Komagawa Tarozaemon Kuniyoshi
駒川太郎左衛門国吉
Student of Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and founder of the sword school Komagawa Kaishin-ryu, whose first tachi-kata, according to the school's tradition, arose from a fight with a wolf.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Komagawa Tarozaemon Kuniyoshi (駒川太郎左衛門国吉) is the founder of the sword school Komagawa Kaishin-ryu. We have not been able to verify the dates of his birth and death.
He studied Shinkage-ryu under Kamiizumi Ise no kami Nobutsuna. At first the teacher refused to issue him a certification because of what he called a "bad habit" in his movements. To prove his skill, Komagawa obtained a number of menkyo licences from other kenjutsu schools.
According to the school's tradition, he was once attacked by a wolf, and since he had only a wakizashi with him, he discovered that he was left-handed – this was the "bad habit" the teacher had recognised. After this change he took the name Kaishin (改心, "reversed" or "renewed heart") and finally received the Shinkage-ryu menkyo from Kamiizumi. From the technique he used against the wolf he created the first tachi-kata, the foundation of his school's curriculum.
His successor Sakurada Jirozaemon Sadakuni added kata with the jutte to the curriculum and renamed the school, and Fujii Umon then added a whole series of kata with the kodachi. Japanese sources state that the system includes the long sword, jutte, kodachi and naginata. When the school's head, Fujii Umon Sadayuki, was executed in 1767 for lèse-majesté, the school for over 150 years presented itself publicly as Shinkage-ryu, especially in Toyama, where in the 19th century it was taught more as jujutsu than as swordsmanship. Today's soke is Kuroda Tetsuzan, with the main dojo Shinbukan Kuroda Dojo in Saitama.