Preface. About Victor Harris. Victor Harris lineage. Foreword. Note. About the authors. A personal statement by Errol Baboolal Blake. Acknowledgements. List of illustrations. Glossary. Section One: What is Ono Ha Itto Ryu? Section Two: Fundamental principles of Victor Harris lineage of Ono Ha Itto Ryu. Section Three: Catalogue of Ono Ha Itto Ryu kata practised in Victor Harris lineage. Section Four: Key lessons from each kata. Section Five: Strategies of swordsmanship and Victor Harris lineage of Ono Ha Itto Ryu. Section Six: Ono Ha Itto Ryu and modern sport kendo. Section Seven: Epilogue.

This book explores the traditions of Ono Ha Itto Ryu, one of the major sixteenth/seventeenth century schools of Japanese swordsmanship, and one of the progenitors of modern kendo. Well known in Japan (one of its Masters served as fencing instructor to the second and third Shoguns), it is less well known in the West. The book documents in unparalleled detail for a publication in the English language all the practice routines ('kata') that were taught by the authors' instructor, the late Victor Harris, Keeper Emeritus of Japanese Antiquities at the British Museum. They comprise (as re-numbered for a Western audience), seventy-six kata within six groups (Odachi, Kodachi, Ai-Kodachi, Habiki, Hoshatto and Saiko Gokui Goten), and as well as describing each of these kata in detail, the book examines the principles and strategies which underlie them.