Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu
関口流抜刀術Sword-drawing line from Kumamoto, derived from the Sekiguchi family school in Wakayama. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes one-handed cuts and alternating steps.
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About Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu
Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu is a sword-drawing line handed down in Kumamoto. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that its source lies in the Sekiguchi family's martial art in Wakayama. It lists Sekiguchi Yarokuemon Ujimune, founder of the Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu school, as founder of the martial art, and his eldest son as founder of the sword-drawing line.
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According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, this son's leading student ran a dojo in Edo during the Genroku years. A samurai of the Higo domain learned from him only the part devoted to sword drawing and carried it to Higo. Because he was a martial arts instructor of the Hosokawa domain, the school, according to the same source, spread widely and came to be named after the province of Higo. Japanese Wikipedia states that the line was handed down in Kumamoto without interruption even after the Meiji Restoration. We have not found the year of its origin. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes a violent cut in which one steps alternately with the left and right foot while lowering the raised sword. All cuts are made with one hand, as in Niten Ichi-ryu, and the shout is to be high, big and long, to overwhelm the opponent. The lineage of Nihon Kobudo Kyokai has sixteen generations, and the school's headquarters is in Kumamoto. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai lists the school twice, in Kumamoto and also in Mito, where a representative of the 18th generation of transmission is active.
History
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that the Kumamoto Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu has its source in the Sekiguchi family's martial art in Wakayama. Its genealogy lists Sekiguchi Yarokuemon Ujimune as founder of the martial art and his eldest son as founder of the sword-drawing line. According to the same source, this son's leading student ran a dojo in Edo during the Genroku years. A samurai of the Higo domain learned from him only the part devoted to sword drawing and took it home. As a martial arts instructor of the Hosokawa domain, he spread it widely, and the school came to be named after the province of Higo. Japanese Wikipedia states that this samurai lived from 1686 to 1730 and in the Kumamoto domain commanded gunners with rifles. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai adds that he also had literary talent and that his best-known work stresses the union of learning with martial art. The genealogy of Nihon Kobudo Kyokai has sixteen generations, with the Edo student as second holder and the samurai from Higo as third. Japanese Wikipedia states that the line was handed down in Kumamoto without interruption even after the Meiji Restoration.
How it differs
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that the samurai from Higo learned in Edo only the part of the school devoted to sword drawing. The Wakayama Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu, which Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists as a separate school, rests, according to the same source, on three pillars, jujutsu, iai and kenjutsu. The Kumamoto line makes all cuts with one hand like Niten Ichi-ryu, and according to Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai its Kumamoto holder passes it on together with that school.
Technique
For the long sword, Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes a violent cut with alternating left and right steps as the raised sword is lowered. With the short sword the same movement thrusts. According to the same source, all cuts are one-handed, as in Niten Ichi-ryu, and the shout is to be high, big and long, to overwhelm the opponent. The author of the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai text believes that the rough simplicity of the techniques suited the thick swords of Higo.
Training
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the seated posture takes its manner of sitting from the Sekiguchi school's jujutsu, legs wide apart, as samurai sat. The school holds a seminar in Kumamoto yearly and appears at the Nihon Kobudo Embu Taikai, at a performance at Kashima-jingu shrine and at the prefectural demonstration of old martial arts during the Kumamoto Castle festival.
Ranks and progression
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, kaishaku procedures are still correctly passed on, and a scroll is used to grant the license. We have not found the order of the ranks in the sources.
Today
Per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the school's headquarters is in the Kumamoto Budokan in Kumamoto, led by the 16th holder. The same source lists branches in Nagoya, Tokyo, Oita, Nagano and Shiga Prefecture, and in Australia and Britain. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai lists the school twice, in Kumamoto and in Mito, where a representative of the 18th generation of transmission is active. We have not found the Mito line anywhere but with Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai.
Did you know
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai quotes the Kumamoto folk song Kinkira-bushi about the length of the sageo cord of a Higo sword. According to the same source, the samurai of Higo knew Sekiguchi-ryu, and this cord served them directly as tasuki.
Frequently asked questions
How does Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu relate to Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu?
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the Kumamoto sword-drawing line has its source in the Sekiguchi family's martial art in Wakayama, and the eldest son of Sekiguchi Ujimune is given as its founder. Both Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai list the two schools separately.
Where is Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu practiced?
According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the headquarters is in Kumamoto. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai also lists Mito.
What characterizes the technique of Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu?
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that all cuts are made with one hand, as in Niten Ichi-ryu, and that in a violent cut one steps alternately with the left and right foot.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.