Wake Line Press
Annotated English translations of Japanese-language Pacific War primary sources
Forthcoming
Kenjutsu Kyōhan (剣術教範) — Swordsmanship Instruction Manual
Imperial Japanese Army, 1915 · Translation and annotation by Alexander Moulic Lawson
The foundational close-combat training manual of the Imperial Japanese Army, promulgated by Army Order No. 16 on December 20, 1915, and in doctrinal force through 1945. The manual governs instruction in three weapon systems — bayonet fencing with the rifle, two-handed military sword fencing, and one-handed cavalry sword fencing — synthesizing classical Japanese swordsmanship, European cavalry saber doctrine, and modern infantry bayonet drill under a single pedagogical framework. This edition provides the first complete English translation with historical annotations serving military historians, martial arts practitioners, and collectors.
About
Alexander Moulic Lawson
Wake Line Press is an independent press founded to publish annotated English translations of Japanese-language Pacific War primary sources — memoirs, unit histories, and personal accounts that have remained inaccessible to English-speaking readers and researchers.
The press is founded and operated by Alexander Moulic Lawson, a writer and public historian. He holds an MA in Public History and served in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologic linguist. His research focuses on Japanese enlisted and junior officer experiences in the Pacific War, with particular attention to Special Naval Landing Force operations in the Solomon Islands campaign.
Wake Line Press is based in Ohio.