Date founded c.1447 | ||
Current headmaster Yasusada Iizasa (飯篠 修理亮 快貞 Iizasa Shūri-no-Suke Yasusada, born c.20th century) | ||
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流) is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts, and an exemplar of bujutsu. The Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū was founded by Iizasa Ienao, born 1387 in Iizasa village (present day Takomachi, Chiba Prefecture), who was living near Katori Shrine (Sawara City, Chiba Prefecture) at the time. The ryū itself gives 1447 as the year it was founded, but some scholars claim circa 1480 is more historically accurate.
Contents
Foundation
Iizasa Ienao (飯篠 長威斎 家直 Iizasa Chōi-sai Ienao, c.1387 – c.1488) was a respected spearman and swordsman whose daimyō was deposed, encouraging him to relinquish control of his household to conduct purification rituals and study martial arts in isolation.
Born in the village of Iizasa in Shimōsa Province he moved when young to the vicinity of the famous Katori Shrine, a venerable Shinto institution northeast of Tokyo in what is today's Chiba Prefecture. The Katori Shrine enjoys a considerable martial reputation; the Shrine's Kami, Futsunushi 経津主神 (Futsunushi no kami) being revered as a spirit of swordsmanship and martial arts.
After studying swordsmanship he went to Kyoto, where, according to most authorities, he was employed in his youth by the eighth Muromachi shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490), a devotee of the martial arts. Iizasa was later known as Yamashiro no kami (governor of Yamashiro Province) in accordance with a practice of Muromachi times whereby noted warriors took old court titles. Still later in life Iizasa became a Buddhist lay monk and was known as Chōi-sai, sai being a character that many noted swordsmen chose for their sword name.
When Chōi-sai returned home he offered prayers to the deities of both Katori Shrine and Kashima Shrine, the latter a famous local shrine in nearby Ibaraki Prefecture where shrine officials themselves reputedly practised a form of swordsmanship, called 'hitotsu no tachi' (the solitary sword). Even today the Kashima Shrine training hall attracts kendo practitioners from around the world, and the chief object of interest for visitors is the shrine's sacred sword. Supplementing his considerable skills with assorted weaponry, Chōi-sai was also an expert in Musō Jikiden ryū yawaragi, holding the position of seventh headmaster in the history of that ryū.
Legend says at the age of 60 Chōi-sai spent 1000 days in Katori Shrine practising martial techniques day and night, until the kami of the shrine, Futsunushi no Mikoto (経津主之命), appeared to him in a dream and handed down the secrets of martial strategy in a scroll named Mokuroku Heiho no Shinsho. He called his swordsmanship style derived from this miraculous dream the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, the "Heavenly True, Correctly Transmitted Style of the Way of the God of Katori".
This legend is typical of martial arts ryūha and other cultural forms as well. Ryūha founders often attributed their mastery to magical teachings transmitted by Shinto or Buddhist deities, by long-dead historical figures like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, or by legendary supernatural creatures such as the tengu, a Japanese goblin commonly depicted with a long red nose.
Iizasa's Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, thus presumably linked to the sacred tradition of both Katori and Kashima Shrines, was transmitted through his own family.
Headmasters
- Iizasa Yamashiro-no-Kami (later Iga-no-Kami) Ienao Choisai, died April 15, 1488
- Iizasa Wakasa-no-Kami Morichika
- Iizasa Wakasa-no-Kami Morinobu
- Iizasa Yamashiro-no-Kami Moritsuna
- Iizasa Saemon-no-Jo Morihide
- Iizasa Oi-no-Kami Morishige
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morinobu
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morinaga
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morihisa
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morisada
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morishige
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Moritsugu
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morikiyo
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Nagateru
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Moriteru
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morishige (Kan-Rikusai), died July 11, 1853, at 78 years of age
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morifusa, died January 4, 1854, at 51 years of age
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Morisada, participated in the Mito Rebellion against the shogunate, died June 2, 1896, at 56 years of age
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Kinjiro, died in 1943
- Iizasa Shuri-no-Suke Yasusada (current)
In 1896, the 18th soke died without a male heir. Yamaguchi Eikan shihan governed the ryu until his death March 14, 1917. Until Iizasa Kinjiro married into the Iizasa household, the following eight shihan headed the ryu:
Recent history
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū is the source tradition of many Japanese martial arts. Several famous swordsmen (including Tsukahara Bokuden and Matsumoto Bizen no kami Masanobu) who learned directly from Chōi-sai or his immediate followers became founders of their own schools, with either the same name (Shintō, written with a variety of other characters) or different names: Kashima Shintō-ryū (Bokuden-ryū), Kashima-ryū, Kashima shin-ryū (founded by Matsumoto), Arima-ryū, Ichiu-ryū, Shigen-ryū, and others.
As such in 1960 the school received the first ever "Intangible Cultural Asset" designation given to a martial art. It claims to have never aligned itself with any estate or faction, no matter what stipend was offered. This allowed the ryū to maintain its independence and integrity.
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū was popularised in the west by the extensive research and writings of late Donn F. Draeger (1922–1982).
The current (2014), twentieth generation headmaster, is Yasusada Iizasa (飯篠 修理亮 快貞 Iizasa Shūri-no-suke Yasusada). For reasons of health he does not teach his family's system and instead appointed as his current, main representative instructor Risuke Otake who has a personal dojo close to (Narita City, Chiba Prefecture).
Iizasa devised a unique method to ensure warriors could train without serious injury and yet maintain a resemblance to 'riai' (integrity of principle) and combative reality. The weapon training of the ryū, in the form of kata-bujutsu (pre-arranged, combative training drills), illustrates this well. What appears to the outsider as merely a block of the opponent's attacking weapon is, in actuality, only a substitute for the part of the attacker's body intended to be cut or struck. Thus, full impact training could be maintained with safety to the practitioners. Furthermore, while the sword was considered to be the central and most important weapon in the Japanese warrior's arsenal of his era, Iizasa designed the scope of his ryū to include a wide range of weaponry. Thereby, he extended the training of his students to the use of other weapon systems as well, in order to be totally familiar with their capabilities and not be surprised on the battlefield by something unexpectedly different.
The uniqueness of Iizasa's Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū is still evident today, in the particular aspects of weapon-wielding, posture, stance, and foot and body movements which make allowance for the fact that the bushi (classical samurai warriors) of his era would be wearing 'yoroi' (armour) weighing around 35 kg, and fighting on uneven terrain. These factors tend to keep the wearer's feet firmly and flat on the ground, and slow down mobility considerably. The distinctive techniques and tactics of this ryū also acknowledge the design of classical Japanese armour, which, although protecting the wearer well, had many 'suki' (openings). The main attacking areas included: under the wrists; inside and behind the legs; the hip area; the space between the 'kabuto' (helmet) and 'do' (chest protector) where the neck arteries and veins could be easily severed. The signature, 'omote' (basic-battlefield) sword technique of the ryū, 'makiuchi-jodan', was created by Iizasa because the bushi could not raise the sword above the head, due to the obstruction of the kabuto, and secondly, notwithstanding that restriction, a very powerful 'chopping' blow from above was still needed to be generated in order to produce the maximum destructive force for when circumstances dictated attacking areas of the 'yoroi' other than the 'suki'.
Curriculum
The Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū is a comprehensive martial system. This means that unlike modern martial ways such as Kendo or Iaido, which concentrate on one specific area of training, study is made of a broad range of martial skills.
The main emphasis of the school is on Kenjutsu (sword technique). A wide range of other weapons are being taught as part of the curriculum, but the sword remains the central weapon.
The primary curriculum includes:
The Gogyo and Gokui kata are only taught to advanced practitioners after many years of fundamental practice.
Other, more advanced areas of study of the school include:
Keppan
Historically, before beginning any training in Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, every prospective pupil had to sign an oath of allegiance to the school. The method was to make keppan (blood oath) in support of the following kisho or kishomon (pledge). This oath was a written one with the prospective member being required to sign his name in his own blood. The applicant would prick or cut a finger or sometimes the inner arm and with the blood drawn, sign the following pledge:
On becoming a member of the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū which has been transmitted by the Great Deity of the Katori Shrine, I herewith affirm my pledge that:
- I will not have the impertinence to discuss or demonstrate details of the ryū to either non-members or members, even if they are relatives;
- I will not engage in altercations or misuse the art against others;
- I will never engage in any kind of gambling nor frequent disreputable places.
- I will not cross swords with any followers of other martial traditions without authorization.
I hereby pledge to firmly adhere to each of the above articles. Should I break any of these articles I will submit to the punishment of the Great Deity of Katori and the Great Deity Marishiten. Herewith I solemnly swear and affix my blood seal to this oath to these Great Deities.
Marishiten is originally the Brahman figure of Krishna. In later Chinese Buddhist mythology she became the heavenly queen who lives in one of the stars of the Great Bear. She is mostly depicted with eight arms, two of which are the symbols of the sun and the moon.
Most Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū variants headed by instructors other than Risuke Otake do not require keppan. However, Risuke Otake regards the making of keppan as a strict requirement for all candidates seeking entrance into his school in order to preserve the secrecy and integrity of the ryū's teachings. Even so, students joining his various overseas branches readily receive instruction from the local instructors until such time as they may be able to travel to Otake's dojo to take keppan. Additional opportunities arise should an overseas dojo be visited by one of the school's senior instructors who has been authorised to take keppan from those members wishing so to do. This was the case in 2007, and again in 2009 when Kyoso Shigetoshi, younger son of Risuke Otake, held an open European seminar and existing participants of varying levels of expertise from the different organisations were invited to take keppan.
Branches
The mainline branch of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū is currently represented by the Ōtake family at their Shinbukan dojo in Narita. They maintain the closest ties with the soke, Iizasa Yasusada. Several branches have existed alongside or split from the mainline with varying ties to the Shinbukan and Iizasa family.