A document describing the techniques had survived without the author knowing it.
And yet, for many years, my father repeatedly said:
“There is no such thing as a textbook!”
The author first came into possession of the “document of techniques” in the spring of 2025.
The names of the techniques, the procedures, and even illustrations were indeed written there.
Then why did my father continue to say, until his death, that “there is no textbook”?
Why is that document alone not enough to reach the actual transmission of Hongaku Kokki-ryu that my father taught me?
◆ Two mysteries pursued in this book
(1) The true nature of a “document of techniques” left behind by a school said to have been secret for more than 360 years
While tracing memories, documents, and testimony preserved in the Shibata family, this book approaches an important part of the school’s core through the nature of that document, the number of techniques, the training system, and devices hidden in the illustrations.
(2) The “secret training” for raising a martial person for the next generation, and what remained in the body
My father said that Master Yasusuke Otsu had transmitted to him a “secret training method for raising a martial person for the next generation.”
Without even being told that it was training, the author received it from childhood through youth as part of daily life.
And later in life—
Movements that I had no clear memory of being specifically taught appeared from my body before conscious thought.
Why did my body move before I could think?
Why could I not reproduce it by my own will?
This book traces memories left in the body, which cannot be fully expressed through documents or oral transmission alone.
◆ The thoughts held for many years by the author and his 94-year-old mother
My mother had long been concerned about what would become of the request that Master Otsu had entrusted to my father.
When I told my mother about my current activities, she, who will be 94 in 2026, was delighted as if remembering those days.
One of the major reasons for publishing this book is to leave a record before it is lost: the wish my father could not fulfill, and my mother’s long-held desire to see Master Otsu’s request carried out.
◆ If what was hidden is not preserved, it will become “as if it never existed”
Things that have been kept secret, if neither spoken of nor recorded, will eventually be treated as though they never existed.
The stories I heard from my father were too serious to speak of publicly without supporting grounds.
However, if everything remains hidden, then even the teachings my father received will become as though they never existed.
From 2025 onward, over a period of fifteen months, the author confirmed documents, testimony, and memories one by one, eventually arriving at the writing of this book.
Techniques that must not be revealed are not revealed. Still, the fact that they existed, and the thoughts entrusted to them, must be preserved.
This book is one record preserved in the Shibata family, compiled after continuing to search for that boundary.
※This book is one record based on memories, documents, testimony preserved in the Shibata family, and the author’s own experiences. It does not deny records or understandings passed down to others. It is not a practical manual for reproducing specific techniques, nor is it a complete history of the entire school or a definitive genealogy.
※This book is published as an electronic edition only. If typographical errors or misunderstandings by the author are confirmed, corrections will be listed in an errata notice.
※If display or operation problems occur with the e-book, please restart your device or Kindle app. If the problem persists, please contact Amazon Customer Service and provide the book title, device used, and the location and nature of the issue.
