is a Japanese honorary title given to a master swordsman of the very greatest level of skill. The literal translation of kensei is "sword saint".Miyamoto Musashi, trans. Stephen F. Kaufman (1994), Book Of Five Rings, Tuttle Publishing. This suggests a higher degree of perfection (possibly also encompassing a moral dimension) than the more commonly used or "sword master". This is distinct from the word , meaning swordsman.
Famous kensei
Tsukahara Bokuden (1489 – 6 March 1571), father and sword instructor of Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. Kamiizumi Isenokami Nobutsuna (c.1508 – 1572/1577), central figure in the development of kenjutsu and founder of the Shinkage-ryu school of combat. Miyamoto Musashi ( – 13 June 1645), one of the most famous swordmasters to have received the title. Shūsaku Narimasa Chiba (1792 – 17 January 1855), one of the last masters who was called a kensei. Otani Nobutomo (1798–1864), a master of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū of kenjutsu, a commissioner of the Kōbusho military academy.
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