The present article divides mutual defence alliance agreements (ikki keijo) concluded among locally based samurai (kokujin) into those sworn to in the name of a deity or Buddha and those exchanged among the signatories, each type being different with respect to content and social function. The classic agreement of such diplomatics has been modeled after the documents from the Matsuura region of Kyushu, containing the signatures of the alliance members, but having no addressee. However, in the case of secret alliances, there are documents that were addressed from one alliance member to another. From the form and content of this latter type, it seems that one copy was circulated, or exchanged, among the members. In this case, the members swore to each other that they would lend mutual assistance in the midst of any danger that may befall any of them. The research to date on these diplomatics is of the opinion that their form changed over time from agreements with addressees to those in which the addressees were merely left out. However, this idea seems a bit too simple, for the circulated type was still being used during the late medieval period. Moreover, throughout the period the circulating type was used in various ways: for example, as a document sent from A to B, B to C and C to A, thus forming a tripartite agreement, but on an individual-to-individual basis. Another important point is that agreements without addressees generally emphasized swearing allegiance in the name of a deity, the de facto addressee, for the purpose of not only expressing solemnity of commitment within the alliance, but also demonstrating such solidarity in written form to outside parties, since in fact this form was often made public in a "holy water" drinking ceremony (ichimi shinsui) before a large gathering of samurai. In contrast, the agreements that circulated among alliance members were not made public, having been drawn up for the purpose of forming secret pacts.

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