Book Review: Shinkendo Japanese Swordsmanship 

by Toshishiro Obata

Cover of Shinkendo Japanese Swordsmanship

Kaiso Obata's Shinkendo Japanese Swordsmanship is a 177 page book that provides those interested in learning authentic Japanese swordsmanship an introduction to Shinkendo, a reunification of a number of traditional forms of Japaneses swordsmanship into a modern martial art. 

The first quarter of the book provides background on the author, Kaiso Obata, history of the sword in Japan, martial arts philosophy, origins and principals of Shinkendo, and proper etiquette. The sixth chapter of the book details all of the basics of Shinkendo including footwork, drawing, holding, and re-sheathing the sword while the remaining five chapters delve into the actual techniques. These remaining  chapters form the bulk of the book (roughly 100 pages) and detail techniques of the five aspects of Shinkendo; suburi (swinging), Battoho (drawing methods), tanrengata (solo forms), tachiuchi (sparring), and tameshigiri (test cutting). Each of these chapters provides succinct, step by step descriptions of each technique along with corresponding images for each step. Finally, the book also includes a five page glossary at the back which can be useful to those unfamiliar with Japanese terminology. 

Overall, Shinkendo Japanese Swordsmanship is an excellent resource for the basics of authentic and historically accurate swordsmanship of Japan. In particular this book will be most useful to those who are students of Shinkendo, though those who study other traditional Japanese sword arts may find it to be an insightful complement to their existing knowledge.