Oishi Susumu Tanetsugu (大石進種次, 1798–1863) was a Japanese

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 ...

practitioner. He was active during the Tenpō period in the first half of the nineteenth century. A retainer of the

Tachibana clan Tachibana clan may refer to: *Tachibana clan (kuge) (橘氏), a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods *Tachibana clan (samurai) The Tachibana clan (立花氏) was a Japanese clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) d ...

, he was unusually tall for a

Japanese person The are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago."人類学上は，旧石器時代あるいは縄文時代以来，現在の北海道〜沖縄諸島（南西諸島）に住んだ集団を祖先にもつ人々。" () Jap ...

of his day, standing seven fifoot inches (2.12 meters) tall. Having trained in the

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship (''kenjutsu''). Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who a ...

, Oishi started his own style of swordsmanship called the Oishi Shinkage Ryu, which attracted many pupils and made Oishi comparatively wealthy. He also made money from ''dojo arashi'' (dojo storming), a practice in which a skilled swordsman would challenge masters of other schools. As Oishi was a formidable fighter, many teachers paid him off in order to avoid the embarrassment of a public defeat. Oishi himself eventually suffered a swift and humiliating defeat at the hands of Otani Nobutomo, a fencer of the Jikishinkage-ryū. He specialised in powerful thrusting techniques, which were made more effective by the length of his weapon. At the time there was no standardisation of equipment in kendo, and Oishi was noted for using exceptionally long swords or ''

shinai A is a Japanese sword typically made of bamboo used for practice and competition in ''kendo''. ''Shinai'' are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from ''kendo shinai'', and represented with different characters. T ...

'' (practice swords), sometimes with blades as long as inches}.160 He also made use of customised ''

bōgu , properly called , is training armour used primarily in the Japanese martial art of kendo,Uchida, M. (2005)Kendo Bogu (Protective Equipment)(October 2005). Retrieved on 12 May 2010.

'' (kendo armour), adding complex deflective crests and flaps to confound an opponent's attacks.

References

Japanese kendoka 1798 births 1865 deaths {{Japan-bio-stub