Throughout Japan’s long martial tradition, a rare title has been whispered with reverence — Kensei (剣聖), the Sword Saint. Reserved not for the most skillful warrior, but for the one who unites perfect technique with pure spirit, this name transcends combat. It signals the arrival at a sacred threshold, where swordsmanship becomes a path to inner awakening.
This book is a journey into that sacred realm.
Kensei Shinden unveils the hidden teachings, spiritual insights and living legacy of Japan’s most revered masters of the sword. Through ancient scrolls, historical records, and the voices of those who continue this path today, it traces the evolution of kenjutsu from battlefield to spiritual discipline, from external form to inner truth.
With clarity and depth, it reveals how true martial mastery is not the art of defeating others, but of overcoming oneself. Not simply the act of wielding a blade, but of illuminating the soul.
Far from being just a historical study, this is a work of transmission — a densho in modern form. A tribute to the sacred spirit of budō and a homage to those whose lives became silent prayers engraved in steel and silence.
At its heart is the radiant figure of Masaaki Hatsumi, the last great Sword Saint of our time, whose life and teachings carry the invisible thread of nine ancestral lineages into the future.
Kensei Shinden is both compass and mirror — a guide for all who walk the martial path, and a reflection of the eternal values that lie at its core: humility, harmony, courage, and emptiness (kū).
LIMITED EDITION- This is a once-in-a-lifetime publication!
Only 300 exclusive copies available worldwide ( 100 copies in Spanish / 200 copies in English). Each copy has been made using using premium materials and artisanal-quality finishing, designed for collectors, private libraries and true connoisseurs of budō and traditional Japanese culture.
Technical specifications:
• Format: 19 x 26 cm.
• 333 full-color pages.
• Heavy-weight 135g semi-matte coated paper
of superior quality.
• Thread-sewn binding with fabric bookmark.
• Cloth hardcover with gold foil stamping.
• Full-colour dust jacket with flaps, printed on 170g. semi-matte coated paper with matte varnish
