Ichijoji

Sumi-e, strategy and swordsmanship - inspired by the arts of Miyamoto Musashi

Monday, 23 February 2026

Simplicity in Chaos - the aesthetic of kata (and keeping tabs on what you know)

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It's well into 2026 now, but the catalyst for this rather freewheeling essay was something that is particularly noticeable around the en...
Wednesday, 28 January 2026

When is a sword not a sword? When it's a bokuto

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It's a little dark, but you get the idea – a practice fight with bokuto from the film Gohatto I’m not a collector – these days, space is...
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Wednesday, 31 December 2025

Happy New Year 2026! The Year of the Horse ... and how Kurosawa didn't get it right

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  Kano Sanraku (his signature is there in the bottom left corner) - a votive plaque (ema) Horses were, of course, a huge part of the life of...
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Thursday, 20 November 2025

Miyamoto Musashi: yokai fighter and monster hunter

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There are plenty of questions (and, indeed, legends) surrounding Musashi’s life – where was he born? What, if anything, did he study as a ch...
Wednesday, 8 October 2025

A Musashi Miscellany – stories from out of the way places

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A dynamic illustration of Musashi by Noriyoshi Ohrai You read enough on a subject, and sooner or later you come to find yourself going round...
Wednesday, 23 July 2025

Early summer rains – water and weather in swordsmanship

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Travellers sheltering from the rain ‘This endless rain’ wrote Ki no Tsurayuki in the 10th century in a poem about the rainy season. This is ...
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About Me

Chris Hellman
The title of this blog, Ichijoji, refers to the site of the battle between Miyamoto Musashi and the massed forces of the Yoshioka clan. It was also, as it happens, not more than ten minutes away from where I used to live, on the eastern edge of Kyoto. It is, for me, powerfully redolent of the mystery and romance of Japan. Musashi himself is an emblematic figure, and his skill in a range of arts to which I have devoted years of study myself -swordsmanship, strategy and sumi-e, make it an apt title for this blog.
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