Foreword vii
Preface ix

1 Meeting with the Past 3
2 The Sixteen Spears of Nagano 9
3 Matters of Concentration 21
4 A Death Among Peach Blossoms 33
5 Autumn and Other Things Japanese 47
6 The Swordsmen in the Shadows 59
7 A Ritual of Style, A Function of Grace 77
8 The Shogun's Master 87
9 Iai, Cutting at Raindrops 101
10 The Swordsman and the Priest 115
11 Lessons in the Warrior's Way 133
12 Things Out of Season 149

Afterword: Two Rivers into the Same Sea 157
Glossary 161
Illustrations 175