Suihasu-ryū

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Koryu 古流 Martial Art
Suihasu-ryū
(水蓮流)
Founder
Shindou Hiroshi 神童仁志 c. 1536 - 1624)[1]
Date founded
Late Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) Founded year 1562 according to its own tradition
Current headmaster
Soke Shindou Tatsuo神童竜郎 (b. 1985 Received complete license or gokui kaiden in 2005
Arts taught in the Suihasu-ryu system
Japanese name Description
Kenjutsu 剣術 - odachi, kodachi, Sword art - Long sword, short sword
Hyotojutsu 両刀術- Nito Nito(二刀) - Bouth short and long sword
Iaijutsu 居合術 - Odachi Art of drawing the sword - Long sword
Sojutsu 槍術 Spear art - (kamayari)
kyujutsu 弓術 Bow art
taijutsu 体術-Koppojutsu,aikinotaijutsu,koshijutsu Body fight- Bone brake

Suihasu-ryū (水蓮流) meaning "water lotus school," is a traditional school (koryu) of Japanese martial arts, founded by Shindou Hiroshi (神童仁志,1532-1621) in the late Muromachi era (1562). It is a system which stresses the importance of religious revelation inspired by pilgrimage (see musha shugyo).

[edit] History

At the age of 17, Shindou Hiroshi started his musha shugyo, traveling throughout Japan for 10 years. He met Tsukahara Bokuden, a legendary swordsman, under whom he studied for a year and a half, learning the art of swordsmanship (kenjutsu). He later met another young martial arts student, Yagyu Muneyoshi, and together they studied under another famous swordsman, Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna for 3 years, after which Shindou returned to his lands in Kyūshū. There he settled at Arahirayama, where he meditated and trained every day for 2 years. According to legend, it was there that seven tengus who lived in Arahirayama appeared to him and taught him the secrets of the art.

[edit] Suihasu ryu and Tokugawa shogunate

The Shindou clan was a small bushi clan of Hyuga. They are said to have helped the very first emperor(神武天皇 Jinmu Tennō) serving him with loyalty and honor, and that the emperor gave them the secret mission to serve as protectors of the Japanese people, giving then a document called nichinoisho. It is said that when Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara, Shindou Hiroshi met him and gave him both the nichinoisho and the Kojiki that were in the hands of his family. Tokugawa Ieyasu, understanding the meaning of the documents, created a new post, called shometsuki, in which the Shindou clan served until the Meiji Restoration.

[edit] References

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