Maniwa Nen-ryu
馬庭念流Sword school from the village of Maniwa in Gunma Prefecture, founded by Higuchi Sadatsugu in the early Edo period. The Higuchi family still leads it.
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About Maniwa Nen-ryu
Maniwa Nen-ryu is a sword school from the village of Maniwa in Kozuke Province, today's Gunma Prefecture. The Daijisen dictionary says Higuchi Sadatsugu founded it in the early Edo period, after studying under the seventh holder of Nen-ryu. The Nipponica encyclopedia dates the passing of the secret teachings to Higuchi to 1598. The Kokugo daijiten dictionary describes its origin differently: Higuchi combined the family Shinto-ryu with one of the branches of Nen-ryu. We have not found the exact founding year in the sources. According to the Nipponica encyclopedia, Nen Ami Jion founded Nen-ryu itself. The koryu.com guide gives 1368 and the founder Somu Shira Yoshimoto, later known as Nen Ami Jion. A 2017 study in a Japanese sports-history journal describes Maniwa Nen-ryu as a hereditary school of the Higuchi family, who stayed in the farming class, and says it reportedly had several thousand students from the Kanto region. The Daijisen Plus dictionary names an immediate transition from solid defense to attack as a feature of the school. Hyakka jiten Mypedia says the school preserves its original protective equipment. Today, according to koryu.com, the 25th holder Higuchi Sadahito leads the school in the village of Maniwa. The city of Takasaki lists it as a municipal intangible cultural property, and the dojo from 1867 with its documents is a historic site of Gunma Prefecture.
History
The Daijisen dictionary says Higuchi Sadatsugu of Maniwa village in Kozuke Province founded Maniwa Nen-ryu in the early Edo period, after studying under the seventh holder of Nen-ryu. The Kokugo daijiten dictionary writes that Higuchi combined the family Shinto-ryu with one of the branches of Nen-ryu. The Daijisen Plus dictionary calls him a descendant of the founder of an older family branch of Nen-ryu. The Nipponica encyclopedia says the teacher he studied under, according to Daijisen, passed the secret teachings to him in Maniwa village in 1598. Japanese Wikipedia says Higuchi received the inka certificate in 1591. According to Nipponica, Nen Ami Jion founded Nen-ryu itself. The Daijisen Plus dictionary dates its origin to the Nanboku-cho period and the koryu.com guide to 1368, and says Jion was earlier called Soma Shiro Yoshimoto. The city of Takasaki says Soma Shiro Yoshimoto founded Nen-ryu. A 2017 study in a Japanese sports-history journal describes the school as a hereditary school of the Higuchi family, who stayed in the farming class and set up a dojo in the village. According to the study, it reportedly had several thousand students from the Kanto region. Another study, from 2011, deals with the school's Edo dojo.
How it differs
The dictionaries differ on what the school arose from. Daijisen gives study under the seventh holder of Nen-ryu, Kokugo daijiten the family Shinto-ryu combined with one of the branches of Nen-ryu. For Nen-ryu itself, Daijisen and Kokugo daijiten give two accounts of the founder. The city of Takasaki describes the school as a self-defense art whose aim is not to overpower a person.
Technique
The Daijisen Plus dictionary names techniques that pass immediately from solid defense into attack as a feature of the school. The koryu.com guide lists kenjutsu with the odachi, naginatajutsu, sojutsu and yadomejutsu. Japanese Wikipedia says yadomejutsu is no longer practiced and that teaching rests on forms with the wooden sword.
Training
Hyakka jiten Mypedia states that Maniwa Nen-ryu preserves its original protective equipment. Japanese Wikipedia states that training is done with the fukuro shinai and with a helmet that the members make themselves. English Wikipedia mentions quilted gloves and a helmet for kiriwara jiai bouts.
Ranks and progression
Japanese Wikipedia mentions menkyo licenses and the inka certificate. A 2019 study deals, by its title, with awarding licenses in Maniwa Nen-ryu. We have not found the full order of licenses in the sources.
Today
According to koryu.com, the 25th holder Higuchi Sadahito leads the school in Maniwa village in Gunma. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai lists it as Nen-ryu with a holder from the Higuchi family. The city of Takasaki registers it as a municipal intangible cultural property. The dojo built in 1867 is, with the school's documents, a historic site of Gunma Prefecture. Japanese Wikipedia states that the present holder has led the school since 1998 and that the numbering continues that of Nen-ryu as a whole, in which Higuchi Sadatsugu was the eighth holder.
Did you know
A study from 2017 states that the school publicly demonstrated secret techniques and donated large votive tablets with students' names to important shrines. Japanese Wikipedia lists fourteen such tablets from 1797 to 1857 and a dispute over hanging a tablet in one shrine in 1823.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Maniwa Nen-ryu?
According to the Daijisen dictionary, Higuchi Sadatsugu in the early Edo period. Nen-ryu itself, from which it derives, was according to the Nipponica encyclopedia founded by Nen Ami Jion.
When did Maniwa Nen-ryu arise?
We have not found the exact year. The Daijisen dictionary gives the early Edo period, the Nipponica encyclopedia the year 1598 as the year the secret teachings were passed to Higuchi.
Does Maniwa Nen-ryu use protective equipment?
Hyakka jiten Mypedia states that the school preserves its original protective equipment. Japanese Wikipedia mentions the fukuro shinai and a helmet that the members make themselves.
Similar styles
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