, also known as Benkei Musō was Chinese-born Japanese

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

ist,

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

, and

Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or ho ...

. He belonged to Hitoyoshi Domain as ninja. He was thought to be the head of ninja group, Ura-Taisha(裏タイ捨) or Sagara-ningun(相良忍軍).

Biography

Nothing is known about his early life in China. Raikei was thought to be

Chinese martial artist Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

who traveled to Japan. According to documents owned by Marume clan, he fought a duel with Oda "Rokuemon" Sekika in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. Sekika was the disciple of

Marume Nagayoshi Marume Nagayoshi (丸目長恵, 1540–1629) was a retainer of the Sagara clan in the Sengoku period and a swordsman in the early Edo period. He was considered one of the best pupils of Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, and went on to found the Taisha ryū ...

a renowned swordsman and the founder of Taisha-ryū. He was defeated by Sekika, and became Nagayoshi's disciple. Raikei became one of the finest disciples of Nagayoshi. At the time, Taisha-ryū training contained several arts including

ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some tradit ...

. He was given menkyo and assigned to teach other disciples in place of Nagayoshi. He seemed to show more talent for

than

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of ...

, and become the general coach of ninjutsu in Taisha-ryū school. He also managed to help Arise Geki, the navy commander of Taisha-ryū construct Junk ships. In 1635, Raikei gave certification of Taisha-ryū to Nagata Morimasa. After this event, he became shugensha or

at Mt. Iwaya in Kashima. During his pilgrimage, Raikei became prominent figure among Yamabushi and Sanka, itinerant people among the mountains, and established ninja corps. According to Taisha-ryū tradition, this ninja group called Ura-Taisha(Shadow Taisha) and opposed Shogunate force such as

Yagyū clan The were a family of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) with lands just outside Nara, who became the heads of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. The Yagyū were also Kenjutsu teachers to the Tokugawa shōguns and des ...

, Iga, Kōga. A few Taisha-ryū dojos suggest that Raikei was the head of Sagara-ningun(Sagara ninja troops), the ninja group served

Sagara clan The Sagara clan (相良氏, ''Sagara-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan of daimyos. They were a tactical ally of the Shimazu clan. In the Edo period, they became the daimyo of the Hitoyoshi Domain and ruled until the Meiji Restoration. After t ...

, the daimyō of Hitoyoshi Domain. There is no further written information about him after this. However, it is documented that the man called Benkei Musō initiated Taketsugi Yosanbei into the art of Taisha-ryū at Ureshino in 1651. Musō is identified Raikei by Miyazaki Jūnen, the practitioner and researcher of Taisha-ryū. Raikei was buried next to his master, Nagayoshi.

Legacy

Raikei was credited as the second headmaster of Kataoka Taisha-ryū, the

Kinki The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

line of Taisha-ryū. One of the private writing of Taisha-ryū contains Chinese-style illustrations which attributed to Raikei.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denrinbō, Raikei Ninja Japanese ninjutsu practitioners Japanese swordfighters People of Edo-period Japan Chinese emigrants to Japan Chinese male martial artists 17th-century deaths Shugendō practitioners 17th-century martial artists

Biography

Legacy

See also

References