Kondo Kuranosuke
Japanese swordsman from Totomi province who founded the Tennen Rishin-ryu school around 1789, from which Kondo Isami later emerged.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Kondo Kuranosuke Nagahiro was a Japanese swordsman and founder of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school. He came from Totomi province, now western Shizuoka Prefecture, and died in 1807. We have not been able to verify his birth year.
Before founding his own school he was a member of Kashima Shinto-ryu. He left it to create a new combat system based on swordsmanship.
He codified the Tennen Rishin-ryu school around 1789, during the Kansei period. He established a dojo in the Edo district of Yagenbori and also taught in the Sagami and Tama areas.
After him, Sansuke led the school as second head, Shusuke as third, and Kondo Isami as fourth; Isami later became a leading member of the Shinsengumi unit. The Shinsengumi disbanded in 1869, but the Tennen Rishin-ryu tradition survived, particularly in the Tama area.