Illustrated scroll on fine thick paper, entitled at beginning “Shisso Shudan” [“Method of Handling the...
Scroll (365 x 5560 mm.), with gold endpaper at beginning, on a wooden roller. [Japan]: at end, in trans.: “this secret information was given by Shichibei Itsuki to Shingobei Saijo in 1769.”
The spear (yari) was one of the primary weapons used in the feudal period of Japan. Many variations of the head of the spear were developed, some for thrusting by foot soldiers and some for slashing, designed for men on horseback.
This finely illustrated scroll describes the teachings of the Oshima ryu (school) of fighting with a spear (sojutsu). The Oshima ryu traces its origins to the 16th... More