[1] 新心流- the characters literally mean “New Heart/Mind School”. This name was chosen to reflect the fact that you should approach your training with a new, or fresh, heart and mind everyday. Throughout this essay Shinshin-ryu is also referred to as Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu and Shinshin Sekiguchi-ryu. In the past these names, along with a few others, all referred to the same school. At present the school based in Gifu-ken is called Shinshin-ryu Iaijutsu or Shinshin Sekiguchi-ryu Iaijutsu. The school based in Wakayama is called Sekiguchi-ryu Jujutsu. The school based in Kumamoto is called Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu.
[2] 1558 to 1570
[3] At the Battle of Okehazama in 1560
[4] 愛宕山- this is a mountain in Kyoto where a god worshipped in many different Budo is enshrined. Ujinari most likely learned Iai techniques from the warrior monks or mountain warriors who lived there.
[5] In the year 1600 in Gifu Prefecture. This battle effectively unified the country and established Tokugawa Ieyasu as the Tai Shogun.
[6] On the Eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Pref.
[7] Kuwana city, Mie Pref.
[8] Nagano city, Nagano Pref.
[9] Ena city, Gifu Pref.
[10] Southern Aichi Pref.
[11] Western Aichi Pref.
[12] This saying should be studied individually throughout one’s training. The meaning will change depending on the student’s understanding of Iai. A very basic meaning is that Iai is a way of training oneself according to the principles of the sword.
[13]
心
技体
一如
(Shin, Gi, Tai, Ichi Nyo)
[14]
万物
和合
(Banbutsu Wa Gou)
[15] 1868
[16] Written by Wataya and Yamada in 1969. The title means “The Comprehensive Dictionary of Martial Art Schools.”
[17] In June 1560 in Aichi Pref. In this battle, a vastly outnumbered Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the front-running warlords of the Sengoku period (approx. 1467-1603).
[18] 馬廻り衆- literally “Surrounding the horse.” Elite unite of bodyguards whose job it was to guard the General/Daimyo on the battlefield.
[19] A council used to advise the Lord on important matters.
[20] Also known as Sekiguchi Chikanaga. He died 1562. He was an Imagawa retainer who held Mochibune Castle in Suruga Province and was Imagawa Yoshimoto’s brother-in-law.
[21] 1573-1592
[22] Died 1579. She lived in Shizuoka Pref. She was killed by Ieyasu in 1579 because she was suspected of plotting against Ieyasu, but her being from a rival clan, the Imagawa, may have played a part.
[23] He later changed his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu, to emphasize his connection to the prestigious Seiwa Genji (Minamoto), and thus making it more legitimate that he become the first Shogun of the Edo era. He lived from 1543-1616.
[24] This quote is taken from the “Tennouji Yasoutatsu’s Tea Ceremony Diary”
[25] AKA- Jyushin.
[26] Wakayama Pref.
[27] The BRHDJ states that Jyushin studied Iai with Hayashizaki Jinsuke, founder of Shin Muso Hayashizaki-ryu, and Jujutsu with Miura Yojiuemon, founder of Miura-ryu.
[28] The BRHDJ states that Sekiguchi Geki Ujiyuki is the son of Ujihiro and the father of Ujimune (Jyushin), the founder of Sekiguchi-ryu.
[29] Tokugawa’s first son and lord of Okazaki Castle (Aichi Pref.), but ordered by Ieyasu, through Oda Nobunaga, to commit seppuku in 1579 when he was believed to be a part of a plot against Oda.
[30] Tsukiyama Gozen was Ujihiro’s daughter, so if he had had a son the family line would continue with him, in this case Ujiyuki. Since the family line continued through Tsukiyama Gozen, it is unlikely that he had a son.
[31] Oda Nobunaga’s daughter
[32] AKA Okudaira Sadamasa. His change of loyalty led directly to the Battle of Nagashino. Takeda Katsuyori had Sadamasa’s wife (Tokugawa’s daughter) and brother ? hostages of the Takeda ? crucified for this.
[33] In the Sekiguchi-ryu lineage found in the BRHDJ.
[34] A mountain in Shizuoka with the Toushou (東照宮) shrine on it。 This is where Tokugawa Ieyasu was first enshrined, before being moved to Nikko.
[35] Eastern Shizuoka Pref.
[36] Eastern Aichi Pref.
[37] Present-day Tokyo
[38] Thus Ujihiro’s offspring would have access to the Shogun and high ranking officials, as he and his relatives would have played a large role in her upbringing.
[39] Like the Matsudaira/Tokugawa, they had originally been retainers of the Imagawa clan. They ruled in Omi, present-day Shiga Pref, and their castle was in Hikone. They maintained close ties with the Shogun. Their line of Shinshin-ryu eventually became Shinshin Shin-ryu (新心新流).
[40] Tokyo and parts of the surrounding prefectures.
[41] 1573-1592
[42] There are a couple people listed in genealogies with the name Sekiguchi Geki, and it is not clear which one, and from which line, was connected to Shinshin-ryu.
[43] This was a 5 volume history of the Imagawa family whose production was overseen by Imagawa Yoshimoto.
[44] 1211-1290
[45] 1243-1282
[46] It was not uncommon for children to have different last names from their fathers.
[47] In Yamanashi Pref, Otsuki-shi.
[48] 1519-1560
[49] A samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate.
[50] His name did not appear on the Imagawa Gunki, a list of participants at the battle.
[51] Kyoto. It was the capital from 794-1868.
[52] His daughter married Tokugawa Ieyasu and when Ieyasu broke his alliance with the Imagawa family following Yoshimoto’s death, Imagawa Ujizane (Yoshimoto’s son, 1538-1617) ordered Ujihiro to commit suicide, as he was Ieyasu's father-in-law, and thus should take some responsibility for his actions.
[53] The BRHDJ states that Ujinari is Ujimune’s nephew, thus placing him in that family line.
[54] The headmaster
[55] An elite soldier with the duty of protecting VIPs, not just the Emperor and nobility.
[56] 1603-1867
[57] The full transmission of all of the teachings of the ryu.
[58] As he would be in his late teens.
[59] In Mikawa province, presently the eastern part of Aichi Pref. The castle was under siege by Takeda Katsuyori, with Okudaira Sadamasa, a Tokugawa vassal, commanding the defending force. The castle was under attack because it threatened Takeda's supply lines.
[60] The BRHDJ says that Ujinari is Ujimune’s nephew, thus making him Ujiyuki’s grandson.
[61] Which is one of the family lines that make up the Matsudaira family.
[62] 1336-1573
[63] Making her Ieyasu’s aunt.
[64] 1511-1535
[65] The Tokugawa and Ogyu-Matsudaira families.
[66] Each domain usually had a school, or schools, of martial arts that all of their retainers had to study. For example, in Higo (Kumamoto) all the retainers had to study at least 2 of the following schools: Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu, Hoki-ryu Iaijutsu, and Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu.
[67] A line of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu that was formed in the Nishio domain.
[68] A school of Jujutsu.
[69] This essay was written by Inagaki Yunosuke, the 9th headmaster of Shinshin-ryu, and Suzuki Sukejiro’s grandson. He was also a scholar of Japanese Classics.
[70] The Yagyu Shinkage-ryu was one of two omote (official) schools of swordsmanship that members of the Shogunate studied. Itto-ryu was the other.
[71] Approximately 1568-1603
[72] The families based in Bishu, Kishu, and Mito (Ibaraki Pref.).
[73] The lord of a domain.
[74] 1624-1643
[75] Because Shinshin-ryu served the Shogunate, once it fell practitioners of the ryu had to go into hiding, so the school was thought to have disappeared.
[76] Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. This is where the Higo branch of the school was propagated, being taught to retainers along with Miyamoto Musashi’s Niten Ichi-ryu.
[77] Present-day Mugi High School (岐阜県立武義高等学校), it started as a private school for studying Chinese Classics, and that is more likely where Suzuki Sukejiro worked. It became a junior high school in 1920.
