Jigen-ryu
示現流Sword school of the Satsuma domain, founded by Togo Shigekata. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes it as single-strike swordsmanship, and training uses strikes at a standing trunk.
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About Jigen-ryu
Jigen-ryu is a sword school from the Satsuma domain, today's Kagoshima Prefecture. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes it as the martial teaching of Satsuma, which still strongly influences the spiritual culture of Kagoshima. It was founded by Togo Shigekata, whom the Nipponica and Heibonsha encyclopedias date to 1561 to 1643. Dictionaries read his name differently: Daijisen and Daijisen Plus as Shigekata, Heibonsha as Shigetaka, and Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus as Jui, Chui or Shigekata.
Read more
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the founder first studied Taisha-ryu and on a journey to Kyoto met a monk from a Kyoto temple who mastered Tenshin Shoden Jigen-ryu. After more than half a year of training he received the secret teaching from him. The Nipponica encyclopedia states that in 1604, aged 44, he became the lord's sword instructor and renamed the school Jigen-ryu after words from the Diamond Sutra. The Kokugo daijiten dictionary states that at the end of the Edo period the lord made it the domain's own school and most of his samurai studied it. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, Jigen-ryu is single-strike swordsmanship, and the same source shows training with strikes at a standing trunk. Japanese Wikipedia states the principle of not doubting the first cut. Today, according to both Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, the school is led by the 13th holder from the Togo family in Kagoshima. The old documents of the Togo family have been a tangible cultural property of Kagoshima Prefecture since 1959.
History
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the founder Togo Shigekata first studied Taisha-ryu, which was then practised in the Satsuma domain, and at a little over twenty he reached its secret teaching. On a journey to Kyoto with Lord Shimazu he met a monk from a Kyoto temple who mastered Tenshin Shoden Jigen-ryu, and after more than half a year of training received the secret teaching from him at 28. The Daijisen Plus dictionary, by contrast, states that he studied Jigen-ryu in Edo. The Britannica encyclopedia on Kotobank writes that he created the school from Taisha-ryu, which he studied in his youth, and Jigen-ryu, which he practised in Kyoto. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the lord appointed him sword instructor of the domain at 44. The Nipponica encyclopedia places this event in 1604 and states that he then renamed the school Jigen-ryu after words from the Diamond Sutra. The Daijisen dictionary ranks it among the branches of Shinto-ryu of Iizasa Choisai and states that, according to tradition, most samurai of the Satsuma domain studied it. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, a later lord ordered the school to be called the Jigen-ryu of the lord's house and forbade teaching it outside the domain. The genealogy of Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists thirteen generations from the Togo family.
How it differs
Japanese Wikipedia lists the Yakumaru Jigen-ryu branch, which kept the same shout. The Nipponica encyclopedia lists a separate school, Yakumaru-ryu, whose founder lived from 1607 to 1689. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, teaching Jigen-ryu outside the domain was not permitted in the Edo period.
Technique
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai calls Jigen-ryu single-strike swordsmanship and shows training with strikes at a standing trunk. Japanese Wikipedia says the trunk is cut from right and left with a shout, the basic stance is called tonbo, and the principle of not doubting the first cut applies, though the school also knows follow-up strikes. English Wikipedia says the school does not consider a second strike, and mentions a distinctive shout it calls the monkey cry.
Training
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, training aims to strengthen body and spirit by practising forms with a seriousness for which life and death are one. English Wikipedia says 3000 strikes in the morning and 8000 in the afternoon were reportedly practised in the Edo period, but gives no source for this figure. Japanese Wikipedia adds that the school's first two strikes were taken into the police wooden forms.
Ranks and progression
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists three scrolls of direct transmission and other writings among transmitted documents. We have not found the order of licences or the number of forms in the sources. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World says Matsumura Sokon received a menkyo licence in Jigen-ryu in Satsuma.
Today
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, the 13th Togo family holder leads the school in Kagoshima. The Togo family's old documents, kept by the school's foundation, have been a tangible cultural property of Kagoshima Prefecture since 1959. The school's website gives 1604 as the founding year and claims unchanged forms.
Did you know
The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World says Matsumura Sokon obtained a licence in Jigen-ryu. According to the same encyclopedia, the second holder taught Satsuma peasants self-defence as a staff dance on Lord Shimazu's order.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Jigen-ryu?
Togo Shigekata, whom the Nipponica and Heibonsha encyclopedias date to 1561 to 1643. Dictionaries read his name differently, Heibonsha for example as Shigetaka.
Does Jigen-ryu rely on only one strike?
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai calls it single-strike swordsmanship. Japanese Wikipedia states the principle of not doubting the first cut and adds that the school also knows follow-up strikes.
How is Jigen-ryu trained?
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai shows training with strikes at a standing trunk. English Wikipedia states that in the Edo period thousands of strikes were reportedly practised daily, but it does not give the source.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.