Meifu Shinkage-ryū (Shuriken Throwing)
明府真影流Japanese shurikenjutsu school founded by Chikatoshi Someya and, according to its website, led since 2009 by soke Yasuyuki Otsuka.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Meifu Shinkage-ryū (Shuriken Throwing)
Meifu Shinkage-ryu is a Japanese shurikenjutsu school that Japanese Wikipedia classes among the modern schools of this art and the Dutch group Kochokai among three Japanese schools focused mainly on shurikenjutsu. It was founded by Chikatoshi Someya, whom the National Diet Library lists as an author of books on shurikenjutsu and states that he died in 1999. We have not found the exact year of founding in the sources, and the school's website gives the nineteen-seventies. Besides bo-shurikenjutsu, the school teaches, according to its website, fundo kusarijutsu, hanbojutsu heiyowaza and shokenjutsu.
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According to the school's website, Someya studied Katori Shinto-ryu for several years, then began learning bo-shuriken and examined the techniques and blades of other schools. The school's shuriken is, according to its website, designed after the bo-shuriken of Katori Shinto-ryu called uchi-bari, while fundo kusarijutsu draws on some techniques of Masaki-ryu, and Someya compiled 27 kata for it. Wikipedia states that Someya modified the throwing style of Katori Shinto-ryu to be shorter, faster and more concealed. After Someya's death in June 1999, Yasuyuki Otsuka, his student since 1985, to whom the Someya family awarded the title of soke in 2009, became grandmaster according to the school's website. According to the same source, Otsuka leads about 200 students in branches and keikokai in Asia, Europe and North and South America.
History
The school's official website states that Chikatoshi Someya founded Meifu Shinkage-ryu in the nineteen-seventies. Sources differ on the dating: the Dutch group Kochokai gives the nineteen-fifties, and the website of the MSR Melbourne branch says that Someya developed the art in the nineteen-sixties and seventies. According to the school's website, Someya studied Katori Shinto-ryu for several years and then began learning bo-shuriken. Wikipedia, Kochokai and MSR Melbourne state that his teacher was Yoshio Sugino, while the school's official website does not name him. According to the website, Someya tested how the length of a shuriken affects flight stability and range, and today's bo-shuriken of the school are based on this. the National Diet Library lists his books on shurikenjutsu and concealed weapons published by Airyudo from 1980 to 2003. Nippon Budokan included the school as volume 73 of its video series, with a demonstration by Someya. According to the school's website, Someya died in June 1999 and Yasuyuki Otsuka, his student since 1985, became grand master, and the Someya family awarded him the title of soke in 2009. The MSR Melbourne website states that Otsuka was appointed grand master as early as 1995.
How it differs
Japanese Wikipedia places Meifu Shinkage-ryu among the modern shurikenjutsu schools, and Negishi-ryu and Katori Shinto-ryu among the traditional ones. The Dutch group Kochokai states it is one of three Japanese schools focused mainly on shurikenjutsu, alongside Shirai-ryu and Negishi-ryu. According to English Wikipedia, it differs from Katori Shinto-ryu in its throwing style, which Someya modified to be shorter, faster and more concealed. The school's official website does not say so explicitly. According to that website, the bo-shuriken is modelled on the uchi-bari of Katori Shinto-ryu, but fundo kusarijutsu derives from Masaki-ryu techniques and Someya composed its kata.
Technique
According to its website, the school's bo-shuriken is made of straight, square-section hard steel, 14 to 17 cm long, 6 to 7 mm in diameter and about 38 to 42 g in weight, with a tip of about 25 mm. It is designed after the bo-shuriken of Katori Shinto-ryu called uchi-bari. Kochokai gives metal points 16 cm long. Wikipedia names the throwing techniques shomen uchi, gyaku uchi, dosoku uchi, shitate uchi, za uchi, aruki uchi, hashiri uchi and ne uchi. According to the school's website, fundo kusari is a steel chain with a weight and a ring, 72 to 76 cm long and weighing 180 to 200 g, called manrikigusari in other schools. Fundo kusarijutsu draws on some techniques of Masaki-ryu, and Someya compiled 27 kata, one long form and 3 secret techniques for it. Wikipedia lists fuko, hikitori, metsubushi, yokomen uchi and kesa uchi among its techniques. The school's website describes shoken as a paired hand blade for stabbing, scratching and cutting, designed by Someya.
Training
The school's website states four areas of instruction: bo-shurikenjutsu, fundo kusarijutsu, hanbojutsu heiyowaza and shokenjutsu. The membership fee is 6,000 yen per six months and is paid to the dojo teacher, and distance learning is also possible. The school recommends in-person instruction with an authorized instructor at the honbu dojo in Japan, at international seminars, at a branch or at a keikokai, and a new keikokai can be founded only with permission. According to the school's website, students begin with a foam fundo kusari for partner work and a rubber one for kata, and take up the steel chain only after mastering these. The metal version is intended for Japan only. In countries where the metal chain is banned, training uses a plastic chain with a foam or rubber weight. Shoken training begins at 3rd kyu with rounded safety blades, or two bo-shuriken are used as shoken.
Today
The school's website states that Yasuyuki Otsuka leads about 200 students worldwide, a number that has kept growing over the last seven years, in official branches and keikokai in Asia, Europe and North and South America. Wikipedia gives about 30 students in Tokyo and dojo and branches in Japan, the USA, Europe, Mexico, Chile, Australia and Canada. According to the school's website, the Tokyo honbu is moving in April 2026 to the YUYA Dojo near JR Motoyawata station. According to the school's website, Otsuka has published an instructional DVD and a book and runs international seminars, which one should generally attend before founding a keikokai. The Shudokan Martial Arts Association lists him as a member of its advisory board, based in Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture. The Dutch Kochokai states that it has been the school's official keikokai since 2012, with weekly instruction led by Arjan F. Tervoort.
Did you know
The subtitle of the Nippon Budokan's video about the school calls it the art of the hidden sword, and in 1983 Someya also published a book on hidden weapons with the publisher Airyudo. According to the school's website, its name was created by the first soke, Someya, as a message for current and future students, and the website does not state its meaning. The school's website warns against poor-quality bo-shuriken made of soft steel and sold as MSR. According to Wikipedia, Otsuka published a book on the school in 2011, also in German, and the website mentions editions in English, Spanish and German. The National Diet Library of Japan lists his Japanese book on the school from 2004.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Meifu Shinkage-ryu?
It was founded by Chikatoshi Someya, who died in 1999 according to the National Diet Library. The school is now led by Yasuyuki Otsuka, soke since 2009 according to the school's website.
Is Meifu Shinkage-ryu a branch of Katori Shinto-ryu?
The school's website states that its bo-shuriken is designed after the uchi-bari of Katori Shinto-ryu, while fundo kusarijutsu draws on techniques of Masaki-ryu and Someya compiled its kata.
What grades does Meifu Shinkage-ryu award?
The school's website lists formal examinations and the grades kyu and dan. For fundo kusari it requires 11 kata for shodan, 10 for nidan and 7 for sandan.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.