Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu
無双直伝英信流Sword-drawing school from Tosa, according to Green one of the two most popular iai schools. Named after its seventh holder Hasegawa Eishin, while sources differ on its founder.
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About Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu
Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu is a sword-drawing school which the encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World names, together with Muso Shinden-ryu, among the two most popular iai schools of the present day. Sources give differing founders. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu as founder and Hasegawa Eishin as the seventh holder, whose name the school bears. The guide koryu.com likewise gives Hayashizaki as founder. A 2020 study from Sendai University and Japanese Wikipedia name Hasegawa Eishin as founder.
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According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, Hasegawa added his own discoveries to the old techniques, and the school therefore began to be called Hasegawa Eishin-ryu and also Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu. The Nipponica encyclopedia places his activity in the Kyoho years (1716–1736), but Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that the 9th holder entered the service of the Tosa domain as early as 1674. According to the same source, the domain then protected the school and did not allow it to be taught outside its territory. A 2017 study in a Japanese scholarly journal of sports anthropology states that Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and Muso Shinden-ryu were a single Tosa school until the end of the shogunate. Today's Eishin-ryu continues the Tanimura-ha branch and Muso Shinden-ryu the Shimomura-ha branch, and according to the study the technical systems hardly differ. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai gives 21 generations and a central dojo in Tokyo. The guide koryu.com points out that the school is passed on by several lineages whose representatives claim its leadership, and that it is difficult to determine which claim is valid.
History
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai places Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu in the Eiroku years and gives a tradition according to which he prayed at a shrine to be able to avenge his slain father, grasped the essence of iai and carried out the vengeance. A 2020 study from Sendai University describes him as a reviver rather than a founder of sword drawing. According to the same study, the lineage of Eishin-ryu is identical to that of Shin Muso Hayashizaki-ryu up to the third holder, separates in the fourth generation, and the school flourished greatly under the seventh holder Hasegawa Eishin.
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A 2017 study in a Japanese scholarly journal of sports anthropology states that Hayashi Morimasa, who brought the school to Tosa, studied under Omori, a swordsman of Shinkage-ryu, and included his Omori-ryu with eleven forms in Tosa iai. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the 9th holder entered the service of the Tosa domain in 1674. According to the Sendai study, the school split into two lines after the 12th holder, and according to the 2017 study the names Tanimura-ha and Shimomura-ha became established for them at the end of the shogunate. According to the Sendai study, the 17th holder organized Tosa iai, named Omori-ryu seiza no bu and Hasegawa Eishin-ryu tatehiza no bu, and merged them into today's Eishin-ryu. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, he then spread the school throughout Japan. The Nipponica encyclopedia states that he too contributed to the recognition of iai at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. Japanese Wikipedia states that Nakayama Hakudo, who studied in both branches, created Muso Shinden-ryu.
How it differs
According to the 2017 study, Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and Muso Shinden-ryu were one school until the end of the shogunate. The Nipponica encyclopedia states that in 1933 Nakayama Hakudo compiled Muso Shinden-ryu from the sets of Omori-ryu, Hasegawa Eishin-ryu and oku-iai, 42 forms in all. The 2017 study found that six of the ten techniques of tatehiza no bu have a counterpart in Omori-ryu. A study from Sendai University states that in 1969 the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei compiled seven common iai forms and later supplemented them with three forms in 1980 and two in 2000. The commission was led by a representative of Eishin-ryu. According to the study, Eishin-ryu and Muso Shinden-ryu are the most widespread iai schools of the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei.
Technique
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that the school has techniques against an imagined opponent as well as techniques with a real partner. The sword is worn edge up, it is drawn without the mouth of the scabbard being visible, and a cut from the draw, a downward cut and the sheathing of the sword follow. In the advanced oku-iai forms, speed increases. When handling the sword, the practitioner is, according to the same source, to perceive the long as short and the heavy as light. The guide koryu.com lists iaijutsu with the odachi and paired practice derived from iai, called kenjutsu. English Wikipedia lists 45 solo and 45 paired forms. According to it, the solo sets are seiza no bu with eleven, tatehiza no bu with ten, okuiai iwaza no bu with eight and okuiai tachiwaza no bu with thirteen forms, and bangai no bu with three forms.
Training
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, iai is practiced seated and standing, and seated in the seiza and tatehiza positions. English Wikipedia states that solo forms use one long sword and paired forms are often taught only to advanced students, usually with a wooden sword and at a higher grade also a live one. Japanese Wikipedia states that in Edo the school under its first holders was a comprehensive martial art and focused on sword drawing only from the Tosa lineage.
Ranks and progression
English Wikipedia states that the school uses unrestricted transmission, in which every holder of full transmission may grant a license to any number of students, and that full transmission is called Kongen no Maki. We have not found the order of the school's licenses in the sources of Nihon Kobudo Kyokai or Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai. A study from Sendai University states that at the Kyoto demonstration of the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei, almost all holders of the hanshi title in iai belong to Eishin-ryu or Muso Shinden-ryu.
Today
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists a 21st holder with a central dojo in Tokyo and the school's spread abroad, led by Korea. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai lists the school three times with different spellings of the name and representatives in various prefectures. The guide koryu.com states that the school is passed on by several lineages whose representatives claim leadership, and that dojo are found throughout Japan, many in the Kansai area. Japanese Wikipedia states that after the death of the 20th holder of his line a succession dispute and a number of offshoots arose. We have not found the school listed among cultural properties.
Did you know
The 2017 study states that a document of the school from 1764 describes a technique that the school no longer knows today. The dictionary Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus states that Hasegawa Eishin came, according to tradition, from Tosa or from Sanuki. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World calls Nakayama Hakudo a pioneer of iaido.
Styles & Branches
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu?
Sources differ. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu as founder and Hasegawa Eishin as the seventh holder, koryu.com likewise Hayashizaki, and a study from Sendai University and Japanese Wikipedia name Hasegawa as founder.
What is the difference between Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and Muso Shinden-ryu?
According to the 2017 study, they were one Tosa school until the end of the shogunate, and their technical systems hardly differ. According to the Nipponica encyclopedia, Nakayama Hakudo compiled Muso Shinden-ryu in 1933.
How many forms does Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu have?
English Wikipedia lists 45 solo and 45 paired forms. Japanese Wikipedia counts the sets and numbers of forms differently.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.