription
第一 (Dai-ichi / First)
Figure: Tengu in pink-purple and blue-green clothing, crouching with sword held close. Level notation: 上中 / 下一 Sword lines: Crossed lines visible (partially obscured by image transition). Interpretation: Upper and middle cuts; 1 lower cut.
第二 (Dai-ni / Second)
Figure: Larger tengu in green-yellow clothing, sword extended low and forward. Level notation: 上中 / 下一 Sword lines: Multiple crossing lines — X pattern with additional trajectories. Interpretation: Upper and middle cuts; 1 lower cut. Note: The pattern of grey lines is more complex than 第一 despite the same notation, suggesting the notation records targets struck rather than total number of movements.
第三 (Dai-san / Third)
Figure: Tengu in brown-gold and green clothing, standing wide. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 一二 Sword lines: X pattern (two crossing diagonal lines). Interpretation: Upper; middle; lower with 1 and 2 (uncertain — could be “lower: 1–2 cuts” or a combined notation).
第四 (Dai-shi / Fourth)
Figure: Tengu in pink-purple clothing, crouching with sword thrust forward, multi-directional sword lines. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 一二 Sword lines: Multiple lines radiating in several directions (more than a simple X). Interpretation: Same notation as 第三.
第五 (Dai-go / Fifth)
Figure: Tengu in yellow-pink and green clothing. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 一二 Sword lines: X pattern. Interpretation: Same notation as 第三 and 第四.
第六 (Dai-roku / Sixth)
Figure: Tengu in red-green clothing, mid-level guard. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 二一 Sword lines: Distinctive parallel horizontal lines (notably different from crossing patterns — possibly representing thrusts or horizontal sweeps rather than diagonal cuts). Interpretation: Upper; middle; lower 2 and 1. Note reversed order from 第三–第五 (二一 vs 一二).
第七 (Dai-shichi / Seventh)
Figure: DISTINCTIVE — elder tengu with white hair/beard (daitengu type), dark feathered wings, in red and green clothing. Holds sword in both hands. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 二一 [reading from Image 5, right edge] Sword lines: Crossing lines plus additional trajectories. Interpretation: Same reversed notation as 第六. Note: The elder/white-haired appearance distinguishes this tengu from all others and may indicate a senior or master-level technique.
第八 (Dai-hachi / Eighth)
Figure: Tengu in yellow-orange and green, seated in wide stance. Level notation: 此手多正傳 (Kono te ōku shōden) Sword lines: THE MOST COMPLEX — many lines radiating in multiple directions, significantly more than any other position. Also includes what appears to be a single horizontal line at the bottom (a thrust or sweep?). Interpretation: “These techniques are numerous — true/principal transmission.” This position is explicitly marked as the core or principal transmission of the set. The absence of standard 上/中/下 notation and the annotation 此手多正傳 suggests this is the summary or master technique that encompasses all levels. Note: The word 正傳 (shōden, true/correct transmission) marks this as having special doctrinal weight.
第九 (Dai-kyū / Ninth)
Figure: DISTINCTIVE — tengu with dark brown/olive feathers (more eagle-like, different from the lighter-feathered tengu). Prominent beak-nose, in pink clothing. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 二一 Sword lines: Three parallel diagonal lines (distinctive pattern — all going in the same direction, upper-right to lower-left). Interpretation: Upper; middle; lower 2 and 1. Same reversed notation as 第六 and 第七.
第十 (Dai-jū / Tenth)
Figure: Tengu in green clothing with dark wing feathers, crouching/striding. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 一二 Sword lines: X pattern with additional lines. Interpretation: Same notation as 第三–第五.
第十一 (Dai-jūichi / Eleventh)
Figure: Tengu in red and green-yellow clothing, standing with sword drawn. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 一二一 Sword lines: Crossing X pattern. Interpretation: Upper; middle; lower 1, 2, 1. This is the first position with THREE numbers in the lower notation, indicating a more complex technique. The palindromic structure (1-2-1) may encode a specific rhythmic pattern.
第十二 (Dai-jūni / Twelfth)
Figure: THE MOST ELABORATE — tengu in multi-colored pink/green/red clothing, in a dynamic lunging pose with sword raised high (jōdan). This is the final and culminating position. Level notation: 上 / 中 / 下 四三二 Sword lines: [partially visible due to proximity to text section] Interpretation: Upper; middle; lower 4, 3, 2. This is the most complex notation in the entire set — three numbers in a descending sequence (4→3→2). The total of 9 lower-level actions dwarfs every other position. The descending pattern may encode a progressive narrowing or refinement within the technique. —
Closing Text
Following the blood oath and purification clauses, there are statements that "In ancient times, this was transmitted with sincere and pure devotion." (古者直實穀之仁粹之相傳) and Nichirin Marishiten (日輪摩利支天; "Sun Disc of Marīcī Deva") an invocation of the warrior deity, closing the set. ## Summary Table of Cut Notations | Position | 上 (Upper) | 中 (Middle) | 下 (Lower) | Notes | |----------|-----------|------------|-----------|-------| | 第一 | ✓ | ✓ | 一 | | | 第二 | ✓ | ✓ | 一 | | | 第三 | ✓ | ✓ | 一二 | | | 第四 | ✓ | ✓ | 一二 | Multi-directional lines | | 第五 | ✓ | ✓ | 一二 | | | 第六 | ✓ | ✓ | 二一 | Reversed; parallel lines | | 第七 | ✓ | ✓ | 二一 | Elder/daitengu figure | | 第八 | — | — | — | 此手多正傳; most complex | | 第九 | ✓ | ✓ | 二一 | Dark-feathered; parallel lines | | 第十 | ✓ | ✓ | 一二 | | | 第十一 | ✓ | ✓ | 一二一 | THREE numbers — expanded notation | | 第十二 | ✓ | ✓ | 四三二 | THREE numbers — descending sequence; culminating |
Notation
1. The 上 and 中 notations never carry explicit numbers in this copy — only 下 receives numerical counts. This may indicate that upper and middle cuts are standard (one each?), with the variation encoded in the lower-level attacks.
2. Positions 第六, 第七, and 第九 reverse the lower count from 一二 to 二一. This creates a pattern where a cluster of three positions in the middle of the set use reversed notation — whether this indicates a different sequence of execution, a different spatial arrangement, or marks a distinct sub-group of techniques is unclear without oral transmission.
3. 第八 breaks the pattern entirely with the annotation 此手多正傳, marking it as the principal/true transmission. The dense cluster of sword lines around this figure suggests it is the "master key" technique.
4. 第七 and 第九 have visually distinctive tengu — the elder (white-haired) and the eagle-feathered respectively — which may indicate techniques of a different character or origin than the standard set.
5. 第十二 has the highest lower-count numbers (四三二), with a total of 9 lower-level actions and a descending sequence. The progression from two-number notation (positions 1–10) to three-number notation (positions 11–12) suggests a structural escalation toward the climax of the set.
6. The notation expands at the end of the set: Positions 第一–第十 use two numbers for 下, while 第十一 uses three (一二一) and 第十二 uses three (四三二). This expansion may indicate that the final positions encode more complex multi-stage techniques, or that the third number represents an additional dimension (e.g., a third direction or phase of attack).
7. 第十一's palindromic 一二一 (1-2-1) is structurally distinct from 第十二's descending 四三二 (4-3-2), suggesting different organizing principles for the two culminating techniques.
The grey sword-line patterns vary systematically: some show X-crosses (diagonal cuts), some show parallel lines (repeated cuts in one direction or thrusts), and some show radial patterns (multi-directional attacks). These patterns carry information beyond what the 上/中/下 notation alone records.
第八's 此手多正傳 could be read as "these techniques are numerous — true transmission" or "this hand [position] has many true transmissions [variants]."
Several positions in the middle of the set (第三–第五) share identical notation (上 / 中 / 下 一二), raising the question of whether the figures and sword-line patterns — rather than the text notation — carry the differentiating information.
