Kenpojutsu,
I am away from my notes of the translation but will endeavour to post my copy tomorrow.
As far as I recall, the first couple of lines of the scroll state something to the effect:
SEI [a large seal for Seishinkan]
Instructor License
I, Kuniba Shogo, president of the International Combined Martial Arts Federation and Soke of Motobu-ha Shito Ryu, appoint Albert C. Church (Kanda Takashi), the Kamishin Ryu Soke, as my representative to the United States ...."
I have compared three or four Kuniba documents -- from different sources -- to base my analysis upon. Anybody -- not just a Japanese linguist -- can see the brushwork is the same. I will stake my reputation that the second-generation copy of the "Kuniba Scroll" that I translated was written by Kuniba Shogo.
Yes, Kuniba sensei later denied he wrote a scroll -- I can only imagine his actions as being "damage control" after the Church-Sacharnowski and Church/Baillegeron battles; which were either in full swing, or a too-near unpleasant memory.
Kuniba sensei also wrote a letter to Rod Sacharnowski answering (I presume) five questions asked by Rod. Kuniba sensei admits he taught iai to Mr. Church, he also admits (if I recall) that he taught him karate. He denies teaching Mr. Church jujutsu; and he denies creating Mr. Church a soke, stating "Mr. Church did that himself." However, Mr. Kuniba still wrote the scroll and described Mr. Church as the Soke of Kamishinryu.
and Kuniba sensei still wrote a menjo naming Mr. Church as a shihan of "Kamishinkai Jujutsu" (or similar words -- again, I'm not with my notes).
You directly cast aspersions on my integrity by implying that I cannot be trusted because I was a former student of Mr. Church. You are terribly mistaken. I aproached this research as a skeptic
because of the politics, ill-will, and deceptions on many sides. In my later budo life I learned "soke councils" aren't done in Japan, and I had many concerns (later) about Mr. Church's qualifications. As I conducted this research I would not attach any importance to the statements made or written by Mr. Church -- I would use only independent sources. I needed to see documentation. If Mr. Church told me he was a 3rd dan in Iaido (which he did tell me) -- I would not enter that rank into my research unless I saw documentation. And I did see documentation, albeit second-generation copies. You are correct when you state that original documents are the best source for research. But you are incorrect to believe that only primary sources can verify facts. Secondary documentation, taken from independent sources, can also be entered into the record.
Some of the images that I used for translation were taken from photographs offered by former students, often showing them standing next to the certificates in the dojo. Some certificates were easily readable when enlarged or enhanced in photoshop; others were not legible.
I also used a photocopy of a letter Mr. Church sent to "Mr C2". Mr. "C2" was dubious of Mr. Church's ranks, etc., so Mr. Church sent him a letter with photocopies-of-photographs of his documents from Kuniba and Hayashi sensei-gata. That was the source for the Kuniba Scroll translation (let's just forget for a moment that I have actually held both the Kuniba Scroll and the Koh Scroll and have seen them unrolled -- they
DO exist). A copy of the Church letter to Mr. "C2" was recently given to Ted Petit when he and "C2" were talking about something entirely different. I think Ted said, "Oh, if only I could get a photo of the scroll!" And Mr. "C2" said "Photo? Let me tell you what I've got in my files!"
The translation I posted on E-budo gives about 15%-20% of the full Kuniba Scroll. I have translated perhaps 60% of the scroll, the remainder being illegible due to poor copy quality. Can I swear in a court of law that this photocopy is a true representative of the scroll I held in my hands -- the one that Mr. Church unrolled in front of my eyes? No, I cannot. However, I can swear that it strongly reminds me of that scroll; and, I will state for the record that in no way could Mr. Church have written the scroll; he didn't know kanji, or brush stroke; he even didn't know hiragana or katagana (had to use a graph in a dictionary). I can also swear -- after comparing multiple different exemplars of known Kuniba handwriting:
I believe 100% that the scroll was written by Kuniba Shogo.
--Guy Power
