【Ittou-seki】is a huge stone with approximately 7m in all directions in Yagyūi-cho, Nara City.Muneyoshi Yagyū thought this huge stone was Tengu (long-nosed goblin) and tried to cut this huge stone with a single sweep, but Tengu disappeared and only the stone, cut into two pieces, was remained. 
The stone is near Amano Iwate Tatejinja （天石立神社）at same holy place.

Muneyoshi Yagyū is one of the famous swordsmen of the Sengoku era. He is known for mastering the fighting style called Shinkage-ryū which he passed on to his son Munenori Yagyū, who in turn made it the official fighting style of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Address: 789 Iwatoya, Yagyūi-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture

How to get there: From JR Nara Station or Kintetsu Nara Station, take the Nara Kotsu Bus Yagyū / Konchi Nakamura Line for 50 minutes, and get off at "Yagyū", a 15-minute walk.

💫【一刀石】（いっとうせき）奈良市柳生町 / パワースポット（3/3）✨スピリチュアル🔸

💫【一刀石】（いっとうせき）奈良市柳生町 / パワースポット（2/3）✨スピリチュアル🔸

💫【一刀石】（いっとうせき）奈良市柳生町 / パワースポット（1/3）✨スピリチュアル🔸

Yagyu no sato （柳生の里） is a small village in Nara prefecture, Japan. Passing through it in a car or by very infrequent bus, you would probably notice nothing particularly different to any other sleepy rural Japanese town. However, this town was the center of Yagyu-han, the ancestral home of the Yagyu family, the masters of one of the most famous schools of Japanese swordsmanship.

Muneyoshi Yagyū was already a renowned bugeisha (martial artist) when – via the skilled spear-wielding monk Hōzōin In’ei – he was introduced to one of the legends of Japanese swordsmanship – Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna. Following a legendary duel in which Sekishusai lost to one of Kamiizumi’s students armed with a fukuro-shinai, Sekishusai himself became a follower of Kamiizumi, eventually reaching the depths of his system of swordsmanship. Sekishusai’s fifth son, Munenori, went on to become an official sword instructor for the Tokugawa Bakufu (shogunate) and taught three successive Shogun. In his lifetime his stipend and position considerably rose, assuring both his families success and their notoriety.

The Yagyu family would continue to teach swordsmanship to the Tokugawa and their officials right up until the end of the feudal period (in fact, I personally practised Shinkage-ryu with a descendant of the Tokugawa Shoguns in Tokyo in 2001), and members of the family continue to practise and pass on the tradition to this very day.

the Tokugawa Shoguns

The Yagyu family do not own the current village, of-course, but there are plenty of things for the discerning kendo tourist to see.

Hotokuji （芳徳寺）:
 the family temple was built in 1638 and houses statues of Sekishusai, Munenori, and also Takuan Soho. Inside there is a small museum and you can look Yagyu related historical items (all information in Japanese though). Around the back is the family graveyard: an amazing place to come if you are interested in Japanese swordsmanship.

Itto seki (一刀石):
 This is a giant rock that his been split in two.. allegedly by the sword work of Sekishusai. He had been walking through the woods when he thought he was being attacked by Tengu. He dextrously turned around and cut down through what he thought was the enemy. Instead, it was the rock. 

Former Yagyu-han chief retainers mansion （旧柳生藩家老屋敷）: This is a museum with some Yagyu related articles.

Yagyu Mazakizaka Kenzen Dojo （柳生正木坂剣禅道場）: 
A modern kendo dojo with the frontage of an old temple from Kyoto. It has nothing to do with the Yagyu family per-se but sits just outside Hotokuji and provides and amazing place to practise budo. 

【阪本研究所】SK laboratory
    代表 Kazuyoshi Sakamoto