Takenouchi-ryu

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Hinoshita Toride Kaizan Takenouchi Ryū (Japanese: 日下捕手開山竹内流) is one of the oldest, if not the first, jujutsu koryu in Japan. It was founded in 1532, the first year of Tenbun on the twenty-fourth of the sixth lunar month by Takenouchi Chūnagon Daijō Nakatsukasadaiyū Hisamori, the lord of Ichinose Castle in Sakushū. Although it is famous for its jujutsu, Takenouchi Ryū is actually a complete system of martial arts including armed grappling (yoroi kumiuchi), staff (bojutsu), sword (kenjutsu), sword drawing (iaijutsu), glaive (naginatajutsu), iron fan (tessenjutsu), restraining rope (hojojutsu), and resuscitation techniques (sakkatsuhō). Its jujutsu techniques have been influential in the founding of many other schools in Japan. Takenouchi Ryū is still actively transmitted today by members of the Takenouchi family, as well as by other groups both within and outside of Japan.

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[edit] History

According to the Takenouchi Keisho Kogo Den, the document recording the establishment and development of the school, Takenouchi Hisamori retired to the mountains near the Sannomiya shrine to train his martial skills. He practiced there for six days and six nights, wielding a bokken (wooden sword) two shaku and four sun in length (about 2 ft. 4 in. or 72 cm), a relatively long weapon for his purportedly short stature. On the sixth night he fell asleep from exhaustion using his bokken as a pillow. He was woken by a mountain priest with white hair and a long beard who seemed so fearsome to Hisamori that he thought it must be an incarnation of the god Atago. Hisamori attacked the stranger, but was defeated. The priest said to him "When you meet the enemy, in that instant, life and death are decided. That is what is called hyōhō (military strategy)." He then took Hisamori's bokken, told him that long weapons were not useful in combat, and broke it into two daggers one shaku and two sun long. The priest told Hisamori to put these in his belt and call them kogusoku, and taught him how to use them in grappling and close combat. These techniques became called koshi no mawari, literally "around the hips". The priest then taught Hisamori how to bind and restrain enemies with rope, using a vine from a tree. Then the priest disappeared mysteriously amidst wind and lightning.

Takenouchi Hisamori's second son Hitachinosuke Hisakatsu became the second head of Takenouchi Ryū after his father formally passed him the tradition at the age of 64. He and his successor and son Kaganosuke Hisayoshi added their own techniques to the curriculum, extending it into a complete sōgō bujutsu system.

[edit] Curriculum

Takenouchi Ryū is best known for its jūjutsu, over which it covers an extensive ground. Its unarmed jūjutsu techniques include tehodoki (grip breaking), ukemi (tumbling), nagewaza (throwing), kansetsuwaza (joint dislocation), atemi (striking weak points), shimewaza (choking), newaza(ground techniques), and kappo (resuscitation). These are combined to form kata for the various sections of jūjutsu taught, including toride (capturing and restraining), hade (attacking vital points unarmed), and kumiuchi (grappling). These unarmed kata are the best known of the Takenouchi Ryū jūjutsu, but they are not truly its foundation. As related in the establishment myth of the school, the central forms of jūjutsu in Takenouchi Ryū are the kogusoku koshi no mawari, techniques of armed grappling using the short sword kogusoku against armed opponents. It is upon this foundation that the rest of the jūjutsu techniques were developed by Hisakatsu and Hisayoshi, the second and third heads of the school.

Beyond the core of jūjutsu, many different weapons are taught. These include the sword, the staff, rope tying, the naginata, and more. The sword curriculum is divided into major sections, with kenjutsu covering basic swordsmanship against a similarly armed opponent, saide covering grappling with the sword, and iai covering the techniques of rapid sword drawing and striking. The staff is central to Takenouchi Ryū's study of movement, and as such forms an important part of the curriculum. Staff work addresses various lengths of staff, in particular bojutsu for the six shaku staff and shinbo for a slightly shorter staff. Other sizes taught include jojutsu for the common four shaku two sun staff, and hanbo for shorter sticks around three shaku in length. Rope restraints are an important adjunct to the arresting arts of toride, and the techniques of tying up opponents called hōjojutsu or hōbaku are taught using the haya nawa which is a two shaku five sun rope, traditionally of a purple color.

Takenouchi Ryū is perhaps lesser known for its other weapons techniques, but as a true sōgō bujutsu it retains a number of weapons for use both on and off the battlefield. The naginata and kusarigama are covered, as well as the jutte truncheon, shuriken throwing darts, and the tessen iron fan. Some kata feature rather peculiar weapons intended to show the use of everyday objects for defense against sword attacks. These include the kasa, a Japanese style umbrella, and the nabebuta, a wooden lid for a cooking pot.

[edit] Takenouchi Ryu's Influence

Takenouchi Ryū has exerted a strong influence in the development of jujutsu.The branches of the Takenouchi Ryū have subsequently have influenced schools directly or indirectly and thus many techniques found in modern judo and aikido can be traced back to their roots in Takenouchi Ryū in one way or another. A number of important jujutsu koryu were founded by students of the school, such as the Rikishin Ryū, Fusen Ryū, and Sōsuishitsu Ryū, the Takagi Ryu & its branches (such as the Hontai Yōshin Ryū,Takagi Ryū) and Araki Ryū to name a few. These ryuha have incorporated many techniques from Takenouchi Ryū either directly from the school or by analyzing the techniques of its exponents.

[edit] Lineage

As with any koryu, the lineage of Takenouchi Ryū is a matter of importance and pride to its members. Since the tradition was maintained in the family a careful account of the successive leaders of the school has been kept over the centuries.

1. Takenouchi Nakatsudaiyū Hisamori.
2. Takenouchi Hitachinosuke Hisakatsu.
3. Takenouchi Kaganosuke Hisayoshi.
4. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisatsugu.
5. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisamasa. Opened the Edo Hirakane dojo.
6. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisazane.
7. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisataka.
8. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisataka.

At this point the lineage was split into two branches called the sōke and sōdenke lines. This was done to ensure that the blood line and tradition would be preserved.

Sōke lineage:

9. Ikeuchi Kamonta (adopted as Takenouchi Kamonta Hisayori).
10. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisao.
11. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisanori.
12. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisatsugu.
13. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisanori.
14. Takenouchi Tōichirō Hisamune. Current sōke of Takenouchi Ryū.

Sōdenke lineage:

9. Takenouchi Tōjūrō Hisatane.
10. Takenouchi Tōjūrō Hisamori.
11. Takenouchi Tōjūrō Hisamitsu.
12. Takenouchi Tōjūrō Hisahiro.
13. Takenouchi Tōjūrō Hisatake. Current sōdenke of Takenouchi Ryū.

[edit] Bitchū Den

As well as the two divisions of the school given above, another lineage exists branching from the third head of the school. This lineage, called the Bitchū Den Takeuchi Ryū, developed through Takeuchi Seidaiyū Masatsugu who moved to Okayama, the capital of Bitchū Province (now western Okayama Prefecture). Note that the Bitchū Den pronounces the name as Takeuchi rather than Takenouchi.

The Bitchū Den lineage maintains the same curriculum with the addition of a few more techniques in certain areas. Although being cut off from the mainline for some time, practitioners of both the mainline and Bitchū Den have in recent times compared their techniques and found them to be essentially the same despite many generations of separation. This strongly attests to the successful transmission of this koryu over the years.

Bitchū Den lineage:

4. Takeuchi Seidaiyū Masatsugu.
5. Yamamoto Kazuemon Hisayoshi.
6. Shimizu Kichiuemon Kiyonobu.
...
14. Takeuchi Tsunaichi Masatori. Head of Nisshinkan dojo.
15. Nakayama Kazuo Torimasa. Current head of Nisshinkan dojo, second head of Okayama Daigaku College Kobudō Section.
16. Ono Yotaro Masahito. Head of Chōfūkan dojo and Dōshisha Daigaku College Kobudō Section.

[edit] References

  • Mol, Serge. 2001. Classical fighting arts of Japan: A complete guide to koryū jūjutsu. Tokyo: Kodansha International. ISBN 4-7700-2619-6.
  • Skoss, Diane (ed.). 1999. Sword and spirit. Volume 2 in Classical warrior traditions of Japan. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Koryu Books. ISBN 1-890536-05-9.

[edit] See also

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