THIS IS KENJUTSU - Samurai Sword Documentary (2023)

This mini-documentary was produced by Antony Cummins and the Samurai and Ninja Historical Research Team. It was filmed and edited in Velencia by the European Bugei Society. It is a demonstration based on our translation of the document known as the Shinkage-Ryu Heiho Mokuroku no Koto (新陰流兵法目録事). This document goes by a verity of names as is shown in the documentary but is often simply known as the Yagyu Ryu picture scroll. It must be fully understood that this document was not written by a single person, it was an amalgamation of knowledge which was developed between the 16th and 18th centuries and therefore contains contradictions within its own text. Our team has analysed all the available related medieval scrolls to provide the most accurate translation we can, yet still, there is room for improvement. It could be said that this demonstration is 90% accurate but parts may change depending on new information or a better interpretation because much of the information needed is either lost or is kept in private collections. Japanese kenjutsu practitioners may notice that the skills shown in this documentary differ from the skills which are often shown in the modern version of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, this is because those skills have changed over time and anyone who has read the original scrolls can confirm this. That being said, we are very proud of the project which has taken two years to complete. We hope that you enjoy it and that you would like to help our team continue to do research of a similar nature. Please follow the links below to take you on to the points mentioned in the documentary. Please donate by clicking here to help produce more documentaries like this: Please follow the European Bugei Society on Youtube here: Please see the European Bugei Society Website here: Please get a copy of Antony’s books here