I have not heard or read much about Sasaki Kojiro's school of kenjutsu. I know that he had a style patterned after a swallow's tail in flight, which was known to be almost unstoppable, and that he was a student of the Chujo school. Does anyone know of any good reading material on this school or style?

Angelus,

Sorry to disappoint you, but that is fiction from Eiji Yoshikawa's book Mushsah. I have heard -- although I wish I could cite the source -- that Yoshikawa stated he made up the tsubame-gaeshi technique.

Can anyone confirm/deny the hearsay remark?

Additionally, according to other accounts (Nakamura sensei heard it from a previous soke of Niten Ichi Ryu), Musashi was about 36 and Sasaki was about 70 when the duel happened.



Regards,
Guy

That makes sense seeing how I have looked all over the internet for some information on it. The only sources I found were from Yoshikawa's book and the Samurai trilogy. Was there not a Chujo school, though? I believe I read it was founded my Chujo Nagahide and he served the Ashikaga clan sometime around the end of the fourteenth century.

Angelus,

This is what I found on a quick Google search:

[note: just because these notes were culled from the internet, don't presume everything to be 100% true ... unless you read it on my site :D]

In Italian:
In French:
Regards,
Guy

Wow, thanks a lot, Guy! I guess I was just caught up in the wonderful story and movie. Besides, a style patterned after a swallow's tail in flight is interesting... I also found a picture of Francis Boyd's interpretation of Sasaki's Drying Pole. Beautiful work.

Angelus,

Glad to have helped. By the way ... were you aware that the movie "Samurai Trilogy" is based on Yoshikawa's novel, Musashi?

Regards,
Guy

The "Samurai" films were really bad, I think. Pretty to look at, but devoid of any real substance (just what most Americans think Japanese films are supposed to be like). Unless he was being directed by Kurosawa, Mifune seemed incapable of acting his way out of a wet paper bag. Besides, Inagaki Hiroshi, the director of the trilogy, was a fairly typical cherry-blossom-and-Mount-Fuji type of director; a lot of pretty imagery but generally pretty pedestrian. (I liked his version of Chushingura, though, since I like cherry blossoms and romantic stoicism as much as the next guy, and the actors who played Oishi and Kira were very good.)

There is another film about Musashi called, in English, "Sword of Fury". I can't remember when it was made (mid to late 70s, maybe) or who directed it (I'll have to go back and check my copy) but it stars Takashi Hideki as Musashi, Matsuzaka Keiko (hubba hubba!) as Otsu, and Kamiya Jiro as Sasaki Kojiro. A lot of good fighting and not so much soft focus romance and Musashi worship. The character of Takuan is especially well drawn in this film.

I have also heard of a couple of other films about Musashi starring Nakamura Kinnosuke and Mikuni Rentaro as Musashi, respectively. Does anyone know these films and whether or not they're available on video? I also saw a film a long time ago called Sasaki Kojiro, which concentrates on Sasaki and in which Musashi (Nakadai Tatsuya) is a very minor character, showing up near the end to finish Sasaki off. Anybody know this film?

Earl

“Brace up! Earl. Brace up!”
 

Kojiro - the movie is by the same director as the Musashi X3 if I remember correctly, but I really like the way Mu is portrayed as a pre-verbal brute.
As for the other Musashi films, my local Japanese film geek hasn’t been able to find any of them in print.
If anyone knows different let us know.

2 1/2 years ago i bought "my" Musashi at the Toei Film Studios in Kyoto. It's a set of five videos (...the five rings in modern days...:)), but i don't know the names of the actors. I'm not pretty sure, but i think that one guy is the same actor as in "Yakuza" and "Black Rain". It's funny to watch the videos, because my japanese is so bad that i could understand just a few words.

Best Regards

Ruediger Meier

It's entirely possible that Yoshikawa did in fact invent the name and the technique--or at least think that he did--but "tsubame-gaeshi" ("swallow return"; aka "enbiken" or "flying swallow sword")is a real technique, practiced by the Kashima-Shinryu, among other schools. The technique is referred to in Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami's "Tengu sho" scroll, so it's at least that old. I did a blow-by-blow breakdown of one KSR application of this technique for the "Discovery Magazine" episode "Secrets of the Samurai," which I believe first aired sometime last winter.

Dr. Friday,

Thanks for the clarification. It is nice to know there is a real name [enbiken] for the downward diagonal cut followed immediately by an upward diagonal cut (kesagiri & gyakukesagiri).

I'll file that fact in my "brain-housing group" for future reference.

Regards,
Guy

Actually, that's not how KSR uses these terms. In KSR terminology, a kesagiri is a downward, left to right (from the perspective of the swordsman) diagonal cut, while a gyaku-gesa is a downward, right to left diagonal cut. An upward, left to right cut is a hiryuken ("flying dragon sword"); and an upward, right to left cut is a kasumi ("mist").

"Enbiken" and "tsubame-gaeshi" in KSR parlance refer to techniques that spin over and around the opponent's attack, block, or counter-attack. The application I demonstrated on "Discover Magazine" involves attacking with a gyaku-gesa, which the opponent attempts to strike down, and then slipping your sword around his blow, to finish with a vertical cut (menkiri) to his forehead. When you do this, your sword tip flits in a counter-clockwise spiral that looks very much like a swallow in flight--hence the name!

Prof. Friday,

Welcome back! It's nice to see you here on the board again.

In Shinkendo we also use the term Tsubamegaeshi using the cutting motion described by Guy-san. I was curious if other groups used the term differently or not. Kashima shin-ryu's usage is interesting.

In our group Tsubamegaeshi actually falls into a catagory of "kaeshi", which represents any cutting combination that reverses back on itself.

Thanks for the input!

[quote]Originally posted by Nathan Scott
[b]Prof. Friday,

Welcome back! It's nice to see you here on the board again.

In Shinkendo we also use the term Tsubamegaeshi using the cutting motion described by Guy-san. I was curious if other groups used the term differently or not. Kashima shin-ryu's usage is interesting.

In our group Tsubamegaeshi actually falls into a catagory of "kaeshi", which represents any cutting combination that reverses back on itself.

Thanks for the input!
.....................

This technique is the kihon of the Kage Ryu. Techniques are split into groups the first group being Kaeshi waza to the front, sides, sides rear, leading with either right or left leg etc. Some of the names of the techniques are Kairoken, Kawaruken.

Basicaly the blade is turned over and drawn to cut the inside thigh,diagonal body, under arm, (depending upon the position of the opponent and how far he has drawn or is cutting. The returning downward cut is usually into the neck between 45 and 30 degrees.The kensaki almost touches the ground on the upward cut. The reversed action can be done in a number of ways. In a slighly eliptical path, or to Tsuka is caught on the outside edge of the forearm to reverse the power in the downward cut with the right hip already how should I say, "loaded"

I would have interpreted Gyaku-Kesa as an upward cut to the kesa and downward cuts as either hidari or Migi. Perhaps some other ryu use different terminology?

Hyakutake Colin

http://www.bunbun.ne.jp/~sword

A few updates made to Tosa Eishin Seiza-nobu and a short article entitled Yoin-Reverberation - Iwata Norikazu

Hello Mr. Colin,

Thanks for the comments.

Unfortunately, *every* sword art uses different terminology, and it drives everyone nuts trying to keep it all straight for the sake of discussions.

Maybe it's on purpose! :D

Regards,