Suburi (): repeated swinging of the sword
Sui (): the element Water
Suichokugiri (): vertical downward cut
Suriashi (): sliding step
Suki (): gap, vulnerability, opportunity
Sun (): unit of length approx 3 cm or 1.19 inches (10 sun = 1 shaku)
Sunden (): small (energy) field; the third eye
Sundome (): stopping a short distance (one inch) away from target in kumitachi
Tachi (): the long, large curved sword hung at the side of the body, blade down, used by mounted warriors; also sometimes used to describe the katana (as in uchidachi or shidachi, terms found in kumitachi kata)
Takuan Soho (): (1573–1645) Zen master, a contemporary and teacher/advisor to Yagyu Munenori; author of Fudochi Shinmyoroku
Taikai (): tournament, mass meeting
Taiko (): drum
Tai sabaki (): movement of body, repositioning of whole body in response to attack
Takigyo (): waterfall training
Tamahagane (): jewel steel, the highest quality steel used in making the best Japanese swords
Tameshigiri ( or ): test cutting
Tanden (): red (mercury) field; alchemical or energetic vital substance area (tantien in Chinese)
Tanren (): training
Tanrenbo (): a heavy bat or pole used in training
Tantra (Sanskrit): lit. loom; relating to the skillful use of human faculties and desires to achieve spiritual power and liberation; main source of Mikkyo practice
Tare (): kendo leg and groin protector
Tatami (): Japanese floor matting
Tesshu () (, Yamaoka Tesshu): (1836–1888) renowned swordsman, calligrapher, and zen practitioner
Tengu (): lit. heavenly dogs; demons or heavenly beings with avian features, skilled in martial techniques and possessing magical powers that they may teach to swordsmen in wild places
Tenouchi (): lit. the inside of the hands; the technique for gripping the sword
Tetsubo (): iron (steel) poles used in tanren and uchikomi
Tokugawa (): the longest lasting Shogunate (military government) in Japanese history, continuously ruled by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants (1603–1868)
Tsuba ( or ): sword guard
Tsubazeriai (): the locking of sword guards in close combat (a feature of kendo contests but extremely dangerous in real combat with swords)
Tsuka (): sword handle
Tsukagashira (): pommel, end of sword handle
Tsuki (): thrust
Toma (): combative distance where more than a full step is required to strike the opponent
Toyama Ryu (): the school of swordsmanship that evolved from the system formulated at the Toyama Army Academy in Tokyo between 1925 and 1945.
Uchikomi (): driving in, full powered striking
Uchidachi (): initiator of attacks in kumitachi (two-man) kata
Udenuki (): retaining cord attached to holes in the tsuba (sword guard) to prevent the loss of the drawn sword
Uddiyana (Sanskrit): lit. flying up; drawing back of the abdominal area after exhalation, a preparation for correct and deep abdominal or diaphragmatic inhalation
Uke nagashi (): overhead receiving and deflection of a vertical downward cut
Ura (): internal, reverse side, hidden aspect
Vajra (Sanskrit): a metal ritual implement and weapon with either one, two, or three prongs; represents the power of Indra to create electrical storms and, internally, the sudden triggering of the deepest energy channel (vajrini) in the spine (kongo sho in Japanese)
Vajrayana: the vajra “vehicle” or method of attainment used by Buddhist schools that utilize tantric practices to bring about total transformation in one lifetime
Waki gamae (): side guard position
Wara (): reed or straw bundled and then soaked to form targets for test cutting
Waza (): technique
Yagyu Munenori (): (1571–1646) contemporary of Miyamoto Musashi and headmaster of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu
Yari (): spear
Yoko (): side
Yokogiri () (also mayokogiri, ): sideways or horizontal cut
Yoko men (): side of the helmet (target in kendo)
Yoroi (): armor
Yoroiodoshi (): thick-bladed dagger for piercing weak points in armor
Yotsuwari (): lit. split in four; the construction of the modern shinai (kendo sword), unlike the solid bamboo of earlier kendo
Zanshin (): lit. remaining mind; maintaining a state of alert responsiveness, especially after intense action
Recommended Reading
Sword Arts: Practice and Philosophy
Cleary, Thomas. The Book of Five Rings (including Heiho Kaden Sho of Yagyu Munenori). Boston: Shambala, 1993.
Draeger, Donn, and Gordon Warner. Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice. Boston: Weatherhill, 1982.
Hirose, Nobuko. Immovable Wisdom: The Art of Zen Strategy, The Teachings of Takuan Soho. Massachusetts: Element Books, 1992.
Nakamura, Taisaburo. Iaikendo. Tokyo: Seitousha, 1973.
Nakamura, Taizaburo. Nihon To Tameshigiri no Shinzui (The Essence of Japanese Sword Test Cutting). Tokyo: Kodansha, 1980.1
Otake, Ritsuke. Katori Shinto Ryu: Warrior Tradition. New Jersey: Koryu Books, 2007.
Reinhard, Kammer. Zen and Confucius in the Art of Swordsmanship: The Tengu-geijutsu-ron of Chozan Shissai. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978.
Sato, Hiroaki. The Sword and the Mind (translations of Heiho Kaden Sho of Yagyu Munenori and works of Takuan Soho). New York: The Overlook Press, 1986.
Sato, Masahide. Gorinsho: Miyamoto Musashi (Original text of Yoshida family with translation into modern Japanese). Tokyo: Chikuma Shobu, 2009.
Shimabukuro, Masayuki. Flashing Steel. Berkeley: Blue Snake Books, 2008.
Stevens, John. The Sword of No Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu. Boston: Shambala, 2001.
Tokitsu, Kenji. Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings. Boston: Shambala, 2004.
Wilson, William Scott. The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts (Tengu-geijutsu-ron of Chozan Shissai). Tokyo: Kodansha, 2006.
Wilson, William Scott. The Life-Giving Sword: Secret Teachings from the House of the Shogun (Heiho Kaden Sho of Yagyu Munenori). Tokyo: Kodansha, 2003.
Zensho-an, and Lesley Higley. Zen and Swordsmanship from the Yamaoka Tesshu Archives. Tokyo: Zensho-an, 2009.
Mikkyo and Yoga
Hakeda, Yoshito. S. Kukai and His Major Works. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960.
Nagaboshi, Tomio. The Bodhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art within India and China. Boston: Weiser Books, 1994.
Remete, Shandor (Natanga Zhander). Shadow Yoga, Chaya Yoga: The Principles of Hatha Yoga. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2010.
Saunders, E. Dale. Mudra: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture. New York: Princeton University Press, 1972.
Yamasaki Taiko. Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. Boston: Shambala Publications, 1988.
The Reality of the Battlefield
Grossman, Dave. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995.
Keenan, John. The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme. London: Jonathan Cape, 1976.
1. Excerpts from this text and other extracts from Nakamura Taisaburo’s writings, translated by Guy Power, are currently available at www.webdiva4hire.com/kenshinkan. A full translation of this text is currently being undertaken by members of the International Battodo Federation, including the author.
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