Komagawa Kaishin-ryu
駒川改心流A sword school that Wikipedia derives from Shinkage-ryu and links to the Kuroda family and the Shinbukan dojo. We are still looking for other sources on its history.
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About Komagawa Kaishin-ryu
According to both Japanese and English Wikipedia, Komagawa Kaishin-ryu is a school of swordsmanship and other weapons. Both name as founder Komagawa Tarozaemon Kuniyoshi, who according to them received Shinkage-ryu from Kamiizumi Nobutsuna. Japanese Wikipedia places its origin in the Warring States period, but we could not document the exact year. We did not find the school in the lists of the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, nor in encyclopedias such as kotobank, on koryu.com or in scholarly articles. We are looking for reliable sources on its history. According to English Wikipedia, the curriculum includes kenjutsu with the odachi, the kodachi and two swords, as well as naginatajutsu and juttejutsu. Japanese Wikipedia describes it as a composite martial art that also includes the kodachi, kusarigama and other weapons. According to English Wikipedia, the school was passed down by the Kuroda family in the Shinbukan dojo. In March 2024 the website of a Japanese martial arts magazine published by BAB Japan announced that on 3 March Kuroda Tetsuzan, the fifteenth soke of the Shinbukan, had died, and listed Komagawa Kaishin-ryu among the five schools he transmitted. According to the same source, he handed the succession to his eldest son in May 2023.
History
English Wikipedia relates that Komagawa Tarozaemon Kuniyoshi studied Shinkage-ryu under Kamiizumi Nobutsuna but did not get the menkyo license, and Kamiizumi only pointed out a bad habit in his movement. According to this account, a wolf pack attacked him during night practice and he drove it off with one wakizashi technique. Then he reportedly discovered that he was left-handed, understood that this was the bad habit, took the name Kaishin and received the menkyo. The second head, Sakurada Jirozaemon Sadakuni, according to Japanese Wikipedia traveled and trained for about twenty years, added the jitte, kodachi and kusarigama, and the school received the name Komagawa Kaishin-ryu. English Wikipedia credits him with renaming the school and adding forms with the jutte. According to English Wikipedia, in 1767 Fujii Umon Sadayuki was executed with his teacher Yamagata Daini for an alleged insult to the shogunate. This damaged the school's reputation and many domains closed its branches. Japanese Wikipedia calls the event the Meiwa incident and says Fujii Umon allegedly practiced the kodachi of this school.
How it differs
English Wikipedia states that, unlike most koryu, only the soke Kuroda Tetsuzan was allowed to teach the school, so students learned every technique directly from him. According to Japanese Wikipedia, in the Toyama domain it was taught as jujutsu, not as a swordsmanship school. According to English Wikipedia, in Toyama it was publicly known only as Shinkage-ryu, and the 13th soke Kuroda Yasuji learned only later that he had not practiced Shinkage-ryu.
Technique
English Wikipedia lists as the curriculum kenjutsu with the odachi, kodachi and two swords, plus naginatajutsu and juttejutsu. Japanese Wikipedia describes the school as a composite martial art that besides its main swordsmanship includes the jitte, kodachi, naginata, two swords and kusarigama.
Training
According to Japanese Wikipedia, the forms are practiced in numbered sets by weapon. The first form of the first set is called Yodare-sukashi and is tied to the story of the founder's inspiration. English Wikipedia gives the main dojo as the Shinbukan Kuroda Dojo in Saitama Prefecture.
Today
The website of a Japanese martial arts magazine published by BAB Japan announced that on 3 March 2024 Kuroda Tetsuzan, the fifteenth soke of the Shinbukan, died at the age of 73. It listed Komagawa Kaishin-ryu among the five schools he transmitted. After a serious illness in May 2022, according to the same source, he handed the succession of the Shinbukan to his eldest son in May 2023. The English website Inside Ninjutsu names this son Kuroda Yasumasa and calls him the sixteenth soke of the Shinbukan. We did not find a generation number for Komagawa Kaishin-ryu itself. English Wikipedia lists Kuroda Yasuji as the 13th soke, Japanese Wikipedia as the 14th.
Did you know
NDL Search lists Kuroda Tetsuzan as the author of a number of books on martial arts, including titles from 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2019. In September 2024 the publisher BAB Japan released his book compiled from a column he wrote for a martial arts magazine.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Komagawa Kaishin-ryu?
Both Japanese and English Wikipedia name Komagawa Tarozaemon Kuniyoshi, who according to them received Shinkage-ryu from Kamiizumi Nobutsuna. We did not find the school itself in Japanese encyclopedias or in the lists of schools.
Who leads Komagawa Kaishin-ryu today?
Kuroda Tetsuzan, soke of the Shinbukan, died on 3 March 2024. According to the BAB Japan magazine website, he handed the Shinbukan succession to his eldest son in May 2023.
Where does the name Kaishin come from?
English Wikipedia relates that after a night fight with wolves the founder found he was left-handed, thereby understood the bad habit Kamiizumi had pointed out, and took the name Kaishin.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.