28/04/2026
Many years ago my teacher Esaka Sensei gave me a small green bock, - i will endeavor to present its content and its meaning for me, and make it available , - at the time i was not realizing what indeed he had given me, - but i think that i have honestly tried to follow his teachings and recognize much of that in the pages i now discover.
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TITLE PAGE
Japanese:
教育資料
居合道の栞
無雙直傳英信流居合兵法
平成三年五月一日
江坂道場
English:
Educational Material
A Guide to the Way of Iai
Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū Iai Heihō
1 May, Heisei 3 (1991)
Esaka Dōjō
Notes:
The word "shiori" (栞) literally means a paper bookmark — a slim guidebook or primer placed in a reader's hand to lead them through a longer body of material. Calling the book a shiori is itself a humility: the ryū is the great work; this is only the bookmark.
"Iai heihō" — iai as method-of-arms, or strategy — is the full classical name of the school. It indicates that iai here is not merely the technique of drawing the sword, but a complete heihō: a martial discipline that includes mind, body, sword, and conduct.
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INSIDE COVER
Japanese:
居合道の栞
[signature: 江坂 弘 — Esaka Hiroshi, with personal kaō]
English:
A Guide to the Way of Iai
[signed: Esaka Hiroshi, with personal kaō]
Notes:
The kaō (花押) is the personal signature-seal in flowing cursive script, a tradition reaching back to medieval Japanese practice. Its presence on this page makes this copy a personally-inscribed transmission from teacher to student — not a generic copy off a shelf.
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This is the first in a series. Subsequent posts will work through the book page by page.
