You know, the description of saide prompted the same thought in me, Hammer; a LOT of the kenjutsu I see in the Bujinkan is performed in grappling range, both in class and in recordings of Hatsumi. I haven't begun practicing much kenjutsu yet; since it is an extension of our taijutsu, it is typical not to pick up the sword for serious study until dan grades (and I'm a fresh one
), so most of my knowledge on it is academic, by observation, or casual practice.
Some of the middle kata for Kukishinden ryu kenjutsu indeed involve "clinching" with the opponent and cutting or throwing him by grappling with the tachi, but I have not practiced any of these yet. More familiar is Shinden Fudo ryu, which has battojutsu "hidden" in its jutaijutsu/dakentaijutsu, the positioning and striking motions are seamlessly sword draws, often followed by locks, chokes, and even throws performed with the long sword blade (suprisingly just as much as the short sword). Sometimes the sword is only partially unsheathed, exposing a limited cutting surface that the opponent is forced across. This is partially demonstrated on the Quest video for Shinden Fudo ryu if you have access to it.
Katana used in grappling is common in Togakure ryu kenjutsu as well, but they used a shorter version of the katana (not the stereotyped straight ninja-to
)so it might be more like koryu that used kodachi in grappling. Both Fudo and Takagi Yoshin ryu also make use of the undrawn swords (hilt and scabbard) in grappling.
It's an interesting question, something I'll look into more here.