#Nihon Kengo Retsuden (日本劍豪列傳)
Contents

Data Catalog + Reference Only mix. For 12 historical swordmasters, this volume places scenes, history, and night tales (Scent) alongside Lord-tier sheets and school techniques (Law). The sheets and new schools are an internal fc03 data catalog; the narrative is reference and night tales. New schools are adopted by comparing them alongside other schools, and do not replace the base rules on their own.
Series specification:
../co/co-99-meta/co-99-03-fc-spec.md
#Foreword
Swordmaster (劍豪) — those who became the blade of an age.
From Iizasa Ienao, polishing his sword alone in the evening glow of Muromachi, to the young men of the Shinsengumi standing with the setting sun at their backs at the gate of Bakumatsu Kyoto. This volume carries the faces of the Japanese swordmasters who passed through roughly four hundred years of time.
This volume is read in three layers.
- First layer — Scene: before each swordmaster's chapter comes a short piece of fiction in which he appears. A moment that may or may not have actually happened.
- Second layer — History: the actual birth and death, school, duels, and writings, precisely.
- Third layer — Night tale: the legendized story. What the literature and film of later ages created.
And each swordmaster is rendered into data as a Lord (主級) — if your PC fought him, how would you win, or if you took him as a master, how would you approach him. These two questions are placed at the end of every chapter.
#Meta Card
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Series | fc (Focus Series) Volume 03 |
| Title | Nihon Kengo Retsuden (日本劍豪列傳) |
| Nature | Scent + Law in parallel (narrative + Lord-tier sheets) |
| Volume | 19 documents · reading time 90 min (main) + reference |
| Dependency | co required (schools / Lords / classes) / ex2 (12 schools) / co-09-10-mahoujin-reincarnation.md (Demon Reincarnation linkage) |
| Authority | Data Catalog (statistics / data) / Reference Only (narrative / night tales) |
| Main Edition Version Requirement | co >= 1.2 |
| Current Version | v1.3.1 (fc03-VERSION) |
#Production and AI Notice
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Creator | Shellman |
| Inquiries and Feedback | X (formerly Twitter) @ds62hg, @trpg_ds62 |
| Generative AI Usage Notice | A substantial portion of this material was produced with the assistance of generative AI (LLM) during the planning, drafting, sentence-editing, and proofreading processes. The GPT Image 2 model was used during the image generation process. Final editing and responsibility for publication lie with the creator. In the event of domestic or international legal changes regarding AI-assisted works, the relevant laws shall apply. |
| License | Unless otherwise noted, distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. |
#Structure of the Book
#00. Meta
fc03-00-00-index.md— this document.fc03-00-01-about.md— about this book.
#01. Introduction
fc03-01-00-what-is-kenshi.md— what is a swordmaster · the "if you fight" · "if you serve" framework definition.
#02. Swordmaster Biographies — 12 Figures (chronological)
| # | Swordmaster | Era | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02-01 | Iizasa Ienao (飯篠長威斎) | Mid-Muromachi | Katori Shinto-ryu |
| 02-02 | Tsukahara Bokuden (塚原卜傳) | Early Sengoku | Kashima Shinto-ryu (new) |
| 02-03 | Kamiizumi Nobutsuna (上泉信綱) | Mid-Sengoku | Shinkage-ryu |
| 02-04 | Yagyu Muneyoshi (柳生宗厳) | Late Sengoku | Yagyu Shinkage-ryu |
| 02-05 | Ito Ittosai (伊藤一刀斎) | Late Sengoku | Ito Itto-ryu |
| 02-06 | Ono Tadaaki (小野忠明) | Early Edo | Ono-ha Itto-ryu |
| 02-07 | Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) | Early Edo | Niten Ichi-ryu |
| 02-08 | Sasaki Kojiro (佐々木小次郎) | Early Edo | Ganryu (new) |
| 02-09 | Togo Shigekata (東郷重位) | Early Edo | Jigen-ryu |
| 02-10 | Yagyu Munenori (柳生宗矩) | Early–Mid Edo | Yagyu Shinkage-ryu |
| 02-11 | Chiba Shusaku (千葉周作) | Bakumatsu | Hokushin Itto-ryu |
| 02-12 | The Three of the Shinsengumi (Kondo · Hijikata · Okita) | Bakumatsu | Tennen Rishin-ryu |
#03. New Schools
fc03-03-00-new-schools.md— Kashima Shinto-ryu · Ganryu (conforming to co format, Licensed / secret-art techniques).
#04. Foreign Swordmasters Appendix
fc03-04-00-foreign.md— Liechtenauer · Fiore · Carranza · Qi Jiguang · Zhang Sanfeng.
#99. Appendices and Closing Words
fc03-99-00-closing.md— when returning to the table.fc03-99-01-kenshi-roster.md— Swordmaster Roster (30 figures) · a short list of swordmasters outside the main text.
#How to Read (recommended)
- You can read chronologically from the front, or pick out only the swordmasters that interest you.
- Before session prep, opening just the relevant swordmaster chapter is enough.
- Read the data sheets during an encounter in session. Read the narrative parts outside of session.
- For the detailed rules of schools, see the main edition
co·ex2. This volume focuses on the figures.
#Relationship with co · ex2 · co-09-10
co-04-05 Arahitogami · co-09-10 Demon Reincarnation | fc03 this volume | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | PC prestige, heroic-spirit Lords | the historical-original Lords |
| Swordmaster depth | 5 heroic spirits + general arahitogami rules | 12 detailed biographies |
| Schools | 4 core + 12 ex2 | 2 new (Kashima · Ganryu) added |
| Narrative tier | within a scenario | outside the scenario · generalized |
This volume concentrates on the biographies. If you want to play the heroic-spirit scenario, prioritize co-09-10.
#Connections with Other Volumes
| Volume | Connection point |
|---|---|
co | The standard for schools, Renown Titles, Lords, and the heroic-spirit scenario. |
ex2 | Reference when broadening sword schools, the Tatsujin biographies, and foreign schools. |
fc04 | Reference when handling Yoshitsune, Benkei, and the living-era background of Heian warriors. |
fc05 | Reference when attaching a swordmaster's famed blade, owner relationships, and smith lineages. |
ex3 | Reference when expanding into Edo dojo society, swordplay campaigns, and dojo politics. |
fc07 | Reference when a swordmaster leans toward the demonic path or appears as a villain Lord. |
fc08 | Reference when varying a swordmaster as a yoma-subjugation tale, a master within a ghost story, or a figure bound to yoma. |
#One-Line Invitation
"They took up the blade. That blade became their very name."