Yagyu Shinkage-ryu
柳生新陰流Line of the Shinkage-ryu sword school taken over from Kamiizumi by Yagyu Munetoshi. Famed for muto-dori, its 22nd holder is based in Nagoya, says NKK.
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About Yagyu Shinkage-ryu
Yagyu Shinkage-ryu is a sword school, a line of Shinkage-ryu. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna founded Shinkage-ryu in the late Muromachi period and that Yagyu Sekishusai Munetoshi became its second holder. The Heibonsha encyclopedia calls the name Yagyu-ryu popular and says Munetoshi (1527–1606) can be regarded as the founder. The Daijisen dictionary reads his name as Muneyoshi. Heibonsha says Munetoshi received from Kamiizumi in 1565 the certificate of full transmission of the school. The koryu.com guide places its origin around 1568, Daijisen only in the Eiroku years. Daijisen says the school was inherited in two families, in Edo and in Owari, and the Edo Yagyu family taught swordsmanship to the shogunal house. Dave Lowry on koryu.com says Munetoshi's son Munenori became sword instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai gives the essence of the school as victory by adapting to the opponent, and its aim as katsujinken. Daijisen cites muto-dori as a famous technique, in which one seizes the opponent's sword with bare hands. Today, per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai and Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai, the 22nd holder from the Yagyu family leads the school, practiced in Nagoya, Tokyo and the Kansai area.
History
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai states that Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna founded Shinkage-ryu in the late Muromachi period and that Yagyu Sekishusai Munetoshi became its second holder. The Daijisen dictionary says that Munetoshi, a native of Yamato province, founded the school after receiving the inka certificate from Kamiizumi in the Eiroku years. The Heibonsha encyclopedia places the granting of the full certificate in 1565, the koryu.com guide the school's origin around 1568. Dave Lowry on koryu.com writes that Munetoshi lost a match to Kamiizumi, became his student and was eventually initiated into the okuden.
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Lowry says Munetoshi supplied Tokugawa Ieyasu with soldiers for the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Heibonsha states that he declined Ieyasu's invitation because of his age and recommended his fifth son Munenori. Munenori became, per Lowry, sword instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada and had a close relationship with the priest Takuan Soho. Daijisen says the school was inherited in two families, the Edo and the Owari. Per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai the third holder of the Owari line became a martial arts instructor in the service of the Owari domain and brought the school to completion. In the late Edo period the school, per the association, went for a time unpracticed, but through the cooperation of the Owari Yagyu family and the Tokugawa family of Owari the tradition was passed down to the present holder.
How it differs
According to Japanese Wikipedia, the school split into the Edo line, led by his fifth son Munenori, and the Owari line of his grandson. The Owari writing ranks, per Wikipedia, Munetoshi as second and his grandson as third holder, while Edo sources name Munenori as the second holder. The Heibonsha encyclopedia calls the name Yagyu-ryu popular and gives Yagyu Shinkage-ryu as the correct name. English Wikipedia says the Owari line is led by the 22nd holder Yagyu Koichi and the Edo line by the 17th holder Sono Seigo of Osaka.
Technique
Per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the essence of the school is victory by adapting to the opponent without violence, and its aim is katsujinken. The Daijisen dictionary cites muto-dori as a famous technique, in which one seizes the opponent's sword with bare hands and overpowers him. Kato, in a 1996 article, analyzes Munenori's second writing of 1626 and states that the school's central principle was not to be hit and that control of the mind mattered more than technique. Dave Lowry on koryu.com mentions a part of the kata called tengusho, tied to legends of the tengu. English Wikipedia lists in the curriculum kenjutsu (odachi, kodachi and nito), as well as jojutsu and shurikenjutsu.
Training
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai names three practice groups: Nagoya Yagyu-kai, which trains several times a week in sports centers in Nagoya, Tokyo Yagyu-kai in Nakano, and Kansai Yagyu-kai, which trains on Saturdays in Toyonaka. A competitive form is not mentioned in the sources, kata is what is practiced. Dave Lowry writes that the school seeks victory by penetrating the opponent's mind, reading his intentions and reacting just before he carries them out, and stresses timing and distance. Japanese Wikipedia says the school is known for a practice bamboo sword in a leather cover, which it calls hikihada-shinai, and in some kata uses a narrow wooden sword.
Ranks and progression
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists seven transmitted writings, among them the inka certificate. The association traces the genealogy from Kamiizumi through Munetoshi and his grandson, alternately via Yagyu family members and Tokugawa lords of Owari, to the 22nd holder. Per the Heibonsha encyclopedia, Munetoshi received the full kaiden inka certificate from Kamiizumi in 1565.
Today
Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists the school as member number 031 under the name Yagyu Shinkage-ryu heiho kenjutsu, with the 22nd holder in Nagoya. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai has three listings on its roster, among them Yagyu Seigo-ryu battojutsu. The koryu.com guide still names the 21st holder, Yagyu Nobuharu, as the holder. Japanese Wikipedia names a number of present-day groups that claim the school, among them Yagyu-kai and a dojo from the Kuroda domain line.
Did you know
Japanese Wikipedia says that in 1913 the school began to be taught at the Imperial Police and two Yagyu family members joined the court ministry's dojo. The ministry abolished the instruction in 1921. Per the same source, the school itself says a student of one of them taught Shinkage-ryu to Ueshiba Morihei. The Heibonsha encyclopedia states that after receiving the certificate Munetoshi withdrew to Yagyu village and devoted himself to developing the school.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Yagyu Shinkage-ryu?
Per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, Shinkage-ryu was founded by Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Nobutsuna, and Yagyu Sekishusai Munetoshi became its second holder. The Heibonsha encyclopedia calls Munetoshi the founder of the Yagyu line.
What is muto-dori?
It is a technique of seizing the opponent's sword with bare hands and overpowering him. The Daijisen dictionary lists it as a famous Yagyu Shinkage-ryu technique.
What is the difference between the Edo and Owari lines?
Japanese Wikipedia says Munetoshi's fifth son Munenori led the Edo line and his grandson the Owari line. Daijisen says the Edo family taught swordsmanship to the shogunal house. English Wikipedia says the 22nd holder leads the Owari line today.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.