Kito-ryu
起倒流A jujutsu school from the early Edo period focused on throws and fighting in armour. Kano Jigoro studied it under Iikubo Tsunetoshi and preserved its kata in judo as koshiki no kata.
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About Kito-ryu
Kito-ryu is a jujutsu school that arose in the early Edo period, according to Japanese encyclopedias in the Kan'ei era (1624 to 1644). The sources do not agree on who founded it. The encyclopedias Daijisen, Nipponica and Britannica, as well as a report from Teikyo college, name Ibaraki Sensai Toshifusa, according to Nipponica in 1637. The encyclopedia Sekai Daihyakka names Terada Kan'emon Masashige, and the International Judo Federation (IJF) names Fukuno Shichiroemon Masakatsu. A study by Tanaka Yohei of Tsukuba University (2010) states that Terada and Ibaraki are listed as founders of two different Kito-ryu and that their relationship is unclear. According to Nipponica, the school focused on throws more than on strikes, and its techniques derived from fighting in armour. A study by Kiryu Shusaku and colleagues (Budogaku kenkyu, 2012) stresses in the Kito-ryu kata the unity of body and mind, a firm stance, calmness of mind and breaking the opponent's balance. Kito-ryu matters for the history of judo because Kano Jigoro enrolled in its teaching under Iikubo Tsunetoshi in June 1881, a year before founding the Kodokan. Kano considered the Kito-ryu kata technically and theoretically advanced, preserved them in judo and after 1901 renamed them koshiki no kata, a set of twenty-one forms. We have not found in the sources whether a Kito-ryu lineage survives independently today.
History
Kito-ryu arose in the early Edo period, Japanese encyclopedias place it in the Kan'ei era (1624 to 1644), that is, in the reign of the shogun Iemitsu. The sources differ on the founder. The encyclopedia Daijisen names Ibaraki Matazaemon Toshifusa. Nipponica (article by Watanabe Ichiro) states that Ibaraki Toshifusa created the forms and founded the school in 1637 and that Terada Kan'emon Masashige developed it roughly in 1648 to 1681, and Britannica Kokusai also attributes the founding to Ibaraki. The encyclopedia Sekai Daihyakka, by contrast, considers Terada the founder and dates the origin to the time of the shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna.
Read more
Fujioka Masaharu (Shimane University, 1996) names as founder of the school (ryuso) Ibaraki Sensai Toshifusa, a pupil of Yagyu Munenori, and as founder of "Ran" Fukuno Shichiroemon Masakatsu, with the lineage Fukuno, Ibaraki, Terada, and according to him Takuan Soho named the document "Ran" of 1637 as Kito-ryu. The International Judo Federation (IJF) writes that the origin of Kito-ryu is unclear, names Fukuno Shichiroemon as founder and mentions a legend of a Chinese man called Chen Yuan Pin. A study by Tanaka Yohei (Tsukuba University, 2010) summarises that the origin of the school is unclear, that Terada and Ibaraki are given as founders of two different Kito-ryu and that their relationship is not clear, and states that Ibaraki Toshifusa issued in 1639 the list of techniques Tokushin no mokuroku. The lineage leading to Kano is described by a Teikyo college report (2014): the second successor was Terada Kan'emon, the seventh Takenaka Gennoshin, the eighth Takenaka Tetsunosuke Kazukiyo, the ninth Iikubo Tsunetoshi and the tenth Kano Jigoro. Iikubo was an instructor at the shogunate military school Kobusho. Kano enrolled in his teaching in June 1881 and founded the Kodokan in May 1882.
How it differs
Kito-ryu and Kodokan judo are connected by a direct lineage: the Teikyo college report lists Kano Jigoro as the tenth in the Kito-ryu line after his teacher Iikubo Tsunetoshi. According to the same report, however, the Kodokan took over only the Kito-ryu kata, not the whole school. Nipponica gives Kito-ryu an emphasis on throws, the Teikyo report on fighting in armour, and the International Judo Federation describes techniques performed in armour or in hakama. When taking it into judo, Kano altered the kata. According to the study by Kiryu and colleagues (2012), after 1901 he renamed it koshiki no kata, changed the names of five techniques, swapped two in order and replaced the grip on the neck with a press on the chest. Koshiki no kata in judo thus denotes a set derived from Kito-ryu but not identical with its kata.
Technique
According to the encyclopedia Nipponica, Kito-ryu focused more on throws than on strikes, and the Teikyo college report places its focus on fighting in armour and throws. The International Judo Federation (IJF) writes that techniques were performed in armour or in hakama and revolved around throwing the opponent to the ground. A study by Kiryu Shusaku, Murata Naoki and Toda Yoshiaki (Budogaku kenkyu, 2012) describes the Kito-ryu kata as built on the unity of body and mind (hontai), originally from armour-fighting techniques, with emphasis on a firm stance, calmness of mind and breaking the opponent's balance. The Kito-ryu kata survived in judo as koshiki no kata. According to Nipponica and Britannica it has twenty-one forms, fourteen in the omote series and seven in the ura series, derived from fighting in armour. Kiryu and colleagues state that after 1901 Kano renamed the Kito-ryu kata koshiki no kata, changed the names of five techniques, swapped two in order and replaced the grip on the neck with a press on the chest.
Training
The sources tell us about teaching in Kito-ryu mainly through Kano Jigoro. In June 1881 Kano enrolled under Iikubo Tsunetoshi, formerly an instructor at the shogunate military school Kobusho, and according to Kiryu and colleagues (2012) considered the Kito-ryu kata technically and theoretically advanced. That is why he preserved them in judo. After the Kodokan was founded its practitioners neglected the kata, and Kano tried various ways to bring it to them. The school also passed on teaching in writing: according to Tanaka Yohei (2010), Ibaraki Toshifusa issued in 1639 the list of techniques Tokushin no mokuroku.
Today
The best-known trace of Kito-ryu today is koshiki no kata, which Kano Jigoro took over into judo. According to the Teikyo college report, the Kodokan did not take over the whole school, only its kata. English Wikipedia lists as present-day lineages Takenaka-ha Kito-ryu and judo, which it calls the official successor of Kito-ryu. The website of the American school Yotsume Dojo describes the lineage of Kiyose Nakae (1883–1962), who taught jujutsu in New York and whose pupil from 1942 was Mike DePasquale Sr., but it does not say that this lineage is actively taught today. We have not found whether Kito-ryu is a member of the Japanese Classical Martial Arts Society (Nihon Kobudo Kyokai), it does not appear on the lists of performers at the Nippon Kobudo Embu demonstrations nor in a Ministry of Education document of 2019.
Did you know
According to Fujioka Masaharu (Shimane University, 1996), Takuan Soho gave Kito-ryu its name when he named the document "Ran" of 1637, and Fujioka relies on the work Tsuki no sho by Yagyu Jubei. The regional committee of the French judo federation (Comité 13) states in a document of 1997 a tradition according to which Kito-ryu was founded by a trio of samurai, Fukuno Shichiroemon, Isogai Jirozaemon and Miura Yojiemon, with the Chinese teacher Chen Yuan Pin, who was to have created the kata in 1658, it is a legend passed on by Kano. The International Judo Federation also mentions the legend of Chen Yuan Pin.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Kito-ryu?
The sources disagree. The Japanese encyclopedias Daijisen, Nipponica and Britannica name Ibaraki Sensai Toshifusa (Nipponica gives 1637), Sekai Daihyakka names Terada Kan'emon, the International Judo Federation Fukuno Shichiroemon. A Tsukuba University study (2010) considers the relationship of Terada and Ibaraki unclear.
How is Kito-ryu related to judo?
In June 1881 Kano Jigoro enrolled in Kito-ryu teaching under Iikubo Tsunetoshi and preserved the school's kata in judo. After 1901 he renamed it koshiki no kata and altered some techniques.
How many forms does koshiki no kata have?
Twenty-one, fourteen in the omote series and seven in the ura. They derive from Kito-ryu armour-fighting techniques.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.