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Nestled in the hills in the north of Okayama prefecture close to the border with Tottori prefecture is the small town of Mimasaka. It is here, around 1584, that the Miyamoto Musashi was said to have been born. From there Musashi embarked on his study of swordsmanship, with a narrative well known to all students …

Tsukahara Bokuden (1489/90-1571) is a renowned and well-known kenshi inside and outside of Japan, and is up there with the likes of Matsumoto bizen-no-kami, Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami, and Iisaza Chiosai in relation to his impact on systemising Japanese swordsmanship into the ryu-ha format. He was born around 1489-1490 as the 2nd son of Urabe Akikata, one …

As part of my summer Musha Shugyo this year I visited the spiritual and historical center of budo in Japan: Kashima and Katori shrines, located in Ibaragi and Chiba prefectures respectively. Their proximity to each other is very close, about 15 mins by train. Although 400 years ago there were no trains nor cars and …

While I was in Kyoto for work at the end of July, I ended up swinging by a historical site that is associated with Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji. Four years after Sekigahara the young Musashi came to the capital. Here he is said to have challenged the Yoshioka school to a duel. Musashi defeated the head …

Of the three great private dojo in Japan (日本の３大私塾道場) – Honma Dojo (Chiba), Shubukan (Hyogo), and Tobukan (Ibaragi) – two remain extant at the time of writing this article: Shubukan and Tobukan. Having been to Shubukan, I decided to take sometime out of my schedule and go to practise at the infamous Tobukan in Mito …

Background The Mito-han was a highly influential domain during the entire Edo-period. As a senior branch of the Tokugawa clan their prestige was immense. Mito-han became one of the leading intellectual centers in Japan, and its daimyo and scholars became more and more vocal in challenging the central authority of the shogunate, eventually being instrumental …

Founding of the Butokuden in 1895 on the 1,100 year anniversary of the transferring of the Japanese capitol to Kyoto (Heian-kyo), and as part of the building of Heian-jingu, the Butokuden construction began. It was originally meant as a demonstration platform for the Butokukai. It was completed in 1899 on the north-west side of the …

“The night bus to Tokyo: a nine hour hell ride in a muggy sardine can, with an interior that is all too reminiscent of a cheap airport hotel, and a smell to match. This is the chariot of thrifty foreign travelers, poor university students, and gassy old men who snore throughout the night. After an evening of …

Yagyu no sato (柳生の里) is a small village in Nara prefecture, Japan. Passing through it in a car or by very infrequent bus, you would probably notice nothing particularly different to any other sleepy rural Japanese town. However, this town was the center of Yagyu-han, the ancestral home of the Yagyu family, the masters of …

Following Scotts great article on the 1st Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu UK Seminar, i’d like to start the first in a series of short articles entitled “Kendo Places” by writing about a place that all kendo enthusiasts should visit at least once in their life and that is connected strongly with the art that Scott practises: …