11/10/2026
SEKIGUCHI-RYŪ 關口流 - THE LIVING WILLOW, THE HEART OF MARTIAL TRAINING, AND THE SECRETS OF AN EDO-PERIOD TRANSMISSION
Three Historical Documents - One Remarkable Martial Tradition - A Window into the Philosophy of Classical Japanese Jūjutsu through Densho of Sekiguchi-ryū 關口流.
Yakushin Publications is currently translating and researching an extraordinary collection of three historical documents belonging to Sekiguchi-ryū 關口流, one of Japan's distinguished classical martial traditions. This remarkable group consists of a handwritten makimono 巻物 (martial transmission scroll) accompanied by two separate historical documents containing transmission instructions, personal names, authentication seals, and a lineage record. Reportedly discovered together in an old family residence in Ehime Prefecture, formerly Iyo Province, these documents offer a fascinating opportunity to investigate how the martial philosophy, technical principles, and teachings of Sekiguchi-ryū were preserved and transmitted during the Edo period. Our working historical date is Meiwa 2 明和二年 (1765), although the dating inscriptions of the individual documents are still undergoing verification.
THE MAIN SCROLL — TŌRYŪ SHUGYŌ KOKOROMOCHI NO BEN 當流修行心持之辨
Discourse on the Proper Mental Attitude for Training in Our Tradition
At the center of this collection is a remarkable manuscript explaining the deeper principles of martial cultivation. Unlike a conventional technical catalog containing only the names of fighting methods, this scroll explores what it means to truly understand a martial tradition. Its teachings examine the relationship between Kokoro 心 (Heart/Mind), Shugyō 修行 (Disciplined Cultivation), Jū 柔 (Yielding Softness), Wa 和 (Harmony), In'yō 陰陽 (Yin and Yang), and Shōbu 勝負 (Victory and Defeat). The manuscript presents martial proficiency as something far greater than the mechanical performance of techniques. Its underlying message concerns the development of a practitioner whose body, mind, and understanding have been cultivated until the principles of the tradition become inseparable from action.
THE LIVING WILLOW — THE HEART OF SEKIGUCHI-RYŪ
Yōryū 楊柳 — Softness Is Not Weakness!
One of the most exciting discoveries in our translation is the manuscript's explanation of the willow tree as a foundational principle of the tradition. The author does not simply instruct the practitioner to become soft or to yield to superior strength. Instead, he makes a profound distinction between lifeless weakness and living flexibility.
"楊柳ハ死物ニ非ス" — Yōryū wa shibutsu ni arazu. — "The willow is not a dead thing."
Consider the significance of this teaching! The willow possesses flexibility precisely because it is alive. Its branches bend beneath external pressure, yet they retain their vitality, structure, and ability to return. Its softness is not the absence of strength. Rather, the tree possesses a form of strength that allows it to respond to force without being destroyed by rigid opposition. This is a fundamentally different understanding of Jū 柔 from the simplistic belief that softness means surrendering, becoming limp, or abandoning power. The manuscript teaches that true softness is alive, responsive, and inseparable from strength.
MAKING HARMONY INTO STRENGTH
Wa o Chikara ni Sh*te 和ヲ力ニシテ
Another extraordinary expression found in the manuscript is "和ヲ力ニシテ" — Wa o chikara ni sh*te — "Making harmony into strength." Here, harmony is not presented merely as a moral ideal or a peaceful sentiment. It becomes a practical martial principle. Rather than meeting every attack with rigid opposition, the practitioner learns to accommodate changing forces while preserving the ability to act decisively. This is the living willow applied to martial strategy. The incoming movement of an opponent becomes part of the circumstances through which the practitioner responds. The objective is not passive submission, but effective action without unnecessary resistance. The text's discussion of In'yō 陰陽 further suggests that softness and active strength need not be opposites. Both may exist within the same living movement.
FROM PHILOSOPHY TO ACTUAL COMBAT
Kumiuchi 組打, Ken 釼, Yari 鑓, and Naginata 長刀
What makes this manuscript especially fascinating is that its philosophical teachings are not separated from practical martial combat. The author discusses Kumiuchi 組打 (Close-Quarters Grappling), Ken 釼 (Sword), Yari 鑓 (Spear), and Naginata 長刀 (Glaive), examining how the circumstances of armed encounters differ from those of close engagement. The document considers the relationship between distance, the movements of an opponent, and the changing conditions under which combat occurs. Its discussion recognizes an essential reality: an opponent does not remain passive while we perform our techniques. Every action may produce a response that changes the conditions of the encounter. The principle of the willow therefore becomes more than a philosophical metaphor. It provides a way of understanding flexibility, adaptability, and the preservation of effective movement during actual confrontation.
THE NATURAL ART — WHEN TECHNIQUE BECOMES PRINCIPLE
Shizen no Waza 自然ノ業 — Natural Martial Action
Another important teaching concerns Shizen no Waza 自然ノ業 (Natural Action or Natural Technique). The manuscript connects the understanding of natural movement with sustained martial cultivation. This does not mean that formal technique becomes unnecessary. Quite the opposite! The practitioner must train repeatedly until the principles underlying the techniques become deeply established. There is an enormous difference between memorizing a movement and understanding why it works. A memorized technique may fail when an opponent responds unexpectedly. A deeply cultivated principle allows the practitioner to recognize changing circumstances and adapt accordingly. The willow does not choose beforehand which direction the wind will blow. Its strength lies in its ability to respond naturally when the force arrives.
TRAINING THAT NEVER ENDS
Nirokujichū 二六時中 and Mugendan 無間断
The manuscript repeatedly emphasizes that mastery cannot be obtained through occasional training or the simple accumulation of technical knowledge. Two expressions are especially revealing: Nirokujichū 二六時中 (Throughout the Entire Day and Night) and Mugendan 無間断 (Without Interruption). These teachings call upon practitioners to maintain disciplined cultivation continuously. True Shugyō 修行 extends beyond the performance of physical techniques. The lessons must be preserved in one's thinking, judgment, awareness, and actions. A person may possess scrolls, certificates, and formal instruction while still failing to embody the principles of the art. The manuscript's warning against neglecting or forgetting one's training reminds us that the possession of knowledge and the realization of knowledge are entirely different matters.
VICTORY, DEFEAT, AND THE CULTIVATION OF THE MIND
Shōji 生死, Shōbu 勝負, and Hisshō 必勝
The manuscript does not avoid the serious realities of martial training. It discusses Shōji 生死 (Life and Death), Shōbu 勝負 (Victory and Defeat), and Hisshō 必勝 (Certain Victory). These concepts are connected with disciplined practice and the deeper understanding of martial principles. Victory is not presented simply as the result of possessing superior strength or knowing a greater number of techniques. Rather, the author's teaching associates proficiency with the practitioner's ability to cultivate the mind, understand the principles of the art, and respond appropriately when circumstances change. The highest objective is not merely to know what technique to perform, but to develop the conditions through which effective action becomes possible.
THE MYSTERY OF THE GEOMETRIC DIAGRAMS
Preserving Knowledge Beyond Written Explanation
The scroll also contains fascinating geometric illustrations, including a circular figure and a cube-like diagram with handwritten characters. These are particularly intriguing because historical martial transmission documents sometimes used visual figures to preserve concepts that required direct explanation from teacher to student. Such diagrams could function as mnemonic devices or illustrations of underlying principles. We are examining these figures in relation to the surrounding manuscript, rather than prematurely assigning them Buddhist, Shintō, or technical meanings. Their inclusion suggests that the scroll preserves more than continuous prose and may contain additional layers of instruction requiring careful investigation.
THE FIRST ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENT — A HISTORICAL TRANSMISSION CERTIFICATE
Names, Seals, Signatures, and the Preservation of Martial Authority
The first document accompanying the scroll adds an entirely different dimension to our investigation. It contains transmission-related instructions, a named recipient, red seal impressions, and a handwritten Kaō 花押 (Authentication Mark). Our preliminary examination identifies a possible sixth-generation Sekiguchi lineage designation and a name provisionally read as Nagano Shin'emon 永野信右衛門. The recipient appears under the surname Ozawa 小澤, with the given name still requiring confirmation. These details are important because they may provide a direct historical relationship between an issuing teacher, a recipient, and a particular line of transmission. The seals and handwritten authentication marks are being preserved as essential documentary evidence. Their precise identification remains part of our continuing research.
THE SECOND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENT — THE HISTORICAL LINEAGE OF SEKIGUCHI-RYŪ
A Rare Opportunity to Investigate the People Behind the Teachings
The second accompanying document contains what appears to be a historical preface to the Sekiguchi tradition, together with a succession-style register. Its account concerns the origins of the school, its ancestral founder, and the historical preservation of its teachings. The document contains terminology associated with founding ancestry, restoration, and transmission, together with several handwritten personal names that we are working to identify. This material is especially exciting because a martial tradition cannot be understood fully through techniques alone. The people who taught, preserved, copied, and transmitted the teachings form an essential part of its history. By comparing this register with the names and authentication marks found on the principal scroll and first certificate, we hope to establish a clearer picture of the particular Sekiguchi-ryū transmission represented by this collection.
THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF SEKIGUCHI-RYŪ
Sekiguchi Jūshin Ujimune 關口柔心氏宗 and the Classical Martial Traditions of Japan
Sekiguchi-ryū is historically associated with Sekiguchi Jūshin Ujimune 關口柔心氏宗, an important figure in the development of early Edo-period martial traditions. The school became closely associated with Kishū, the historical region centered on present-day Wakayama, and with the powerful Kishū Tokugawa house. Over subsequent generations, related lines of Sekiguchi martial instruction developed and preserved their particular methods. The tradition's historical curriculum is associated with close-quarters combat and sword-related disciplines, making the present manuscript's references to grappling, swords, spears, and naginata especially interesting. Determining which historical branch produced this particular collection remains one of our central research objectives.
JAPAN IN 1765 — THE WORLD IN WHICH THESE TEACHINGS WERE PRESERVED
Meiwa 2 明和二年 — Under the Tokugawa Shogunate
Our current working date places the collection in Meiwa 2 (1765), during the rule of Tokugawa Ieharu 徳川家治, the tenth Tokugawa shōgun. Japan had entered a long period of relative domestic stability following the great conflicts of the Sengoku era. Yet the martial traditions of the samurai continued to be preserved through formal instruction, handwritten manuscripts, licenses, and personal transmission. The teachings of the classical martial schools were not simply abandoned because large-scale warfare had diminished. They continued to develop within the social, intellectual, and professional culture of Edo-period Japan. A manuscript emphasizing the cultivation of the mind, the principles of combat, and the responsibilities of the practitioner is particularly meaningful within this historical setting.
FROM IYO PROVINCE TO THE YAKUSHIN PUBLICATIONS RESEARCH PROJECT
Three Documents Preserved Together
The reported discovery of these three documents in an old family residence in Ehime Prefecture makes their provenance especially intriguing. During the Edo period, this region formed part of historical Iyo Province on the island of Shikoku. Whether these manuscripts were transmitted locally, inherited through family connections, or brought to the region through another historical relationship remains to be established. The names recorded in the certificates and lineage register may eventually help answer that question. For now, the survival of a principal martial scroll alongside two associated historical documents provides a particularly useful foundation for investigating how this classical tradition was preserved.
WHAT THESE DOCUMENTS REVEAL ABOUT KORYŪ BUDŌ
The Classical Martial Arts Were Never Merely Collections of Fighting Techniques
One of the most important lessons emerging from this research is that classical Japanese martial traditions cannot be understood simply by observing their outward techniques. To reduce Koryū Budō 古流武道 to throwing, striking, restraining, cutting, or defeating an opponent is to overlook the deeper intellectual and philosophical framework preserved within many of their historical documents. Here we find a martial author discussing the relationship between living softness and strength, harmony and power, mind and body, natural action and disciplined practice, and the difference between knowing an art and truly embodying its principles. These are not ideas being imposed upon the tradition by modern interpreters. The central themes are preserved within the historical manuscript itself.
THE GREATER DISCOVERY — THE WILLOW IS ALIVE!
A Teaching Worth Remembering
Of all the passages examined so far, one statement stands out for its simplicity and depth: "楊柳ハ死物ニ非ス" — "The willow is not a dead thing." The more deeply we examine this expression, the more significant it becomes. The willow does not survive because it possesses no strength. It survives because its living strength is inseparable from its ability to yield. It does not abandon its nature when external force is applied. It responds through that nature. This is an extraordinary metaphor for the relationship between flexibility and strength in classical martial practice. The practitioner must develop a body that can respond, a mind that can recognize changing circumstances, and an understanding that does not depend entirely upon rigid opposition.
Yakushin Publications SEKIGUCHI-RYŪ ARCHIVES: Preserving One of the Most Extensive Sekiguchi-ryū Collections Outside Japan
Yakushin Publications proudly maintains one of the largest known private holdings outside Japan of original Sekiguchi-ryū 關口流 makimono 巻物 (transmission scrolls) and densho 傳書 (written teachings and transmission documents), encompassing both the mainline tradition and its various branch ryū-ha 流派. This extensive and continually expanding historical library represents an extraordinary collection of martial knowledge, including technical curricula, philosophical teachings, secret transmissions, lineage records, and historical documentation spanning generations of the school's development. Through our ongoing collaboration with trusted partners in Japan, we continue to locate, acquire, preserve, translate, and research these invaluable historical materials. Our goal is not simply to collect the surviving documents of Sekiguchi-ryū, but to bring forward the remarkable history, profound teachings, and technical knowledge preserved within them, ensuring that the contributions of the school's founders, successive generations of teachers, and its many branches are documented, understood, and shared with future generations. Each newly acquired manuscript adds another piece to the historical puzzle, allowing Yakushin Publications to deepen our understanding of one of Japan's distinguished classical martial traditions.
THE Yakushin Publications MISSION
Recovering the Knowledge Preserved Within Japan's Historical Martial Manuscripts
At Yakushin Publications, our mission is to preserve, translate, research, and share the historical teachings contained within Japan's classical martial, medical, philosophical, and spiritual traditions. Projects such as this Sekiguchi-ryū collection demonstrate why direct examination of original manuscripts remains so important. Historical scrolls are not merely decorative objects, family curiosities, or certificates to be displayed as symbols of rank. They can preserve extraordinary insights into the methods, beliefs, responsibilities, and intellectual traditions of the people who created and transmitted them. Every carefully deciphered passage brings us closer to understanding how those individuals viewed their arts and what they considered essential for future generations.
OUR RESEARCH CONTINUES!
The Yakushin Publications Research Department is continuing its detailed examination of the main scroll and both accompanying documents. Our work includes column-by-column transcription, literal and refined historical translation, identification of historical terminology, examination of handwritten seals and authentication marks, comparison of personal names and lineage records, and investigation of the manuscript's Edo-period provenance. Several difficult cursive passages, dates, and names remain under review, and we will distinguish confirmed readings from preliminary interpretations as the research develops.
What makes this project so exciting is that these three historical documents may allow us to investigate not only what Sekiguchi-ryū taught, but also how its teachings were understood, preserved, and transmitted from one generation to the next.
And at the heart of this remarkable collection stands a simple but profound principle:
THE WILLOW IS NOT DEAD. ITS SOFTNESS IS ITS LIVING STRENGTH.
Yakushin Publications - Preserving, Translating, and Researching the Historical Martial, Medical, and Spiritual Traditions of Japan.
