Ryushin Shouchi-ryu
A sword-drawing school founded in 2006 in Tokyo. It trains with a short, light iaito, relying on drawing speed rather than blade weight.
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About Ryushin Shouchi-ryu
Ryushin Shouchi-ryu is a Japanese school of sword-drawing and swordsmanship, founded in 2006 by Kawabata Terutaka (born 1940) at the Seiseikan dojo in Tokyo's Akabane district. The school is young, but it does not stand on empty ground. It descends from Tenshinsho Jigen-ryu, a branch split off from Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu — one of the oldest documented Japanese schools of all. The school therefore does not lead directly to Katori Shinto-ryu, but by a detour through Jigen-ryu. Technically, the school is marked by its choice of weapon. Training uses a short, light iaito, a blunt practice sword, and on it is built a very fast draw and resheathing of the blade. This differs from schools that rely on a heavy blade and cutting power: here the work is with time, not with weight. Both iaijutsu and kenjutsu are taught, so drawing is not separated from swordsmanship itself. Today the school is practiced in Japan, in Europe, and in the United States. The second head was Yahagi Kunikazu; since 2023 the school has been led by Watanabe Yoshio. From its founding the school was called Ryushin Jigen-ryu; it was renamed to its present name only in 2011.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.