12,000 Views: Sharing the Path of Mugai-ryu Iaihyodo Since returning from Japan, I’ve been overwhelmed by the curiosity and support from the community on Instagram. To better document and share my journey in Mugai-ryu Iaihyodo, I decided to launch my YouTube...
In the history of Japanese martial traditions (budō, 武道), few figures embody the union of swordsmanship and Zen Buddhism as completely as Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi (辻月丹資茂, 1648–1728), founder of Mugai-ryū (無外流). Gettan’s life traces a rare and profound arc: from samurai...
In the face of chaos, most people react like a leaf in the wind—tossed by praise, broken by criticism, or paralyzed by fear. The Japanese martial tradition offers an alternative: Fudōshin (不動心). Translated literally as "Immovable Mind," Fudōshin is a state of...
In the name Mugai-ryu, the first character is Mu (無). It is a word that echoes through the halls of Zen temples and the history of Japanese swordsmanship, yet it remains one of the most elusive concepts for a practitioner to grasp. In 1693, when the founder Tsuji...
A few months ago, I received my first Mugai-ryū certificate. It was, of course, a great honor to be recognized by a school with such a profound samurai lineage. I found myself feeling that same spark of excitement my own students feel when they receive their...
The word Kamon translates literally to "house mark." Unlike European heraldry, which is often complex and colorful, Kamon are almost always circular and designed in a single color (usually white on black or vice versa). Originally, these marks were used by the...
Buying your first iaito is always a puzzle and as most of you I made the common mistakes.The most important is to select the right length. The First-Time Buyer’s Puzzle: A Warning on Blade Measurements Buying your first Iaito often feels like solving a complex puzzle....
After the precision of the workshops in Seki and the focus of the Dojo, my journey brought me to a place of profound silence: Arigatayama, near Gotemba. I spent a few days in this sacred space, located under the watchful presence of Mount Fuji. In the world of Budo,...
These past days were very busy in term of training, anyway I found the time to go to Seki City considered as "City of Blades." For over 800 years, this small city located in Gifu Prefecture has been the heart of Japanese swordsmanship. The history of Seki as a...
In the past days I had the opportunity to get enough time to follow Tokugawa Ieyasu legacy starting from Shizuoka to Nagoya.It was an important historical deep dive considering Tokugawa's impact is huge in Japanese history with the end of war period and the start of a...
In the world of Japanese martial arts, few schools embody the profound connection between Zen philosophy and the blade as deeply as Mugai-ryū Iaihyōdō. At the very heart of this ancient swordsmanship tradition lies a powerful poem, or kanshi, penned by its founder,...